Understanding and Maximizing the Value of a Great Landscape Lighting Design

 Southern Landscape Lighting Systems of Acworth, GA, specializes in the design, installation, and maintenance of residential and commercial outdoor LED landscape lighting systems in the metro Atlanta area.

Understanding and Maximizing the Value of Great Landscaping

Home improvement is more than a kitchen remodel or a bathroom upgrade. A new fountain in the front yard or a total backyard makeover should also be considered a home improvement, even though the projects do not directly involve the structure of the house. The functional and financial value of a new kitchen is obvious, but does a landscaping project increase home value? Before making a substantial investment of time, energy, and resources into a landscape project, it is important to understand the value of a great landscape.

The Impact of Great Landscaping

Landscaping enhances curb appeal, which involves the first impression a home makes on guests, pedestrians, and passing traffic. The front lawn frames the house, and the view out of a bedroom window, the kitchen window, or the sunroom accentuates the aura of the home’s interior. Does curb appeal or a beautiful backyard positively increase a home’s value? Should the homeowner re-assess asset allocation and shift more resources to the improvement and maintenance of a beautiful landscape?

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) states that professionally landscaped homes can yield “15 percent to 20 percent more at the time of resale than homes with less attractive landscapes.”

Landscape Projects That Offer Strong ROI for the Homeowner

Landscaping encompasses the entire area around a home and the individual elements that comprise the design.  Two components of landscaping are softscapes and hardscapes. The softscape includes gardens, groundcovers, plants, flowers, grass, and trees. Grading and topography (hills, berms, swales, boulders, etc.) could be considered a part of the softscape. Hardscaping involves architectural features such as a gazebo, firepit, wall, steps, and formal paving.

Many homeowners are enhancing outdoor living spaces. Deck and patio enlargements, outdoor kitchens, fire features, and covered gazebos or pergolas are quite popular. The discerning homeowner and prospective buyer should be mindful that trends and tastes change from time to time. The custom outdoor brick oven that brought culinary delight to a previous owner may be an eyesore to a subsequent owner. Modest landscaping still outpaces minimal landscaping for ROI. Great landscaping is a sure winner for the homeowner. In light of the recent lifestyle changes and financial challenges resulting from the pandemic, landscape projects that expand living space and feature a low-maintenance aesthetic offer the strongest return on investment.

Maximizing the Value of Landscaping Projects

Listed below are examples of landscaping projects that add real value to a home.

1. Decks

A well-designed deck instantly adds to both the size and quality of life afforded by an outdoor living space. Screening, shading, and covering add privacy, relief from the hot sun, and protection from precipitation. A deck, whether wood or composite, offers a return on investment of over 60% of the initial cost.

2. Mature Trees and Greenery

Homebuyers want great designs that include larger, more mature plants, shrubs, and trees, especially trees. Trees cost more to install than shrubs, but fewer trees may be needed when compared to shrubs. Many shrubs need shearing or clipping several times a year, and trees require less maintenance over time. Mature trees also provide shade, create a windbreak, enhance curb appeal, and offer a safe, cozy habitat for birds, squirrels, and other small animals.

3. Low-Maintenance Softscapes

Many homeowners want a beautiful yard but without all the work. Low-maintenance landscaping is quite popular. Xeriscaping, drip irrigation, slower-growing plants and shrubs, and rainwater catch systems strike a positive chord with potential homebuyers interested in sustainability.

4. LED Low-Voltage Landscape Lighting

An LED low-voltage landscape lighting system designed and installed by Southern Landscape Lighting Systems of Acworth expands the usability of decks, patios, fire pits, outdoor kitchens, walking paths, water features, sitting areas, backyard playgrounds, and other recreational areas. The curb appeal created by that sophisticated landscape design and installation is enhanced in both bold and subtle ways by an effective landscape lighting system. The avoidance of a single slip-and-fall injury could pay for the design and installation of a landscape lighting system many times over. MLS images of a well-lit home generate interest that leads to action. Landscape lighting can increase home value by as much as 20%.

For more information about outdoor LED lighting installation and service, contact Southern Landscape Lighting Systems of Acworth by calling (678) 324-6842 or emailing lindsey@southernlls.com.

