Category: Outdoor Lighting

Let there be light

Posted on by admin in Landscape Lighting, Outdoor Lighting, outdoor lighting professionals raleigh

A typical evening lighting demonstration for Lite Visions consists of myself arriving at my clients home an hour or so before dusk to set up some lighting and then waiting for dusk to call the clients to come out after touching up a few fixtures.

This isn’t a Clark Griswold moment. It is a real life moment several times a week. Walking onto their porch to gaze out at what they can now see thru their window to the back yard.

It’s a different kind of wow, with subtle lights illuminating plants’ structure, texture and color. The landscape takes on a new dimension when lighting is properly placed and expertly installed. The homes architecture seems to come to life as the sun sets.

Then after settling on the total design and setting a date the real install happens. I have had clients invite their friends and neighbors over to see not only the demo but to wait with anticipation for the first night of the outdoor lighting to be turned on. Sometimes even sitting around the fire pit with wine.

What I’ve found with my clients is, lighting is contagious with them as well as their friends and neighbors.

Once we light up the front of the house, they want to light up the back or the sides, or the entry or tree that they love. Then the neighbors want outdoor lighting as well after looking over at how great their next door neighbors backyard now looks from their deck.

Landscape lighting technology has evolved significantly in the last five to seven years. More recently the availability of cost-effective LED lighting makes operating landscape lights efficient and easy on the wallet.

LED lights, they’re not going to have to change a bulb for 30,000 to 50,000 hours, and they’re happy about that

Clients who would have possibly only wanted lighting from dusk to midnight are now able to leave their outdoor lighting on all evening with no electricity bill concerns.

Call Lite Visions Today and see why we are trusted by so many Triangle area homeowners 919-518-9900

Lite Visions landscape lighting proudly designs and installs American made lighting fixtures and transformers

Posted on by admin in Landscape Lighting, Outdoor Lighting, outdoor lighting professionals raleigh

Lite Visions landscape lighting proudly designs and installs american made outdoor lighting fixtures and transformers. we install only the best outdoor landscape lighting fixtures and transformers available to the outdoor lighting professional and this makes it possible are to really stand behind our installations. Using cheap inferior Chinese products might make us more profit,but in the long run we prefer to give the client better Value and not have to unnecessarily return to the job site.

On a low voltage lighting system the low voltage transformer is the heart and soul of the system,feeding and regulating proper current to the lighting fixtures .

The 2nd most important item in the system is that the LED lamps have proper heat syncs to allow heat in their enclosed lighting fixture to be at a minimum, some cheap inferior LED lamps DO NOT ALLOW PROPER COOLING and operate at temperatures that might cause early lamp failures.

The LED lamps Lite Visions installs have been tested over and over in the field and operate at much cooler temperatures than their competition.

Lite Visions also builds value by using some of the best water tight connections in the outdoor lighting industry to help avoid problems arising from connections. Lite Visions Landscape Lighting cares first and foremost about building client relationships because we are passionate about our long lasting and worry free lighting designs.

Why retrofit your old outdoor landscape lighting system with energy saving LED lamps?

Posted on by admin in Landscape Lighting, Outdoor Lighting, outdoor lighting professionals raleigh

Green friendly:

LED lights “are on track to cut power consumption for lighting… by over 40 percent.” That would provide annual savings of more than $20 billion for consumers and businesses within a decade. And that in turn would reduce U.S. CO2 emissions by some 100 million metric tons a year.

Money Saving:

As LED Lamps are long lasting ,avg lamp life of 50,000 hours the saving alone on not having to relamp every year or so over the lifetime of outdoor lighting is a huge savings itself.

Little to no heat:

Led lamps produce little to no heat and therefore do not attract insects or pose any risk of hazards that hot halogen lamps could produce when surrounded by mulch and pine straw etc.

Less power consumption:

Led lamps will cost you way less to leave your outdoor lighting system on from dusk to dawn then if you were just using your lighting from dusk till midnight. I personally hate giving money to the power company.

High Quality LED bulbs:

Poor quality, cheap lamps don’t last long. My experience is that if you install quality lamps they do last. Some of my LED bulbs are more than 8 years old and still going strong.

Most landscape lighting customers quickly understand the benefits of converting from halogen to LED, lighting professionals say.

For example, most LEDs have a five-year manufacturer warranty.

Voltage drop:

Most old, all halogen lamped systems installed have some sort of voltage issues,when retrofitting with LED lamps most of these systems that might have a 300 to 100 watt transformer will have their total power consumption lowered to less than half.

Call Lite Visions today to speak with us about upgrading your old lighting system to energy saving all LED lamps

Why do I need landscape lighting

Posted on by admin in Landscape Lighting, Outdoor Lighting, outdoor lighting professionals raleigh

Why Do I Need Landscape Lighting?

