Outdoor Lighting From The Inside

One of things I always do when meeting with a client to develop an outdoor lighting design is to ask if I can come inside. Puzzled, with that tilted-puppy-head look, they generally allow it while I explain that outdoor lighting isn’t just for the friends, neighbors, and strangers passing by that see their home from the outside – it has to create a beautiful view for the folks inside as well.
The homeowner paying for outdoor lighting should also enjoy the benefit of their investment while entertaining inside, preparing a meal for the family, settling in with a book or even washing the dishes. Yes, we want to turn their windows into living works of art at night. Window casings and curtains create great frames for the wonderfully lighted art work - their landscape. This visual works especially well with sliding glass doors, and window walls commonly seen on waterfront property or in the central Texas hill country where the views can be spectacular. When we add drama to the landscape with light focusing on the view from inside the home, the room feels more expansive and helps to bring the outside space in.

One of our clients has this view outside of her kitchen window. I’m betting that washing dishes isn’t quite so bad when you can look at this, right?

A professional outdoor lighting designer should look at all the aspects of the design with an artist’s eye for everyone to enjoy from all usable spaces. The point of view of the inside dweller is just as important as that of the outside observer. So, if your outdoor lighting designer doesn’t ask to come in, they may only be looking at the design from one prospective - their own.

For a different perspective on outdoor lighting, contact us at info@night-scenes.com

How Do You Define Value?

By Patty Gosselin

Value: an amount expressed in money or another medium of exchange that is thought to be a fair exchange for something; the worth, importance, or usefulness of something to somebody.

There are so many men who can figure costs, and so few who can measure values.  ~Author Unknown

It is often said that the value of a thing is only that which someone is willing to pay for it. True. But it must also be noted that value is a highly subjective concept as each individual holds value for a specific thing differently. In our outdoor lighting business, the product we sell is not actually lighting but design, atmosphere, ambiance, safety and security.

As we approach each new lighting project, we try to glean from the client what it is that they value most. Is it the potential for enjoyable evening gatherings of friends and family, or the view of the beautiful landscape they love enhanced and highlighted at night? Perhaps safety is the greatest concern, knowing that falls and missteps are less likely to occur where illumination is placed. These types of values are most definitely priceless in the hearts of the client – and yet we must still agree on the fair “amount expressed in money” in order to fulfill the ideal scenario for them, embracing the closely held value prompting the homeowner to seek out lighting for their outdoor spaces. We create lighting designs to do exactly that.

A monetary investment in your home should always increase its value to you, the homeowner, regardless of the considered return in dollars. If your outdoor areas are re-created with lighting to allow you the pleasure of using the space as you wish, and bring you joy, then ultimately you will be happy with your choice. When you feel confident that the importance and usefulness of this design has value equal to or greater than the money spent, then your expectations have been exceeded and you will enjoy it even more.

We encourage our clients to be clear and honest about what they value in their pursuit of outdoor lighting for their homes so that we may propose to exceed their expectations.

Let us know if we can exceed your expectations by contacting us at info@night-scenes so we can schedule a consultation. 

Why I don’t Want LED Fixtures That I Can Work On

The average consumer hasn’t really been exposed to all the LED landscape lighting products that are available in the market today, and you don’t really need to go looking for all of them – there are thousands! -- unless you find it interesting. Just listen to me and I’ll give you the enlightenment skinny, so to speak.

In the landscape lighting industry we have three major LED options to choose from. We can use LED lamps in regular outdoor lighting fixtures. I have written in the past about the good and bad when it comes to using LED lamps in the landscape.

There is also the completely potted and sealed LED fixture which encapsulates all the workings and cannot be opened, repaired or manipulated. This is my personal favorite. It is impervious to the outdoor elements. The downside to this fixture is that the designer must know the amount of lumens they need, the desired beam spread and the color of the light that they want for each fixture location. This usually isn’t a problem for the seasoned designer, but can be a big issue for the novice who is still learning the craft of outdoor lighting design.

