Before deciding what and how to light, we must first ask ?EUR??,,????'??why light??EUR??,,????'?? Our design decisions are dependent on proposed uses for landscape lighting.A lighting designer must consider needs, aesthetics and purpose. Is this for safety? Or, is this for security? For example, lighting a dark walkway, a park area or a building entrance could easily fall into either category. Maybe the need is to raise property values by enhancing the beauty of a garden or other landscape structures.

Most likely, the answer will be a combination of two or more of these uses. A specific technique can be employed to satisfy more than one requirement. Uplighting a prominent tree near the house entrance will provide safety, security and aesthetic enhancement.

Poulsen says the following of bollards: ?EUR??,,????'??Practical, vandal resistant and effective … decorative at daytime, practical at nighttime. Bollards indicate direction, boundaries and generate a safety without intruding on surroundings. Discrete in appearance and superbly stage setting at night.?EUR??,,????'??

?EUR??,,????'??Walls divide the outside room and create a luminous building and the darkness,?EUR??,,????'?? says Poulsen in regard to wall lights. ?EUR??,,????'??Wall luminaries yield both appealing and practical illumination. Outdoor wall luminaries add an additional dimension to the darkness of the night, and in daylight they form an aesthetical and discrete part of the architectural layout.?EUR??,,????'??

The design process should begin with a site map, drawn to scale, showing all landscape features and areas that need lighting. Fixtures and lamps are chosen for each area based on the desired effects – path lights for safe passage along walks and stairs, and wash fixtures for silhouette effects against a wall.

When creating the site map, the amount of lighting must be carefully considered. It is very easy to over-light, just as it is equally important not to under-light.

One common mistake is to over-light; low levels of light create subtle beauty, and are often also sufficient for safety and security. Use brighter lighting effects for focal points, and consider the effects that different light intensities will have on the overall design. Contrarily, under-lighting can distract from the purposes and goals. If an area is too dark, then obviously security and safety issues may be compromised. Or, aesthetically, a focal point may not be illuminated enough.

It is critical to understand, too, that many clients have limited understanding of the design and installation process. They have ideas, with no real knowledge of what it takes to achieve their goals, of if the same goals are even plausible.

Another important element is designing for the eye and installing the correct lighting features. Moyer says that you should ?EUR??,,????'??Plan for eye response in dark environments. Since brightness attracts the eye, a contrast between dark and light causes the eye to attempt to adapt to both brightness levels.?EUR??,,????'??

After deciding on the size and placement of lighting fixtures, the electrical system is designed. The heart of the system is the transformer, which converts the household 120 volts into safe, efficient 12 volts, and delivers this voltage to several circuits. Using appropriately sized cables and approved connectors, fixtures are connected to the transformer.

Group fixtures in zones determined by the distance to the transformer. The number of fixtures on each circuit will be limited by the wattage of individual lamps, distance to the transformer and associated voltage drop in the circuit.

A common practice among lighting designers and installers is to allow for plenty of movement of the fixture locations. By leaving extra cable at each fixture, changes can be made to the system after installation, and after several years of plant growth.

One final consideration is the role of plants in the composition. How do plants fit into the design? What about trees? Which plants will be focal points, background elements, or transitional elements? Moyer makes some of the following suggestions when lighting for plants:

• Frontlighting: Used to show or create shapes, or to tie areas together.
• Backlighting: Brings interest to scene.
• Sidelighting: Emphasizes texture and creates shadows.
• Downlighting: For wash, grazing moonlighting and halo effects.
• Uplighting: Creates dramatic effects on plants.

These are just some of the more common lighting techniques. And, again, the mentioned elements are not the limitations, but merely some of the possibilities.

This has been a very brief introduction to the world of landscape lighting. There?EUR??,,????'???s a vast amount of additional knowledge available for the homeowner to consider, whether he or she wishes to design and/or install a home lighting system, or merely to learn more about the possibilities. The following are highly recommended sources:

REFERENCES:

Moyer, Janet Lennox. ?EUR??,,????'??The Landscape Lighting Book,?EUR??,,????'?? John Wiley & Sons, Inc., NewYork, 1992.
Poulsen, Louis. ?EUR??,,????'??Light of Louis Poulsen.?EUR??,,????'?? Louis Poulsen Lighting, Inc, Ft. Lauderdale: 2002.

ADDITIONAL READING:

?EUR??,,????'??The Art of Outdoor Lighting: Landscapes With the Beauty of Lighting?EUR??,,????'?? by Randall Whitehead.

Dan Eskelson – chief designer, executive, accountant, webmaster and pencil sharpener at Clearwater Landscapes, Inc.