Exploring New Opportunities for LED Landscape Lighting in the Morning Darkness

 The landscape lighting professionals at Southern Landscape and Lighting Systems of Alpharetta pay close attention to cutting-edge advancements in lighting technology, shifting trends in customer preferences, changes in local and state building codes, and the passage of state and national legislation that directly and indirectly impact LED landscape lighting installation, equipment, design, and maintenance.

Changes in public policy and governmental regulations affecting Daylight Saving Time (DST) are on the horizon for Georgia homeowners and businesses. In 2022, daylight saving time 2022 in Georgia begins at 2:00 AM on Sunday, March 13. At 2:00 AM on Sunday, November 6, clocks return to standard time. On Sunday, March 12, 2023, Georgia’s clocks may spring forward for the last time and stay there permanently.

A law professor and proponent of permanent DST, Steve Calandrillo, writes, “The U.S. Senate approved the Sunshine Protection Act in March 2022, with the goal of making daylight saving time permanent starting in November 2023. If that happens, the U.S. will never again ‘spring forward’ or ‘fall back.’ Following the Senate’s vote and a recent hearing in the House…the subcommittee is now considering the issue. The full House of Representatives will need to vote in support of permanent DST before the bill goes to [the President’s] desk for his signature…Americans don’t like Congress messing with their clocks. However, the move to DST year-round makes a lot of sense. In an effort to avoid the biannual time change in spring and fall, some DST critics have suggested that returning to a permanent standard time would benefit society. But research shows that DST saves lives and prevents crime. Nearly 20 states have passed bills to make DST permanent, and the Senate unanimously passed the Sunshine Protection Act to allow those laws to take effect – since any one state can’t move to DST unilaterally on dates different from the rest of the country.”

If lawmakers in Washington, DC, can unite to once and for all turn clocks forward, the lives of Americans will benefit in many ways.

1. DST saves lives.

Shifting daylight to the evening reduces vehicle fatalities during the evening rush hour. On average, evening rush hour traffic is twice as fatal as morning rush hour traffic. More congestion, more DUIs, more speed, and more children playing outdoors add up to more fatalities. Vehicle-on-pedestrian crashes involving a fatality skyrocket 300% when the shadows grow long and the sun sets. Over 340 lives per year could be saved by shifting more sunlight to the evening through permanent DST.

2. DST hinders criminal activity.

Most crimes are committed under cover of evening darkness. The extra daylight in the afternoon and early evening can help combat juvenile crime, which peaks after school and during the early evening.

3. DST conserves energy.

The late afternoon and evening sun reduces the need for light and heat.  Energy conservation was the driving force behind DST during WWI, WWII, and the energy crisis in the 1970s.

4. Permanent DST promotes sound sleep and health.

The yearly “spring forward” elevates heart attacks by 24% in the week after the change. An uptick has also been detected after the “fall back” change.

5. Recreation and commerce flourish when the sun is shining.

Sunlight spurs recreation and commerce while darkness hinders physical activity and shopping. Organizations committed to encouraging physical activity and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are pushing hard for permanent DST.

Accommodating the Shift in Sunlight with LED Landscape Lighting

The shift of sunlight from the morning to the evening calls for a re-evaluation of installation and design plans modeled to accommodate more darkness in the evening and more light in the morning.

1. System programming may need some tweaking.

Systems operating in response to signals from light sensors self-adjust according to the position of the sun. Timer-driven systems will definitely require some re-calibrations or replacement.

2. Consider safety, efficiency, and quality.

With more darkness in the morning, new fixtures may need to be added to facilitate safety on steps and walkways. Exercise venues, workstations, and vehicle entry points need a second look. Businesses that prepare work vehicles and load equipment will have additional lighting considerations for safety and efficiency. Small businesses that engage in assembly, manufacturing, fabrication, and mechanical work should give close attention to new scenarios created by an extra hour of darkness in the morning.

3. Most criminal activity occurs in the evening hours.

Security lighting will need to be adjusted in the event of permanent DST, and businesses should assess the situation now. Preparations taken now can help prevent stolen or damaged property in the future.

Consider scheduling a consultation with the professionals at Southern Landscape Lighting Systems. To learn more about landscape lighting design, contact the Alpharetta office by phone at (770) 691-1221 or by email at lindsey@southernlls.com.