Last, and possibly least, there is the product that is marketed to us as the “all-in-one fixture.” Manufacturers and distributors claim, “You can just change out the chip to make the fixture brighter.” Or “If something goes wrong, just pop it open and replace the chip board.” Then they give us accessories that allow us to change the beam spread and light color. They promise versatility and flexibility in one fixture – easily managed by the lighting professional. All of this sounds great, right?

WRONG! What we are working with in this case is electronics - we are talking about circuit boards here, not just light bulbs and lenses. If I can get into that light fixture and play with that circuit board, care to guess what else can get into that fixture? The worst enemy of ALL electronic circuit boards: WATER. This is usually condensation but it’s still water.

And what happens when circuit boards get wet? Absolutely - they FAIL.

It does no good to say that your LED chips will last 50,000 hours when your circuit board won’t last a year in the landscape. So far, I have not found a single fixture that allows access into it that has stood up longer than a year. Not a single one. I did try them, I promise. I have had to replace every one of them at least once, and I’m scared of what will happen to those that are still out there. I’m sure I’ll have to replace those as well in the near future, but I assure you, it won’t be with the same product. It will be with a completely sealed and potted fixture that I can’t “fix” if something goes wrong with it (which rarely happens). Then, if something does go wrong with that sealed fixture, I just pull it out and replace it with a brand new model. I don’t leave the old fixture there and just replace a part that is going to FAIL AGAIN as soon as it gets a little moisture in the fixture again.

So, when your lighting contractor suggests, “This fixture is great because I can manipulate it like this or that,” then duck for cover. Insist that the contractor either use high quality LED lamps which are designed and tested to be used in outdoor lighting fixtures and have a warranty which reflects that; or they use a completely sealed and potted LED fixture with a long full replacement warranty. Don’t settle for anything less. You’re paying for high quality LED products and you deserve just that and nothing else.

Have questions, leave a comment below or drop us a note at info@night-scenes.com

Comments on Our Blog

We really love it when people read this blog and leave their comments. I wish everyone who read this blog would do that, it would be fantastic! We work hard to research topics, speak from our experience and make an effort to teach our readers something new with every posting we make. We’ve had over 23,500 views as of this time (thank you!) and it sure would be amazing if we had even half that many comments!

Heck, we’d be happy if one in ten would leave a word or two about their thoughts on the subject.

Instead, what we see a lot are other outdoor lighting installers, distributors and others posting in the comment section nothing more than a few words with links to THEIR websites! They are not comments – they are ads. It’s not that I mind links to great content because I’m a firm believer in sharing wonderful information that can be accessed from our blog. But I am against those who try to use our blog to promote their own businesses, most of which I would not endorse at all. Pretty much everyone who has left these links are, in fact, those who I would advise our readers to stay very far away from!

If you have a business and you would like your customers to get the kind of content that we have here on this blog, then please put a link to our blog on your website. If you don’t want to do that, take the time and put in the effort to write your own blog. Don’t use our hard work and time to try to get free advertising for your company. Aside from being unethical, potentially fraudulent, and dishonest -- it’s just rude! We don’t generally make many endorsements through this blog, but would be happy to consider your product or service if you make a formal request – just email us. info@night-scenes.com

So please, leave your comments on our subject matter, or even pose questions. But don’t try to add a link to your business – it just won’t make it to the blog. (We have to approve all posts before they are allowed to be viewed publicly.) If you want to guest blog, let us know and we’ll discuss it. If you would like to link to this blog, by all means do that, and we’ll try to educate your web visitors about outdoor lighting.

We can’t wait to see the comments that this blog generates!

If you would rather email us, please do that here. info@night-scenes.com

Will Professional Outdoor Lighting Increase The Value Of My Home?

The short answer is yes and no.

There really hasn’t been a study that I know of to prove that professional outdoor lighting actually increases the monetary value of a home. It has been published, however, that a well designed and installed professional outdoor lighting system does add a perceived 20% increase in value. This means that it makes a home LOOK like it’s worth 20% more. Ideally, that indicates that it does indeed increase the value of a home because, as we all know, we take great stock in the way things look and usually are quite willing to pay more for things that look good than those that do not.

