Landscape lighting - the main tasks and rules of the project

The article tells about the goals and objectives of landscape lighting, which rules should be used when drafting and choosing suitable lighting fixtures. Photos and videos of finished projects will demonstrate the existing opportunities.

Basic tasks

Several landscape lighting schemes have been developed. All of them can be divided into two groups. One helps to form a general floodlighting of the entire territory as a whole, the other to focus on any particular zones or objects. It is important to arrange the lamps in such a way that in the evening you can comfortably stay on the local area, move safely along it and do some work. In order to ensure the possibility of achieving the goals set, it is necessary to install:

• general lighting , to illuminate all the paths and paths, areas near the garage, terrace, gazebos and entrance porch ;

• masking lighting , it does not illuminate, but only forms the designation of the contours of large objects located in the very background of the site, indicates their boundaries and sets the correct direction for movement by separate zones;

• protective “floodlight” is installed around the perimeter

• decorative light turns any dark garden into a world of fairy tales, used to illuminate garden figures, large shrubs, complex forms of landscape design.

Creating all this requires a competent approach to implementation. It is carried out at the design stage of landscape design, all works are carried out before the planting of green plants.

Rules for creating

When organizing lighting in landscape design, different schemes are used. In each, the used luminaires simultaneously illuminate the local area and focus on the most picturesque areas viewed from the windows of the house. Sometimes they designate private corners and actively flood the main entrances with light. Given this set of requirements, it is easy to determine:

• how many the devices themselves need to be purchased;

• what they should be shapes and sizes ;

• where will reject light after installation.

Lighting design, as a rule, takes place in several stages. First, specialists in the daytime take pictures of different sides of the site, using digital images to simulate a picture that displays all existing objects that need lighting. It schematically indicates the location of the main points, in places where the selected lighting devices will be installed later.

When drafting a project, it is important to single out the main objects (house, entrances to it, garage), then background elements, designate local points, then create smooth transitions between these structures.

Illumination of architectural objects should emphasize the beauty of the building, the texture of the walls or the originality of the roof. Therefore, lighting structures can be installed on the visors of buildings or trampled into the ground around the perimeter of the base. Such details help the house stay attractive in the evenings.

On our site you can find contacts of construction companies that offer building services for small architectural forms . Directly to communicate with representatives, you can visit the exhibition of houses "Low-rise Country".

Be sure to put the light near any obstacles, natural or artificially created. If there is a reservoir on the site, it is important to designate it around the perimeter. Otherwise, in the dark it will be easy to fall into the water. If you place lamps on the banks and direct the light deep into the pond, any puddle will seem very deep in the evening. If the spotlights are installed on the bottom or on the surface of the water, the effect of illumination will be reversed: instead of a frightening pool, a mysterious object with a water surface will appear on the site.

When lighting bushes, experts recommend hiding lights inside crowns or foliage. Then any branchy plant will look very volumetric, the glare cast from the branches to the ground will form a very beautiful flowing stream of ornate form.

The illuminated alpine slide looks beautiful in the evening. You can fill it with light in different ways. The solution looks good when a single floor lamp is installed at the top, which pours out the flow from top to bottom.It is possible to install small lamps, the flow of which is directed upwards, along the base perimeter. Both options, as practice shows, do well with the task. If there is a desire to approach the solution of lighting of the alpine slide, somehow out of the box, you can put a garland on its two slopes.

Designers like to light flower beds and roses with large lamps placed in the very center of flowering. Soft light is quite enough for the designated object to be able to demonstrate its charm in the dark.

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At the second design stage, lamps are selected. When buying them, it is important to take into account the architectural and landscape thematic concept.

Which devices are better to use for the indicated purposes?

The development of a landscape lighting project involves the inclusion of two, three purely functional forms in the scheme. Each is characterized by the use of certain lanterns and lamps. So, for example, when creating a general lighting it is necessary to use spotlights, lanterns on racks, hanging lamps. Spotlights and spotlights are suitable for spot lighting.

There is a large variety of various models with a modern design, antique-style, equipped with glass shades or wrought iron elements. The choice of the form of the lamp is carried out depending on the general stylistic concept. It is they who emphasize the direction of the theme and set the tone for the selection of another landscape design decor.

