Great Fixture, Bad Location

We were recently called onto a location which had several outdoor lighting problems, but let’s just cover one of them right now. This lighting system was only installed about a year ago. The installer used fixtures that are very high quality and very expensive. They also used very high quality LED lamps in most of the fixtures. The transformers were also excellent. So, what’s the problem?

The first and most profound issue that we had to deal with is that they installed above grade fixtures in turf areas. These fixtures are heavy brass fixtures by a reputable manufacturer, made to last a lifetime; and they installed LED PAR36 lamps that should also last about 20 years. Unfortunately, the fixtures have to be replaced NOW, only a year after original installation because they have been destroyed by the lawn maintenance people! Sadly, this is not as uncommon as you may think.

The folks who are mowing the grass on an expansive property have no idea how much these fixtures cost, and they really don’t care. They are riding along, listening to their favorite music through their ear buds, doing their job cutting the grass and WHAM! There goes a fixture that costs a few hundred dollars! Regardless of the superior quality of any outdoor lighting fixture, they are no match for a riding lawn mower, leaving the fixture busted, shot, and no good at all anymore. Maybe the lawn care dude should have used a string trimmer in those areas - but that would take a LOT more time and effort, and they have other properties to get to. Consequently, most crewmen will just move along without a word, and let the property owner deal with the expensive carnage.

This is what happens when someone who really doesn’t know any better installs outdoor lighting: the company that uses just one fixture for everything because lighting is simply an add-on, and not their area of expertise. The attitude may be to stab the fixtures into the ground, and get gone quickly, never to be seen again to warranty the improperly installed fixtures.

In reality, the fixture that should have been used in these turf areas to up light these wonderful old live oak trees would have been an in-ground well light with a brass grate over the top. It should have been installed low enough that a mower could just run right over it and not even touch it (except for maybe the wheels). This would allow the fixture to operate for a lifetime as intended, with very little maintenance only to clean the lenses every now and then.

On this project, we now have to remove all of the current fixtures that are above ground and replace them with in-ground fixtures. The good thing is that we can re-use the high quality LED PAR36 lamps in the new fixtures, so it won’t be a total loss for the homeowner, but it’s still going to cost a lot of money for these changes. A sad waste at the homeowner’s expense due to improper installation by an untrained crew.

We’ll cover some of the other issues we’re fixing on this project later. Wishing you an illuminating day!  info@night-scenes.com

Security Lighting Doesn’t Have To Be Ugly!

In just about every article I read from police departments about home security, they say that lighting is very important to help deter crime, and I can’t agree more! If a property has good lighting, the criminal is more likely to be seen, and that’s the last thing they want since being seen usually means getting caught.

But what is good lighting? Unfortunately, most people either over light or under light.

Light poles all around your house to light it up like a prison? That’s overkill even for a commercial property (I’ll talk about commercial security lighting in the near future), and you don’t want to live in a prison anyway. That much light outside, makes living inside your home uncomfortable, as well.

Maybe we should put a motion sensor flood light kit on the corners of the house. That should do the trick, right? We see this often, but the answer is - probably not.

What is the problem with the flood lights on the corners of the home?

1. These fixtures are generally operated from a switch inside the home located by the front door. If the switch is off, which is common, the lights won’t ever come on - doing no good at all.

2. If the floods are switched on, and are on a photo cell, then they are likely on all night -- causing them to burn out fairly quickly and therefore, again, don’t work.

3. If the fixtures are on a motion sensor and are turned on at the switch, the fixture must be calibrated properly for sensitivity and time of illumination to work properly. Too much sensitivity and the lights pop on for every critter that crosses its path. Not set to stay on long enough, and a stranger disappears almost instantly. If this is done properly and the fixtures are working well, and the lamps are not burned out, congratulations! The corners of your home will have security lighting. But ONLY the corners of your home!