LED Landscape Lighting Company Explains Lumens

 Southern Landscape Lighting Systems of Marietta designs installs, and services residential and commercial LED landscape lighting systems in the metro Atlanta area. Quantum leaps in LED lighting technology are empowering lighting professionals to create amazing lighting projects for homeowners in Marietta, GA.

The incandescent bulb was first patented by Thomas Edison in 1879 and commercialized soon after, changing the lives of people in the industrialized world forever. The light bulb efficiently and inexpensively expanded the hours of productivity beyond the limits of natural daylight. Though incandescent bulbs convert 94% of energy into heat and only about 6% into light, the invention was still a viable alternative to candles, oil lamps, and gas lighting. The energy output of the incandescent light bulb is measured in watts, which is named after the Scottish inventor James Watt (1736-1819). Though his name is memorialized on billions of lightbulbs, Watt’s greatest contribution was his perfection of the steam engine in 1776, dramatically accelerating the expansion of the industrial revolution in Britain and the American colonies.

Philips, a leader in the lighting industry, introduced the first 60-watt equivalent LED light bulb in 2010, revolutionizing residential and commercial lighting around the world. LED bulb technology converts 80% of energy to light while generating much less heat. Philips released a 75-watt bulb in 2011.

Important definitions

Before going any further in the discussion, a few definitions are needed to avoid confusion.

What is a “watt?”

A “watt” is a measure of energy consumption. It describes the amount of energy a device needs to fulfill a task. For example, a 60-watt incandescent light bulb needs a continuous flow of 60 watts of energy to produce the light brightness (lumens) advertised on the package and on the top of the bulb, which is about 800 lumens.

What is a “lumen?”

A lumen is a measure of light output or brightness. In practical terms, a lumen is the amount of light produced by a birthday candle at a distance of one foot. A watt is a measure of energy consumption, but a lumen is a measure of light output or brightness. A 60-watt incandescent light bulb requires 60 watts (units) of energy to produce a brightness of 800 lumens. In contrast, an LED light bulb that produces 800 lumens uses about 9 watts of energy or 85% less energy than the 60-watt incandescent bulb.

Comparison: traditional incandescent wattages to lumens to LED wattages

This raw comparison of traditional incandescent energy consumption (watts) to LED energy consumption (watts) to achieve the same lumens is illuminating. LED lights consume one-sixth the energy of their incandescent counterparts. Traditional halogen landscape lighting is almost as energy-hungry as incandescent lighting.

• Incandescent 40 watts = 450 lumens = LED: 6 watts
• Incandescent 60 watts = 800 lumens = LED: 9 watts
• Incandescent 75 watts = 1100 lumens = LED: 12 watts
• Incandescent 100 watts = 1600 lumens = LED: 17 watts
• Incandescent 150 watts = 2600 lumens = LED: 27 watts
• Incandescent 200 watts = 3000 lumens = LED: 32 watts

On the practical level, if a lamp or lighting fixture previously used a 60-watt incandescent bulb, look for a 730 to 750-lumen LED bulb. (Packaging still includes statements such as “equivalent to a 60-watt bulb.”)

Types of lighting fixtures

LED low-voltage landscape lighting professionals have a wide array of lighting fixtures at their disposal. Landscape lighting is not a “one-size-fits-all” effort.

• Spotlights and accent lights
• Path lights
• In-ground and in-grade good lights
• Floodlights
• Downlights
• Deck lights
• Step lights
• Hardscape lights
• Underwater lights
• Specialty lights

Each fixture has an intentional application that allows the designer to create elegant visuals that enhance the beauty of the home or business while making it more functional, safe, and secure.

Why choose Southern Landscape Lighting Systems of Marietta

The shift to LED from traditional incandescent or halogen bulbs is energy-efficient and cost-effective. The bulbs use much less energy and last 25,000 to 40,000 hours. Unlike filament lighting technologies, LED bulbs are durable and shock-resistant. LED fixtures are safe. They convert more energy to light and burn at a significantly lower temperature, making the fixture safe for pets and humans and less of a fire hazard. However, the transition to LED bulbs can be tricky. Make the switch now. Energy costs are rocketing out of sight. Avoid damaging fixtures. Avoid installing bulbs with the wrong lumens for the application.

Contact Southern Landscape Lighting Systems of Marietta for more information about landscape lighting installation. The office can be reached by phone at (678) 616-9166 or by email at lindsey@southernlls.com.