I have taken out more outdoor lighting systems than I can count,from poorly wired lights a lot to lights strung on a way too long cable with horrible voltage drop,the customer said his lights were browning out. What most people do not understand is how outdoor lighting systems are designed. Here are a few reasons why your outdoor lights don’t look like mine.
Transformers
Most professional grade transformers have the availability to use taps from 12-15 volts depending on length of wiring runs to get proper voltage to the light fixtures
Wiring
Wiring size along with length of wire is critical. While we might do a long run of wire to a certain area,we will use a higher gauge of wire and possibly a 13/14 volt tap to make sure the lights at the end of the long run are getting a minimum of 12 volts
Lamps
LED lamps come in many wattage sizes,beam spreads and lumen output. Just the other day someone showed me a lamp they bought at a big box store that was only 200 lumens, that is a very low light output. Beam spreads start at a narrow 15 degrees and go up to 120 degrees very wide. For example I might light a tall tall tree with 3, 7 watt 60 degree lamps but a small crepe myrtle I might light with only 2 30 degree 4 watt lamps.
Kelvin
Kelvin is a lamps color temperature, in our industry we use 2700 kelvin lamps to 5700 kelvin lamps depending on what type surface we are lighting.
As a lighting designer we know what lamps look best in certain places,while one lamp type might be good for a homes facade,we will probably use a different lamp on certain plants.
Dimmers
With LED lamps there are dimmers available,some integrated fixtures even have a dimming capability right on the fixtures.
Fixtures
We have many fixtures at our disposal,I might prefer a certain integrated fixture in a hardscape wall due to it creating a soft illumination of the stone.
I might use several different uplighting fixtures on a job due to being able to control light output and the actual spread of the light.
Filters
I might use many tools to create a soft light with no hot spots such as a spread lens filter to diffuse the light as well as a hex louver near an entry so you can’t see the light source when walking past it.
Call Lite Visions today and let us show you how to make your outdoor lighting stand out from the crowd.
919-518-9950