4. When the corners of your home have properly functioning motion activated “security” lighting, the rest of the areas are DARK. These dark holes make great hiding places for the experienced criminal. When your neighbors become accustomed to the light coming on every time the cat walks by, your up-to-no-good interloper will be able to move around fairly well in the dark areas.

What we know now is that the usual “security” lighting many of us have been familiar with for years might not be the greatest solution for warding off crime around your home.

So what is the answer?

To properly illuminate your property to discourage the unsavory visitor, you need an even, balanced lighting scheme around your property. This can be easily done with some well-placed path and area fixtures, along with some down lighting from trees, and some accent lighting for the landscape around your home. This lighting does not have to be, and actually should not be too bright. Most of it should be just enough light to detect any movement on your property, and it should be more intense in areas where your home can be entered.

Using this method allows the lighting to spread gently all over your property, eliminating the dangerous dark holes where criminals like to hide. This forces them to choose the property with no lighting (or the typical so-called security lighting that we described above as less than effective). The bonus part of the well-balanced lighting plan is that it also makes your home look especially beautiful, enhances your landscape and increases your property value -- which none of the other security lighting options can do for you.  info@night-scenes.com

The Mark of Vorro

As I drive down the road at night, I am always looking for lighting on homes and businesses. When you’ve been designing outdoor lighting for a long time, you quickly see the difference between those lighting projects that were designed and installed by a professional lighting designer and those who sell and install lighting but are not actually trained as a designer.
The easiest way to tell these projects apart is what I like to call the mark of ‘Vorro’! We all know the mark of Zorro, the ‘Z’ that the famed Zorro slashed wherever he went for all to see. The mark of Vorro is the dreaded ‘V’ that is plainly visible for all to see in outdoor lighting systems installed by those who are not well-educated in how light performs or lighting design. This is frequently the mark of an inexperienced lighting installer who does little actual design.

The typical landscape lighting “bullet” light, whether it be a halogen or LED, and regardless of the quality of the fixture, emits light in a cone shape. When used to graze a wall, the light looks like a V since you only see part of the cone. These lamps or LEDs produce beams in the areas of 15, 30-45 or 60 degrees of spread. These beams are commonly known as spot beams, flood beams and wide flood beams. There are times when each of these beams can be used appropriately for a specific purpose. Unfortunately, some installers use the same fixture, same light intensity and same beam spread for everything, without taking into account the desired look or function of the fixture where it is being placed. What we see most often is the 35 watt halogen (or equivalent LED) with a mid-range 35 degree beam spread used for everything on the property from walls to trees.
When trying to graze a narrow column, for example, the skilled designer may choose the 15 degree spot beam to shoot a narrow light stream straight up the length of the column. On the other hand, if the designer wishes to graze a wider area, they may use the more diffused 60 degree beam for a softer, more radiant effect. Adding a linear spread lens to the fixture will widen the beam even more. Or the professional lighting designer could select an entirely different fixture all together. Personally, we tend to use wider wash fixtures when grazing expansive wall areas instead of the over-used bullet type fixture.

Since narrower beams are confining their light in a smaller beam area, they produce a more intense and distinctive V shaped light effect; while the wider beam is usually gentler, more even with a less pronounced V effect. If a linear spread lens is used on the wider beam, the V effect is usually eliminated. When using a wide wash fixture instead, there is no V to begin with since the light is typically emitted in approximately 180 degree spread.
The next time you’re driving down the road at night, look for the mark of Vorro … and beware.  Can we help you avoid the MARK OF VORO?  info@night-scenes.com

What Should You Expect in an Outdoor Lighting Proposal

What should you be able to learn from the landscape lighting proposal as it’s presented to you?

Those who are shopping for a landscape lighting installation are likely to see the common proposal or “bid” sheet. It will have the name of the contractor and their contact information, along with a list of materials, the price, and a place to sign on the dotted line. It may be only one or two pages and is generally very slim on content. If you’re looking for a very simple installation project, this may be all that is needed. But if you have a more in-depth or broader scope project in mind, what you really need is a much more descriptive design/proposal.

