Drama, Drama, Drama!!

Sometimes drama is a bad thing, but let’s talks about some good drama.
One way to create drama in your landscape is by using an up lighting technique. Since all natural light comes from the top down, turning that around and shining light up can create a very dramatic effect.
This can work very well with trees, bushes, rock walls, and statuary. A little goes a long way with this technique. Too much drama is never a good thing, and this is also true in your landscape. Since this effect is so striking, it can seem busy if used too much. “Less is more” is the rule to create an impressive display.
Limiting use of up lighting will actually enhance the desired dramatic effect in your landscape. First, choose your focal points - these are the items that you really want to bring attention to and highlight. Then decide the best lighting technique for that item, let’s say it’s a very large crape myrtle tree for example. For this item, you could probably front or cross light it making it your primary focal point in that area. You can still use more up lighting in the area but instead of placing the fixtures in front of the other trees; you may try placing the fixtures behind. This lighting technique draws the eye through the tree, toward your primary focal point that lies beyond – like your house, perhaps. You would then use softer techniques around that dramatic feature. Mixing up your lighting techniques throughout the property will add balance and produce a more pleasing appearance.

So, drama can be good in your landscape, but just like in life - too much drama is a bad thing.
Visit our website to learn more about NightScenes here www.night-scenes.com

Bye Bye Mercury Vapor

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 of this type of lighting effective January 1, 2008. As existing supplies of the necessary ballasts for these lighting fixtures dwindle, some folks are fitting the 100 watt mercury vapor fixture with a 175 watt metal halide ballast, another lamp in the HID (high intensity discharge) family. This takes a bad light to new levels of abuse by sucking up even more energy! 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.

NightScenes has never advocated the use of these fixtures for any application. In fact, we rarely use any fixtures or lamps other than 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, instead of 100 (or 175), and is rated for more than twice the life of the mercury vapor which is no longer being manufactured. 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?

Light Positions

So, why do I place lights in different positions on plants and trees?  The main reason is to create some depth and interest in the landscape.

When you look at different lighting projects you mostly find that the installer places the fixture (usually only one) in front of just about every tree or shrub.  What this does is make everything look flat and BORING. 

By placing fixtures behind or even beside some plantings it helps to draw the eye through the object on toward whatever is illuminated behind it like the home which is front lit.

A good lighting design will also use multiple fixtures on trees that are large enough to give the tree more dimension.

Here is an example of using some back lighting on a large tree and some front lighting on other objects behind it.  You’ll find that this looks much better than front lighting everything.

LED Landscape Lighting

We have been installing 100% LED landscape lighting for over a year and a half now and we don’t see any sense in turning back.  Just like you no longer see horse and buggies parked along the road or gas lanterns hanging on the streets for light, times change and lighting has FINALLY changed.

We are often asked why we have made the change and so many others have not.  The answer is this, we have found very good LED products that we truly believe in.  The manufacturers that we purchase from have backed their products with warrantees that prove their commitment to their products and therefore, we know that the products that we are installing are of the highest quality.  This way we can say with confidence that these products, though they cost more up front, will actually save our clients money over the long term.  Others are sitting back and waiting for this technology to be “proven over time”.  Here’s the problem with that, while their waiting, their clients are paying more for lamps, service and energy.  The contractor isn’t loosing anything (right now) while waiting.  The end customer however is paying plenty for that contractor to come out each year and replace burned out lamps.  The customer is the one paying 75% more for electricity to operate those lights as well.

We would rather go ahead and trust in the technology and our manufacturers who we have been doing business with for years.  We’ve sold their other products for years and have never had a warranty issue, why would we think differently now?

LED lighting uses 75% less energy and lasts about 40,000 hours.  This means that there are no lamp replacement costs for a very long time, usually between 15 and 20 years, depending on how long the lights are operating each day.  When taking the costs of annual lamp maintenance and energy into account, the LED lighting system actually ends up costing about 50% LESS than the typical halogen lighting system.

The two primary questions I get are; what about the color and what about the output of the LED?  Here are a couple of our LED projects that we have installed.  These are 100% LED projects and you can be the judge of the color and intensity of the light that these LED products can put out.

These are mostly 4 watt LED fixtures that we are using in these projects and the most we use, to illuminate very large oak trees, are 12.5 watts and they do a GREAT job.

Now I would be remiss if I said that we had 100% success with these products.  We have had a few fixtures that didn’t work but the manufacturer took care of it and we’ve had a LOT more issues with halogen lamps over the years than we have with the LED products that we’ve been installing.

LED lighting is here to stay and we would rather lead the way than try to catch up later and cost our clients a lot of money along the way.

See the effect, not the source.

 

I really have to get better at keeping up with this blog!! 

I just read a brief article and realized that I really  needed to write something about GLARE.  Glare is the biggest problem to overcome as an outdoor lighting designer.  How do you accent or highlight something without showing the source of the light?

The first thing that we have to do is use a light fixture with a glare shield.  This will allow us to eliminate the glare from one direction but what about the other viewing locations?  I also have used fixtures with no glare shield so…It may not be possible to block the glare from every direction but there are a few tricks to help. 

One of my favorite things to do is make sure that there is a plant that can block the fixture.  This works very well when there are only one or two viewing angles.  Another thing I do is use a large rock to block the view to the fixture.