Today’s homeowners see their landscapes as a source of pride, a refuge for relaxation, and a place to enjoy good times with family and friends. Lite Visions can bring these spaces to life after the sun goes down, providing an unmatched aesthetic effect while adding safety and usability.

Landscape lighting provides these important benefits:

BEAUTIFICATION: Focal points stand out and become more beautiful. Textures not seen in daylight become eye-catching detail. Architectural features can be accented, which brings the building and the landscape together for a resort-like feel.

USABILITY: Landscape lighting enjoyably extends the time spent outdoors. Now patios, pools, and children’s play areas become entertainment venues or just relaxing places to unwind.

SAFE PASSAGE: Hazards such as steps, low-hanging or thorny vegetation, abrupt changes in elevation, or debris in a walkway can all be avoided with properly placed landscape lighting. Guests can be safely guided away from hazards.

  • softly lighting path and homes architecture with good lighting placement

SECURITY: It’s a proven fact that a well-lit landscape will deter potential intruders by eliminating dark areas and shadows that would conceal movement around the property.

VALUE: Landscape lighting not only brings a property to life, it also provides excellent return on investment by creating a stunning first impression when viewed by visitors.

PROFESSIONAL OUTDOOR LANDSCAPE LIGHTING IS NOT CHEAP!CHEAP OUTDOOR LANDSCAPE LIGHTING IS NOT GOOD

Posted on by admin in Landscape Lighting, Outdoor Lighting

Professional outdoor landscape lighting is not cheap, and Cheap outdoor landscape lighting is not good.

I work with an interior designer who says “Do it right and you only cry once”. My outdoor lighting designs include seeing the effects not the light source.I work with many different types of fixtures, lamps,color temperatures,filters and shields. Along with Professional lighting that lasts a very long time.

Examples of a few BAD lighting installations Lite Visions took out and redid for the homeowners.

Big box store lighting kits are JUNK,come with horrible non water tight connectors that pierce your wire which is the worst thing to do.They come with poor lighting fixtures that start falling apart and come with a not good transformer.

  • old transformer
  • old cheap lighting
  • 3 yr old cheap fixture
  • cheap light fixture that can’t hardly be relamped
  • what happens to your wiring if connectors are not properly connected
  • old kit lighting
  • indoor wire nuts used in outdoor lighting systems
  • the dreaded bad connection which lets moisture in
  • lighting kit junk
  • old bad kit lighting

Maintenance is a must,I can’t tell you how many old installs I get called to look at where a fixture or cable has grown into a tree.Old wires and bad connections that do no longer provide proper voltage to the lights.

Lite Visions, when you want it done right the first time Call Us.

Outdoor Landscape lighting is the ideal way to add drama, beauty and allure to your homes exterior in the evening.

Posted on by admin in Landscape Lighting, Outdoor Lighting, outdoor lighting professionals raleigh

. Here are a few outdoor landscape lighting techniques we use at Lite Visions Landscape Lighting for developing distinctive and functional designs to put your property in the best light when the sun sets.

Up Lighting Example

Up-Lighting – Offering a greater contrast effect than typical wall-washing with floodlights, Lighting fixtures are placed closer to a building for a bolder effect. The goal is to focus guest’s attention to the most beautiful or intriguing parts of your landscape. This may relate to the architectural features of your home or, features in the landscape such as trees, statues, or fountains.

Silhouetting – By placing a fixture behind the feature, aimed towards an adjacent wall, you can create an illuminated backdrop. This landscape lighting technique creates intrigue by using lighting to make interesting outlines or profiles of features. Similar to up-lighting, spotlights and well lights work best to create these dramatic shapes.

Shadowing – A similar technique to silhouetting, shadowing also places the fixture towards the base of the feature, aimed towards an adjacent wall. However, the goal is to create a softer shadow, and often works best with a tree that has open, delicate foliage. The effect of the tree’s movement in the wind is sure to add drama to any home facade. Spotlights, well lights, and floodlights can help you achieve this effect.

Moonlighting – Create moonlighting techniques by placing a downlight fixture with a full glare guard high up inside a tree and angled downwards. This effect looks like moonlight shining down through the branches. It causes attractive shadow patterns on the ground to appear, plus it provides a very natural and beautiful lighting effect. This effect works best with open-branched trees.

Downlighting – The down-lighting technique is similar to the moonlighting technique, although brighter and less subtle. Place a fixture high up, inside a feature like a trellis, tree, or eave, and cast downwards over a large area. Place the light higher if you intend to illuminate a large portion of the yard, and lower if you wish to illuminate a path or garden.