An informative proposal of design will actually break out what is to be done so you can better visualize what the final project is going to look like. To properly serve the home or property owner, a design has to be created first, THEN a list of materials, and a cost along with a dotted line.

At NIGHTSCENES, our design/proposal is usually between 5 and 10 pages long containing a comprehensive explanation with photographs, making it very visual and easy to understand. It describes the proposed design elements: light intensities, beam spreads, color of light and type of fixture for each lighting location. It also touches on the lighting technique that is being used at that location and its purpose. Is it moon lighting, silhouetting, path lighting, back lighting, front lighting, or another strategic placement? Is the fixture above ground or in-ground? What will the visible fixtures look like? With all of this information, the client will truly get a clearer idea of what is being proposed in their outdoor lighting plan.

Naturally, such a well-defined proposal takes a lot of work. It requires a consultation with the client on site. In some instances, it requires a set of landscape plans from a landscape architect or landscape designer if the plantings are either not in place or being changed. A lighting proposal of this caliber takes knowledge of plants and how they grow. A lot of photos need to be taken of each area to be accented. The professional lighting designer also needs to look at the outdoor property from INSIDE the home to understand what the view is going to be, looking out from inside the living, dining and master suite. (See our blog on this topic: ) Excellent designs also take a lot of time, experience and education to know how to get the best effects from each and every lighting fixture and placement. In most cases, our company does charge for this service because what our clients ultimately receive is an expressive, visual and informative design reflective of our artistic and technical training. We believe this helps them to feel more comfortable with our expertise and helps them to assess the value of their investment. Included in every proposal, of course, is our dedication to providing them our very best effort to meet their lighting needs by creating a unique custom design/proposal in order to deliver a truly beautiful outdoor lighting system.  Contact us at info@night-scenes for more information

He Just Grazed It

One of my favorite lighting techniques is grazing. When done properly, it does a great job of showing off the texture of the material which the lighting is accenting. When done poorly, the surface of the material is lost instead of being the primary focus of the lighting.

Here in central Texas, rock is very plentiful and is the primary building material for homes and businesses. The cool thing about rock is that it usually has wonderful color and rich texture, which can be beautifully highlighted at night. During the day, you may appreciate the color of the stone, but can’t really get a good feeling for its rough texture. But at night, if the proper light fixture with the correct light intensity, color and beam spread is placed in the right position reveals the interesting texture evoking its rustic surface.

In order to pick the proper fixture, light color, beam spread and intensity, we need to look at the surface we are trying to feature. The first thing to consider is the color of the rock. Dark colors absorb light, while light colors reflect light. The color of the stone or other façade will determine the intensity or lumen output that is necessary to do the job. Low light strength on a dark wall would fail to deliver the desired effect; and too much light on a very reflective wall will cause a lot of light bounce and be distracting.

Then we have to decide on the color of the light. This is a highly subjective topic. Some people love the warm glow of incandescent lighting, while others like a whiter light. The color of the stone can help you decide the color of light needed as well. A warm light will bring out the rich earthy colors like red or brown, while a whiter light will make blues and whites really pop.

Next, think about the beam spread. A narrow beam may throw a ‘V’ shape light on a wide wall, where a much wider, more diffused beam may allow for light which seems to have no specific shape at all. Personally, I like a very broad beam, unless I’m illuminating a column. Even then I’m most likely to use a slightly wider beam than necessary to soften things up a bit.

Finally, we have to determine the distance from the surface to place the fixture. A stucco wall is very flat with a fine texture; wood is the same. To properly accent these smoother surfaces, the fixture should be placed pretty close to the bottom of the wall or column. For a wall made of brick, the fixture will have to be placed a little further away from the wall. When it comes to a stone wall with very jagged rock, the light needs to be even further away. We’re not talking about several feet in difference here; we’re only talking about inches. A stucco wall might need a fixture placed only 6” away, while a stone wall may need the fixture to be placed 18” from the wall. Of course, the placement depends on the fixture, beam spread and intensity as well. All the elements work together to accomplish the right look.