Personally, I think that a well-designed professional outdoor lighting system adds a lot of VALUE to any property. This value may not always be monetary, but it is always worth – however subjective. Let’s look at the word:

· Value: noun 1. relative worth, merit, or importance: the value of a college education; the value of a queen in chess. 2. monetary or material worth, as in commerce or trade ...

As you can see, even the dictionary places worth above monetary value. So what is professional outdoor lighting worth when you and your guests can move around safely at night? What is the worth of the lighting if a burglar decides to go to the neighbor’s unlit house because it’s dark? What is it worth to you when you can sit outside after dark, feeling safe and comfortable with soft lighting in the area? These are the things that I feel have value far exceeding what the monetary expense of an outdoor lighting system may have been.

I also believe that great lighting really does add monetary value. Like many other home improvements, you are actually spending good money to make your property look better, be safer and be more secure. When someone puts their home on the market, and then shows that home before and after dark, they easily display the increased “value” of the home (and its extended potential use of outdoor spaces) simply due to the professional outdoor lighting. To me – and also many potential buyers – this will increase the value of the home, which can translate in to real dollars.

Maybe we can help add real value to your home.  Drop us a note and let’s take a look.  info@night-scenes.com

How To Light A Sego Palm

SEGO PALMS are among the most difficult landscape plants to accent, in my opinion. Personally, I think the sego palm is a very attractive plant, but I also think it could be considered the “joke” of the palm tree world. Normally when you think of palm trees, you think tall, skinny trees with leaves at the top. Then you see a sego palm - which is very short and wide and quite dense.

When lighting the usual palm tree like a date palm or a sabol palm, you’ll often see two “bullet” lights shining up the trunks and illuminating the tree and canopy. These fixtures will usually use a narrow beam to really make the canopy pop. But what about our humble short, squatty sego palm? Surprisingly, it seems that I always see that same bullet light method used for these trees – as though every palm can be illuminated exactly the same way, which just gets all over me! Using this standard “palm tree lighting” method simply won’t work on a sego palm. Although it could be illuminated with a bullet light pointing at it from the side, it would have to be placed several feet away from the tree and use a much wider beam spread. Generally, I find these light fixtures positioned within a foot of the sego palm, and in this instance, there is only a round spot of light on the bushy tree and that’s it. Not attractive and certainly not enhancing these very interesting trees.

So, what is the best way to light a sego palm? My favorite way to do this is from above. Since these trees are short and wide, we can accent the entire canopy at one time when placing a fixture above the plant. Since the leaves are very dark and thick, the leaves will almost look like they sparkle at night when a soft breeze blows through. There is also a much lighter colored center that looks very nice this way as well.

But what if there is no tall object to allow for down lighting? The next best thing would be to use a wash fixture which throws a very wide light beam. Even with these very wide pattern emitters, you may need more than one fixture, depending on the size of the tree and angles of visibility.

In another instance, let’s say that you happen to have a very old sego palm tree that has grown quite tall. Now, the tallest sego palm tree that I have ever seen was about 6’ tall, and I have only seen two of them that large. Maybe in California they are bigger? I don’t know, but here in central Texas, that’s the biggest I’ve seen. If you do come across trees that size, then you may want to use a couple of wash fixtures from below to accent the trunk and underside of the canopy, like the taller palm trees. But I still recommend using the very widest beam instead of the narrow beam bullet fixtures to get the best possible result.

Sego palms are not a very cheap tree and they really can become a nice focal point in the landscape when properly illuminated.  Please leave your comments below and if you would like more information on lighting palm trees, drop us a note at info@night-scenes.com

Fire Ants, Get Rid Of Them!

Every spring and fall we talk about fire ants because every year we confront this problem.
These pests are not native to the United States but were accidentally imported from South America in 1918 and introduced first in Mobile, Alabama. Since then they have spread to all the southeastern states and continue to trek west.