Allow Lite Visions the outdoor lighting experts to help you figure out what outdoor lighting techniques work best for your home and property


Painting a portrait and creating depth with proper outdoor landscape lighting

Posted on by admin in Landscape Lighting, Outdoor Lighting

When painting a portrait with outdoor landscape lighting ,you are not only creating focal points,but you are also creating depth to the property itself as well as creating a backdrop to your main focal points,like the home itself. Most companies who try to accomplish what we do at Lite Visions ,DO NOT HAVE THE VISION WE DO. Anyone can stick lights in the ground but it takes proper knowledge of different lighting fixtures,lamp types and effects as well as proper voltage and wire runs to create the scope of the outdoor landscape lighting design project. Lite Visions knows how to paint a portrait with outdoor landscape lighting,yet still create a elegant soft lighting effect that is not overpowering or overwhelming. Proper outdoor landscape lighting is not something you can be taught in a one day course by a company who sells lighting products.Proper lighting design must be learned over years of practice. Lite Visions has that knowledge and is glad to help make your home into your own private resort.

Lite Visions Landscape Lighting,When you decide you want the best.

Outdoor Landscape Lighting,some people know what they want.

Posted on by admin in Landscape Lighting, Outdoor Lighting, outdoor lighting professionals raleigh
Beautiful new home Hastentree Wake Forest NC

I recently courtesy of my friend google, met the nicest young couple who have built a beautiful new home in our area. After speaking on the phone and setting up an appointment to meet one evening, we got in the car and at their request drove the the neighborhood of million plus homes to look at examples of good and not so good outdoor landscape lighting. With it being so close to Christmas I have to say I got to see some beautiful homes lit very nicely from some of the holiday lighting companies. My new friends evidently already had the local neighborhood handyman sprinkler installer who also does lights approach them and after viewing his work ,they decided they needed to call a actual outdoor landscape lighting designer. They talked about the too white ugly lights on a few homes where it seemed someone bought lights with whatever lamps they came with and stuck them under windows and created a nice horror movie look,spooky as the wife said. After our drive,I pulled out the battery pack and a few lights and with the husband walked around and looked at a few effects, we signed a contract that evening for their install and even ended up adding extra lights and will be doing more in several stages as the front is finished and the next phase in the back begins.I feel like we were brought together by a force bigger than us both and I am so fortunate to get to do what I love and enjoy for yet another beautiful home. Happy Holidays from Lite Visions.

Creating a beautifully illuminated picture with outdoor landscape lighting

Posted on by admin in Landscape Lighting, Outdoor Lighting

At Lite Visions,every single outdoor landscape lighting job is unique and we have the intention of creating a vision with our lighting that will ensure not only that our customer is happy but everyone who sees the lighting will have to ask. WOW, WHO DID YOUR LIGHTING?

We always try to go one step further in helping the customer understand how light works,from driving thru a neighborhood looking at both good and not so good lighting jobs and trying to come up with a feel for what they like and creating a life changing outdoor landscape lighting design plan for them to enjoy for years to come. Including lighting fixtures that are not only stylish and trendy,but also have the best warranty available to the outdoor lighting design professional.

Lite Visions Outdoor Landscape Lighting, We bring your outdoor spaces to Life after dark with the perfect lighting solutions.

5 points raleigh nc outdoor lighting

Why you should NOT use an outdoor lighting franchise

Posted on by admin in Landscape Lighting, Outdoor Lighting

Perhaps you love a great place to eat and like to eat there in Nashville or Raleigh and the food is the same cookie cutter so to speak.

Now imagine someone started a outdoor lighting company and decided to make money by selling his rights to his outdoor lighting name to people who might have 10k to invest ,but have no ideas of their own about how to best personalize your lighting to be distinctive. These companies usually also manufacture their own CHEAP lighting fixtures and only care about their bottom line and high pressure SELLING.

  • Light Visions Creates Theatrical Lighting Effects for another happy customer

There are several outdoor lighting franchises some in our area have been sold several times,I even met one former franchise owner who told me of the headaches he encountered in dealing with their corporate owners.

Most of these outdoor lighting franchises have beautiful websites with pictures that do not belong to the LOCAL lighting owners and in no way reflect their work or individuality as a lighting designer.

Lite Visions owner Joe has worked in the concert lighting industry for over 35 years and has an extensive background as a lighting technician and a lighting designer and works closely with his clients to provide a unique and distinctive lighting design to transform their property and provide stunning nighttime lighting effects.

Lite Visions attends continuing education on outdoor low voltage lighting and is fully insured as well as being a member of the Association of outdoor lighting professionals.

Lighting design techniques are developed over years of experience. You cannot learn the lighting business from a book, it takes time as well as many years of experience.