Techniques such a grazing require a lot of practice to become skilled at achieving a desirable effect. With time and repetition it becomes quite easy to discover all of these things. But at the end of the day, the all-important night time focus of the system will help fine tune the final result.

We’re happy to show you what a great grazing technique can look like at your home or business.  info@night-scenes

Hardscape Lighting

Over the past few years several outdoor lighting manufacturers have developed their own version of the hardscape/under-cap fixture. A superior alternative to the rope light, these are fixtures designed to be hidden, installed linearly, and cast light generally downward. It started out as a halogen/incandescent fixture and has morphed into a pretty nifty LED product.

These photos are from Kichler Lighting

These fixtures are very versatile. To name a few uses, we can install them under a cap at the top of a retaining wall and allow the light to wash down the wall to show the texture of the rock while accenting the landscape or flower beds below. We can also install them under step caps to illuminate a set of steps without glare. When installed below benches they can shine onto a deck or patio seating area. But one of my favorite uses is to install them under hand rails on decks or steps to cast light down onto the surface.

We have these fixtures available to us in lengths of 3” to 18” and they are usually less than a ½” wide so we can use them in all kinds of locations.

I’m not a fan of rope light, and this product allows us to get a better and more durable effect than rope light can provide. Another interesting product to look out for is LED light tape. The kinks are still being worked out for outdoor use, but the potential is promising as another flexible option for hardscapes.

These products are actually simple to install – provided they are worked into the hardscape as it is being constructed. If the hardscape installers or home owners think about these applications before everything is done, the installation is easier and therefore more cost effective. But don’t be deterred – we have had much success installing these fixtures after the fact, as well.

When you are ready to tackle that hardscape project, let us know and we’ll design and install the proper hardscape fixtures to insure your project turns out great.

How Much Does FREE Cost?

I get a kick out of seeing companies in almost every industry or profession offering free this or that. The word FREE is a big trigger for consumers, and smart advertisers try to capitalize on that. In my industry, the offer is usually for “free consultation” or “free demonstration.” Now I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with this practice – we’re all trying to get our names heard in the mass media. But truthfully, the only way these things are free is if you, as the consumer, do not purchase anything from that provider. If you do make a purchase, that “free demonstration” is included in the price of your system. As part of the advertising budget, or simple overhead, the cost of something “free” is always incorporated into the business budget.

For my business, I must say that I actually do give a complimentary consult to perspective clients to talk about their wants and needs for outdoor lighting. The client needs to meet me and feel comfortable with me as a lighting professional if I want them to use my time and talents to design/install and then stand behind their professional outdoor lighting system. At this consultation we do not discuss actual design, but instead we talk about what the client wants from an outdoor lighting system. How do they use their space and where do they like to spend their outdoor time? We may also discuss their budget at this time. This free consult is limited to one hour. After that time, should the client decide that I am the lighting professional that they would like to do business with, they agree to pay me a design fee to create the lighting system that they would like.

I do NOT offer a “free demo” because I don’t believe I could do it honestly or fairly for myself or the potential client. As a business operator, I must charge for my materials and time so I don’t go out of business. To create a demonstration, fixtures, wire, transformers, etc. must be used, and time must be taken to set it all up. The majority of this time is at night, away from the family. I don’t believe that a service like this should be free, and I don’t think that the average outdoor lighting consumer would think that it should be. The materials used have a limited lifespan, and therefore do have an expense. If the provider of this service is to continue doing this, they must recover those expenses or the company fails. In order to compensate for those costs, they must recoup expenses for the time, materials and effort involved. If not from the consumer calling for the demonstration, then from ALL clients in some fashion. Under such circumstances, a demonstration is certainly not free. Perhaps a risk is being taken here by both parties involved, but I have been able to successfully sell my services using my photo gallery of work, and my ability to describe the desired effects of my designs. Standing confidently behind my work is reassuring to the client that we will not stop until they are completely happy with what they are paying for.