They are ruthless critters, invasive and destructive. If you have never encountered these tiny beasts, one of the most important things you should know is that a fire ant bite HURTS! If you’ve ever stepped in a fire ant mound you know first-hand that they got their name from the burning, stinging pain inflicted by the bite, and the blister that forms afterwards. If you’ve ever had a child fall into a fire ant mound, you’ve felt their pain. Also keep an eye on your pets; these fire ants can really do a number on them and will be hard to detect beneath the animal’s fur. Fire ants mound up over light fixtures or get inside causing tremendous damage; they also invade transformers and destroy them.

Outdoor light fixtures, no matter how good they are, are no match for these creatures, and a manufacturer warranty does not cover damage by fire ants. This is why it is so important to treat your southern property for these pests. Although we used to recommend a product called OVER-N-OUT for the treating of your lawn, since they have changed the formula we can no longer recommend that product. It used to be that you could treat your lawn once a year with that product and it was good-to-go, but not anymore. Now the instructions say twice a year (but the price is still the same) and even that doesn't work. Believe me, I tried it at my house. If you have a lawn maintenance company, ask them to treat your property for fire ants. Preventative treatment against fire ant damage will certainly save you the expense and inconvenience of replacing part of your landscape lighting system and a costly transformer.
Knowing your lawn is safe from the pain and destruction of fire ants will help you enjoy your outdoor spaces and landscape lighting even more in the months to come!
If you notice issues with your lighting system and you also notice that you have fire ants, you may need to call in a professional.  If you’re in our service area, drop us a note and we’ll get you taken care of.  info@night-scenes.com

LED Troubleshooting

Who would have thought just 10 years ago that an outdoor lighting company would have to learn about troubleshooting electronic components? Most people don’t realize that LED lighting is made up of all kinds of electronic circuitry with diodes, resistors, wires, drivers, and more. Gone are the days of just finding the burned out light bulb.

Regular halogen or incandescent light bulbs have a filament which eventually burns in half resulting in a burned out light bulb. An easy fix – just replace the light bulb.

LED lights are a whole different animal – they do not have filaments. Instead, they have electronics. Electronics that look a lot like you took a computer apart. This is one of the reasons the LED lights cost a lot more that a strand of wire in a glass tube.

Moisture is the greatest enemy an LED light can face and is the culprit most often in a failure. Imagine what might happen if you dropped your cell phone in your landscape and the irrigation system turns on.  It’s important to make very sure that any LED product that is installed in the landscape is completely sealed and potted to insure that no moisture can get into those electronics.

The primary problem now when a light goes out is that it’s usually a short circuit in a single LED fixture or lamp causing an entire run of lights to go out. So, instead of looking for a burned out light bulb and replacing it, we may have to disconnect fixtures completely, one at a time, to find the one that is causing the problem. Because of the complexity of the fixtures and the possible troubleshooting, it is wiser to call a professional in than to tackle the problem yourself. Fortunately, it doesn’t happen often and good warranties can prevent this from being very costly and of course if it’s a NightScenes system that is less than 3 years old, there is no cost at all to replace a bad LED fixture. 

How is your LED outdoor lighting performing?  Does it need a check-up?  We’ll be happy to take a look, just drop us a quick note at info@night-scenes.com

Business is Business

WARNING: I’m going to get on my soapbox now.

I have written many times in local publications about business – particularly small business, and what it takes to start up and stay in business. Although it’s impossible to get through the day without transacting some kind business with someone, many folks simply don’t realize that all business ventures are not operated on the same scale. Those in the work force are more likely to work for someone else than to own their own companies, making it difficult for them to truly appreciate the struggles and obstacles that the small business owner must overcome to stay afloat, pay their bills and feed their family. As a small business owner myself, I face a new challenge every day in meeting profit goals so that I can adequately pay my crews (and myself), pay the basic expenses for the company, fulfill my tax obligations to state and federal government, and have enough operating capital left over to cover unexpected budget busters like a flat tire, a busted piece of equipment or an increase in materials. While I won’t really go into all the things that go into making a business run on a budget, I am going to blow off a little steam.