The main thing is to choose the type of light devices taking into account their technical components. On sale there are several types of artificial light source.

Incandescent bulbs have a light emitter inside the bulb. It looks like a thread or a spiral. It is necessarily made of refractory metal. Today, such products are rarely used for the organization of street lighting. And all because they have low light output, produce a stream of light not exceeding 15 Lm / W. And their service life is not very long: only a thousand hours.

Halogen bulbs. These are devices that have a cover filled with inert gas and halogens. When turned on, such light devices provide the formation of the natural spectrum of light, its amount is two times larger than that of previous samples, and they serve four times longer than incandescent lamps. Installing them, you can save up to 80% of electricity.

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Metal-halogen lamps emit a very bright luminous flux; at a power of 35 W, one device is capable of emitting up to 3,500 LM. Designers like to use such devices to illuminate the facades of houses or tall trees. They are also ideal for marking the perimeter of water bodies.

Mercury lamps are good for decorative lighting. Their design consists of several basic elements: the contact part (base) of a quartz flask, inside of which contains inert gas and mercury, an internal flask (made of thermostatic glass). Their installation helps to save electricity (compared to the incandescent lamp, it is possible to reduce the cost of paying utility bills by five times). When starting, they do not flicker as fluorescent lighting devices, the average service life is fifteen thousand hours.

LEDs are ideal for landscape lighting. With the help of them, you can highlight the complex terrain of the site, make lighting of stairs, gazebos, open terraces, paving and retaining structures. They have excellent light output, while consuming a minimal amount of energy. The service life of one lamp is one hundred thousand hours.

Optical fiber is the latest know-how in the world of landscape lighting. With it, you can not only create additional light sources, but also create a special atmosphere. Optical fiber is not afraid of moisture, so it can be safely used to illuminate outdoor pools, fountains, other objects, lighting which is inevitable contact of devices and water.

There are two types of cable. Each has its own technical features. For example, a glass cable can transmit light at a distance of up to ten meters. Therefore, it can be used for arranging camouflage light. The synthetic cable provides soft diffused light that can only be used as decorative lighting.Such devices are installed quite simply: the cable is located in a fixed place and is connected to an energy source.

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You can try to perform plant lighting with different types of lamps: luminous flower beds, mercury trees, and shrubs with ordinary incandescent lamps. In this case, a magnificent spectacle will surely appear before your eyes. Different illumination effects have different fixtures for lighting. They can be put under a root, to fix on the middle of a tree or to hide in their krone. The second and third option is best suited to designate single trees or shrubs that stand alone.

The video shows ideas for lighting design in the garden using different types of luminaires:

When choosing types of luminaires, you need to pay attention to the labeling of the devices. For the arrangement of street lighting are suitable and fluorescent, and sodium, and mercury, and halogen lamps. You need to acquire those models that have a degree of protection "IP", electrical insulation class "I", "II", and "III", type of cartridge "E".

Lighting marking and installation of

devices After that as all light equipment purchased, you can start marking up the lighting system. It is carried out according to the previously drawn plan. Marking will determine where to dig trenches for laying communications. They will then be laid cable hidden in special protective boxes.

The luminaires are installed only after the main communications have been laid, the equipment has been installed in stages, the devices themselves are connected to the wiring, as well as switches and shields that allow you to manually control all the existing scenarios. The electrical panel should be installed in a place protected from weather precipitation. Before you bury the trench, it is important to check the performance of the assembled system. When installing it, it is imperative that you do grounding and install devices that allow you to stabilize the mains voltage.

In the video, the specialist talks about the types of lighting in the garden and suburban areas:

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Summary on the topic

From the above, it can be seen that there are many options for arranging landscape lighting. In drawing up the scheme, it is necessary to take into account different nuances, but the main criterion is the financial capacity of the owner of the backyard plot. You can get by with a minimum, choose inexpensive lamps for landscape lighting and install them only along the driveway to the house. And you can actively use all types of street lighting, think over and collect two branches that will be used depending on the time of year. When plants actively live and bloom, the light should only emphasize their beauty. In winter, when nature sleeps, colored lighting will allow you to create an artificially beautiful picture.