I am very fortunate to work with professionals in many different walks of life. My clients include rock stars, sports legends, doctors, lawyers, investors, and many other well-educated, business savvy folks. All of these fine people understand that time and knowledge does not come free to those who provide the service, nor to those who consume the service. These clients are very smart people who understand that you usually get what you pay for - and a free service is usually worth what is paid for it. They also understand that when a professional spends thousands of dollars to learn a craft, that individual needs to re-claim those expenses by charging appropriately for their services. These clients also appreciate that if a service provider does not make a decent profit for their business, they will not be around to service that system down the road because they will be out of business.

All of this being said, it doesn’t take a professional lighting designer to give the customer that just wants “five lights in the front” exactly what they want. Then the actual cost of the FREE demo just became the installation of a small lighting system. The client got just what they wanted (hopefully) but the demo was not free, it was covered when they wrote the check purchasing the whole system.

Lit With WHAT?

So, I was taking a little break from doing a lighting design, and decided to check out my TweetDeck feed where I have a search for landscape lighting all set up. I see a tweet saying:

“Outdoor Landscape Lighting Kits. Lit using our kit. Link below.”

(This was the photo used)

Naturally curious, I had to click the link to check it out! It takes me to a Pinterest page that I know quite well, with a photo that actually belongs . . . TO ME. The imposter had cropped out my identifying logo watermark on the photo, and did a flip - but sure enough, it was my photo of one of my projects – most certainly NOT lit using anyone’s kit. You know what I had to do then, right? I had to click the photo to see where it went, and there it was - on some lighting distributor’s web page. This operation, RLLD Designs, had my photo there captioned with the phrase, “Lit using one of our kits.” I was dumbfounded. Really? The kit pictured beside it was one of those boxed sets you could get at your local home improvement store that wouldn’t light a dog house very well - and it was supposed to achieve those lighting effects that I had designed and created especially for that homeowner? Not even close!

First of all, at best it’s pure and simple false and misleading advertising! Second, they cropped out my logo and then used it without my permission. This is just plain stealing! On one hand I’m flattered that they felt my photo represented such great lighting work that it would help sell their wares, but on the other hand I’m pretty angry that the stuff they were selling was a seriously inferior product - and they stole my photo to convince people to buy it.

The high quality products that I use in my designs are all excellent, and produce a wonderful effect in the landscape. The products that these crooks had linked to my photo were very cheap and could not possibly produce the same effects, and would also have been a nightmare to maintain. Sadly, the unwitting consumer who had been persuaded to purchase this crappy kit, expecting to get the results seen in the photo of my work – a custom designed lighting project using high grade fixtures and superior lamps installed by a professionally trained and certified crew – well, let’s just say that consumer was bound to be disappointed.

Needless to say, I dropped them a nice little email expressing my dismay. And guess what? The photo was taken down within an hour! Understandably, the outdoor lighting industry is very visual, and posting photos of our work online is necessary to show people what we can do. We want folks to be able to compare projects between us and others who post their work on their websites, Facebook pages, Pinterest or blogs. That does not mean that any other business can just filch those photos and use them to sell their merchandise without permission.

NightScenes does not publicly endorse any products, so if you are trying to sell something, do NOT take one of our photos without our permission. We have, on occasion, given such permission for selected publications. If you have a publication, and you would like to use some of our photos, please just ask. We try to remain open to opportunities that will bring positive attention to our company, our work and the lighting industry overall. Professional courtesy can take you a long way, but the consequences of this kind of thievery can be quite dire.

If you would like to visit OUR Pinterest page, please do.

