Illuminating FAQs About Outdoor Lighting
When it comes to lighting your landscape, the right design can make all the difference. While lighting design is often overlooked, it’s one of those elements that when done properly can add that “Wow” factor to your landscape and home exterior.
Why Light Up The Outdoors?
Lighting lets you extend the time you spend outdoors. The daylight hours are shorter during the winter months. Landscape lighting allows you to enjoy the beauty of your yard even after the sun goes down. Good lighting design transforms your daytime landscape into an enchanting nighttime paradise.
Landscape lighting beckons the viewer outdoors. But enhanced enjoyment is only the first of many benefits of lighting your garden.
Lighting for your landscape also creates a striking appearance — one of the first things homebuyers notice. With excellent lighting, your home will have more curb appeal, as well as being the envy of the neighborhood.
Another advantage? A well-lit yard is a safe yard. Stairs and uneven pathways can be dangerous without lights, and would-be burglars are less likely to target your home if its grounds are well lit.
What Are The First Steps?
If these benefits appeal to you, we recommend beginning the lighting process by asking yourself, or contacting an outdoor lighting specialist, to identify the features you hope to accent. Architectural details will look even more magnificent if lit with uplights (those that are pointed up to highlight a tree, archway or other landscape feature
). Pathways and outdoor living areas should generally be lit to draw out visitors and boost safety. Downlights are ideal for these purposes; these lights point downward to illuminate features at or near ground level, such as ponds and paths.
How Much Should Good Landscape Lighting Cost?
A general rule for installed landscape lighting is to expect to pay between $200 and $300 per fixture. This cost includes the fixture, the wiring, the transformer, and the labor to install. For the Do-It-Yourself homeowner, there are some less expensive options at the local big box retailers for low voltage lighting or solar lighting. However, in our years of experience in landscape and design, we’ve met many homeowners who were disappointed with the durability and output of the cheaper options, especially the solar lighting.
Do We Have To Use LEDs?
The LEDs used in modern landscape lighting aren’t the too-bright, too-white LEDs of years past. Today’s LEDs are softer in tone and capable of providing gorgeous, natural-looking light. Moreover, LEDs are extremely efficient so the impact on your power bill will be much less and much of the ongoing cost associated with changing bulbs will be eliminated. The average life span of LEDs is 40,000 hours, which should give you 18 to 20 years of run time from a single bulb. No more running to the store to change them.
Experts at Landscape East & West will also retrofit your existing lighting with drop-in LED lights. This option is a great alternative to full fixture replacement and gives the homeowner all the same benefits. We work with each customer to create a custom lighting scheme for his or her unique yard. And, to save you money and guarantee consistent, accurate lighting, we can install astronomical timers, which turn landscape lighting on and off according to the precise sunrise and sunset times for your location.
If you’d like to make an artistic and illuminating statement with lighting design, contact Landscape East and West.