Our company is a FOR PROFIT venture. This means that when we provide products and services, we will charge a fair price that will help us to cover ALL of our business expenses including the materials used, labor, gas and truck maintenance, office space, electricity, phone, taxes, advertising, etc. After all of those expenses are covered, we want to have a little bit left over. This is known as profit. Profits are used in a variety of ways: re-investing in the company to buy better equipment so we can provide better services, incentive bonuses for our technicians when they do a superior job, educational seminars for the crew, saving for leaner times, or even making donations to charities that we believe in – just to name a few. At NightScenes, we think all of these are reasonable and justified as we conduct our business with integrity.

We also support other small businesses and try to engage with local companies as often as possible. We share many of the same struggles, and it’s just a good practice to do business with your neighbors. But I know that these companies are also FOR PROFIT businesses facing many of the same expenses and trials that I battle. So it tries my patience a little when a fellow local business owner asks for a “favor” or expects me to work for free while he’s trying to save a buck. It just seems disrespectful. Don’t get me wrong – I love to work with these folks, and will cut a deal to minimize my own profit occasionally; and I even enjoy a good barter relationship. But if I do cut another business a great deal, it is insulting to me and my company to be asked for something more for FREE. This is really taking advantage of my good nature and neighborly good will. Any honest business that agrees to work a deal with little or no profit, is investing in that relationship. Asking for more is expecting that accommodating businessperson to reach into his/her own pocket and pay for the privilege of working. Not really a square deal, huh? Any additional work that was not included in the original agreed price is EXTRA -- and therefore, needs to be billed separately in order to avoid a loss to the business providing the service.

We all know that today’s economy has caused most businesses – even in Texas – to be cautious with their spending, and careful with whom they do business with. This is why it is becoming difficult to do “favors” for fellow entrepreneurs. These are the people we hoped would KNOW BETTER since they are also in the same boat. Unfortunately, some of these unscrupulous folks may only stay in business because they have been successful in getting others to work for them for little or nothing - and they take advantage of this generosity. While we’d like to believe we can be neighborly, it may just be too expensive. This is what the saying “no good deed goes unpunished” means, right?

It used to be that this sort of unfair or lopsided relationship was a rare thing. But, sadly, it happens far too often these days, forcing some of us to always keep our guard up, protecting ourselves and our companies against costly situations like this. Unfortunately, in one case, I’m afraid I’ve done my last “favor” for a local business.

It can be a hard lesson, but you know what they say: Business is business.   Thank you for letting me vent, now back to lighting.

Mercury Vapor Lighting-Revisited

We’ve all seen them. The distinctive eerie green glow of mercury vapor lighting dots the landscapes of commercial properties all over the world casting a harsh glare like alien beacons in the night. More frightening than the spooky appearance of these lights is the elemental make-up of the fixtures: mercury. Because each of these fixtures uses mercury to produce light, the EPA Act of 2005 banned all manufacture and/or import of this type of lighting effective January 1, 2008. As existing supplies of the necessary ballasts for these lighting fixtures dwindle, some folks are using Metal Halide ballasts with Mercury Vapor lamps. In doing this they are using lamps that they already KNOW are being phased, out instead of doing what is in the best interest of the client long term! This takes a bad light to new levels of abuse by sucking up even more energy since the metal halide ballast does not work as well for mercury vapor lamps. This 1940’s unit was discontinued by the United States for its inefficient use of energy and potential environmental hazards. Putting this kind of band-aid on an already power-hungry monster is simply not a good idea for anyone.

Besides the above mentioned issues with mercury vapor, there’s also the look of the light. Those who install this lighting as down lighting call it “moon lighting.” My question is, since when does the moon produce a green light? Maybe the Vulcan moon produces green light, but the moon of planet Earth produces a white light since the surface of our moon is gray and it reflects the light from our sun. This ghoulish green light makes the leaves of trees look pretty good since it brings out the green color, but it makes human skin look grey - like a corpse. This is because it has a terrible CRI (color rendering index).
NightScenes has never advocated the use of these fixtures for any application. In fact, we rarely use any fixtures or lamps other than energy-saving, earth-friendly LED now – even for commercial properties. The good news for mercury vapor users is that retro-fitting with LED is now possible! This cost effective alternative uses only 14 watts or so, instead of 100 (or 175), and is rated for more than twice the life of the mercury vapor lamps. Rated for 50,000 hours of use, these LED lamps save money in maintenance as well as the incredible savings of 80% on the energy bill. LED lamps can produce the same light output in color and intensity. Warmer colors are also available for those looking for a more natural lighting effect. So what’s not to love?
Whatever you do, do not allow an electrician or anyone else, talk you into using a metal halide ballast to keep your old, out dated, being phased out, ugly, poisonous, and environmentally destructive mercury vapor lights! It is way too easy - and may even be less expensive - to convert to LED.
http://lightingcontrolsassociation.org/2007-energy-law-eliminates-sale-of-probe-start-metal-halide-fixtures/
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-110publ414/pdf/PLAW-110publ414.pdf
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-109publ58/pdf/PLAW-109publ58.pdf no