Landscape Lighting can be Dark Sky Friendly and Still Look Great

It’s been a long time since we’ve talked about how landscape lighting can be done in a dark sky friendly way. Actually, the last time we covered this subject was before LED lighting became the primary landscape lighting products.

This is taken from the International Dark Sky Association’s Model Light Ordinance regarding outdoor residential lighting:

· Outdoor lighting for residential properties including multiple residential properties not having common areas, all outdoor luminaires shall be fully shielded and shall not exceed the allowed lumen output.

· Exceptions:

o At front entry, one unshielded fixture not to exceed 630 lumens or one shielded fixture not to exceed 1260 lumens. The maximum lumen output of unshielded luminaires excluding main entry to be no more than 315 lumens. A shielded fixture does not allow any lighting to be emitted above the horizontal plane of the fixture.

· Low voltage landscape lighting fixtures aimed away from adjacent properties not to exceed 525 lumens each.

· Shielded directional flood lighting aimed so that direct glare is not visible from adjacent properties and not exceeding 1260 lumens. (This most commonly refers to the “security” lights installed at the corners of homes. Bare bulb fixtures are not acceptable here and if they are already in place, install clip-on glare shields. These fixtures should not be aimed above 45 degrees.)

· Lighting installed with a vacancy sensor, where the sensor extinguishes the lights no more than 15 minutes after the area is vacated.

So, according to this document, there are not many restrictions for low voltage landscape lighting except that the fixture should not exceed a lumen output of 525 lumens (approximately a 40 watt halogen lamp) and they should aim away from adjacent properties. There are not any restrictions on total lumens per property or total fixtures. It does not separate up lighting from down lighting or pathway lighting.

The reason that there are very few restrictions on low voltage landscape lighting is simply because it really doesn’t contribute much to sky glow and over all light pollution. The real culprits in light pollution are high voltage, high lumen output fixtures that aim up into the sky, billboard lighting is especially bad in my opinion. This does not mean however that an outdoor lighting designer should not take steps to insure that their design not only follows the Dark Sky MLO but actually improves on it.

Here is what we suggest for developments or property owners who want to be dark sky friendly:

It is no longer a good idea to use wattages of lamps to regulate the output of lighting fixtures since a low wattage LED lamp or fixture can produce more lumens than some high wattage halogen lamps. This is why I am specifying everything in lumens as does the International Dark Sky Association. I agree with them that there is really no need to go above 525 lumens per low voltage landscape lighting fixture, especially in a dark sky friendly development.

It is highly recommended that all outdoor lighting be LED now that there are so many good options available. The primary benefits of LED lighting are the energy savings, which is a reduction of our global footprint and it also lacks infrared light which is a major contributor to sky glow and the attraction of bugs. LED also saves on regular maintenance expenses.

Residential landscape lighting should be shielded and aimed properly to minimize glare. Up lighting should be minimal when used with glare shields placed toward adjacent properties or roadways.

The color of the lighting should be a warm white of 2700K-3000K. When creating a moonlighting effect, the light color should not exceed 4200K (the color of natural moon light).

I recommend that the total lumens of a landscape lighting system not exceed 13,125 lumens. Although I cannot find any actual limitations in the MLO, I feel that a dark sky friendly development should have a cap in place. This would be a total of about 25 fixtures at the maximum lumen output. So, if the lighting designer uses fixtures with lower lumen output, they could use more fixtures and still create designs below the 13,125 lumen limit. This would mean that properties that require several shielded pathway fixtures would have no problems meeting these standards while others who may want to really light up some trees would be required to use lower lumen fixtures and fewer of them.

We think that this statement strikes a nice balance to allow the designer to create a great outdoor lighting system on just about any property and still go beyond the Dark Sky MLO. Property owner’s should also bear in mind any additional restrictions applied by the Homeowner’s Association, informing the designer in advance, so that expensive alterations are not necessary after the fact.