We always have to make sure that whatever we do to hide the fixture, we need to make it look natural.  I’ve actually added a form of yard art to hide a fixture that was washing a wall and guess what happened.  It created a wonderful silhouetted effect!!  I just love it when things come together and make me look good.

A good lighting designer knows how light fills a space and how to go about eliminating glare.

PAR Well Lights

There are many different types of fixtures and lamps and they all have different primary applications. 

There are so many lighting projects out there that have nothing but PAR well lights which are being used to illuminate a house, trees and everything else.  These projects were probably installed by an irrigation or landscape company that installs lighting as an “add on” item for a little extra profit.  Not to say that there aren’t landscape or irrigation companies that can and do install quality lighting systems and take the task seriously.  While this lighting looks better than no lighting at all, it doesn’t look like it should, if it were designed using the proper fixtures, lamps and lenses for the many tasks.

A little history about the ever popular PAR well light.  The PAR lamp was originally designed to be a head light for tractors and cars back in the 40s or so and have changed very little since.  Really the only change is that the lamp is now available as a halogen lamp.  As for the fixture itself, it is a piece of 6” PVC pipe with a lamp holder and that’s about it.  The wire attaches directly to the lamp on the back side.

We have very rarely used PAR well lights for several reasons.  First is that it is very old lighting technology and is not very versatile.  There are however filters and lenses that can be used to change things up a little.  Another issue is that this fixture should NOT be used in flower beds that have leaves and mulch.  These lights can get very hot and have been known to catch flower beds on fire.  One more issue is that this fixture does not protect the lamp at all, allowing water and other things to contact the lamp which can cause all kinds of problems.  Here in the south you will find these fixtures completely engulfed with ants trying to stay warm.  Where we have used these fixtures is in turf areas.  In these cases we use a cast brass grate over the fixture to cover and protect the lamp.  When installing this type of fixture we are sure to add about 4” of pea gravel at the bottom of the fixture for drainage and we also use an insect repellent in the fixture to help keep the ants and other bugs away. 

Regular maintenance is crucial for PAR well lights.  If you have this type of fixture on your property you should check them often for debris, water build up and insects.  If you find standing water in the fixture, pull the fixture out, dig the hole about 4”-6” deeper and add pea gravel which will help drainage.  You can clean the lamp with just about any household cleanser with something to cut through lime and calcium which will build up on the lamp.

When replacing the lamp in these fixtures DO NOT use the plastic lamps that you will find at the local big box store.  Instead, go to a lighting store, irrigation supply store or auto parts store and get a quality lamp.  You’ll want to treat the screw terminals of the lamp with an anti seize compound which will protect them if they do get wet. 

Illuminating Education

I mentioned earlier that I had gone to Cleveland, Ohio for the Kichler 101 hands on lighting class.  Well what have I done since then to further my education in lighting?  Here is a brief synopsis. 

The next course I took was put on by Unique Lighting.  They are a landscape lighting manufacturer out of San Diego, California.  The class was actually located in Austin and so Jr. and I both went to this one day class.  It was also somewhat of a hands on class in that the morning was spent learning about their equipment and the afternoon was spent setting up a lighting demonstration at a residence.  I would say that the class taught me more about marketing what I do than how to do it.  Jr. and I both felt like they tried to dumb down the whole design/installation process.

Next I was asked to go to Houston and help teach a class about lighting.  I asked my distributor to help me set it up with yet another lighting manufacturer.  This company was CAST lighting out of New Jersey.  This equipment is very heavy duty cast brass lighting which was needed in that coastal area of the country.  Here I was able to teach a company about lighting design and installation and was also able to learn a few things about another manufacturer and their products.

In 2007 I was invited to the first ever Unique Advanced lighting course in San Diego and so Jr. and I both thought it would be a good idea to go.  This course got into “trick” installation, which meant that we would find ways to put lights where we wouldn’t have thought to do it before.  We cut and core drilled concrete to put in fixtures.  We core drilled fire place mantles to put in fixtures.  We mounted fixtures in places that I had never even considered before.  This was a few days of very good design and installation training which really set NightScenes apart from our competition.

In 2008 I attended the world famous Janet Lennox Moyer Landscape Lighting Institute in Troy, New York.  This was a five day course in design, installation and documentation which was way over the top.  It was five 12 to 14 hour days that were just packed with information and work.  I was able to become acquainted with lighting equipment from just about every major lighting manufacturer in the world.  I was also able to utilize just about every type of lamp (light bulb) that is available. After this course I really started looking at every project differently.  I wanted every project to be special and look amazing.  Unfortunately, not every property or budget will allow for a lot of this information to be utilized.  I do however approach every project with the very best design in mind.

Finally I took a five step online course that was offered through Hadco Lighting.  This was pretty basic stuff geared toward the novice lighting guy, landscaper or irrigation person but was still pretty good.  I really didn’t learn anything new with this class but it did reinforce some basic information that I had let slip a little.

I am also taking the AOLP Certified Outdoor Lighting Designer course through the Association of Outdoor Lighting Professionals.  This is a four year lighting design course which is being put together by the AOLP and Janet Lennox Moyer.  This first of it’s kind certification course will probably become the industry standard by which all others will be compared.

I will continue to pursue any and all education possibilities as they become available both locally and nationally.  I know that even the most basic classes offer something to learn either by the instructors or by the other attendees.  The goal here is to never stop learning my craft.

Till next time.