Do you have lighting that needs to be updated?  Maybe NightScenes can help.  Drop us an email at info@night-scenes to set up an appointment.

Please be sure to leave us your comments below.

Safety Lighting For Halloween

The little ghouls are on the way! They show up with bags, buckets, and body bags (I mean pillow cases) to collect as many goodies as they can carry. Yes, Halloween is almost here – and, of course, I’m talking about outdoor lighting to make sure these little monsters make their rounds without tripping and getting themselves injured. We don’t want any unintentional spilled blood, now do we?

We all know that if we expect these little princesses, super-heroes, aliens and goblins we should leave our front door light on, right? While this is a great way to let them know they are welcome, does it also do a good job of lighting the approach to and from your door? Are any steps along the way to your haunted mansion illuminated well? If you have a flagstone walkway with grass between the stones, is it well lit to help avoid an accidental fall? Do you have a lot of trees in your front yard that block a lot of ambient light that is in the area, making the walkway feel darker? I understand that you want to create a super spooky atmosphere for the holiday, but safety can be a serious concern – and a trip to the hospital or the ensuing lawsuit is no way to celebrate Halloween!

If you or your minions will not be out closely supervising the travelling hordes on your property, then the best way to make sure everyone can move around safely is to use some well -positioned quality down lighting from trees which allows for a very wide and even light. Path or spread lighting fixtures are also a good idea if you don’t have large trees near your walkway. A good path fixture will cast a ring of light that is approximately 10’ around and shines the light down onto the walkway without shining into the eyes of the person walking along the way. It’s also smart to stagger the fixtures from side to side, or place them all on one side of the walkway to avoid the “runway” look that we see far too often.

Please don’t use flood lights which can shine into the eyes causing temporary blindness. It’s very hard to see where you’re going when you have a bright light shining right in your eyes.

Remember that these little ones frequently have something over their face which can interfere with their vision, so anything you can do to make it safer for them to receive their treat would make Mom and Dad Monster especially grateful. Happy Halloween - and may the lighting force be with you!

If you think you may need a little more safety lighting around your home, let us know.  We’ll be very happy to take care of that for you.  info@night-scenes.com

How Resorts Can Save Money

We have covered the topic of LED lighting saving money for home owners and property owners associations many times but have rarely talked about larger properties like resorts or other larger properties.  These could include spas, museums, parks, etc. 

Below is a video from our friends at Kichler Lighting that talks about a project in Hawaii.  Now I know that I’m in central Texas and it’s not Hawaii but the principles are the same.  These properties can save a lot of money in energy but even more money in maintenance costs!  Let’s face it, labor costs a lot more than electricity in central Texas but if we can save in both categories, then we’re that much better off. 

http://youtu.be/DCmDVu2oPOs

On another note, we installed an LED lighting system for a local sub division where a halogen system was originally designed to be installed.  I’m not actually including the project name because, to be quite frank, we didn’t design the system and we don’t really like the way it looks from a design standpoint.  It was designed by an architect and not a lighting designer.  Anyway, we were able to install a 100% LED system for a lot less money than the halogen system would have cost to install.  Now this is a new installation and not a retrofit situation but it goes to show that LED is not as expensive as most people seem to believe and in some cases can actually be far more cost effective than any other light source.

We look forward to your comments below.