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Only you can control your future.

Dr. Seuss

always keep light sources hidden

#lighting #lighting design #landscape lighting

How Can I Control My Lighting System?

You mean there's more than just a switch!? It's incredible when you take the time to think about just how many different ways people have come up with to turn on their lights. More often than not; people have just the basic light switch in their homes to turn on the light. Some people have dimmers. These allow you to control how much of the bulbs potential is being used by putting you in control of how bright the light is. Some places are a bit more elaborate, and have a control that allows you save certain "scenes." The scenes are specific groupings of light in a specific area. One button could turn on only the recessed fixtures, while another button only turns on the track fixtures, and another button turns on everything at once. We can step backwards to the lower tech and find people with the motion sensor in the room, or yes, even the clapper (clap on, clap off. The clapper!) Branching into the outdoor lighting, yes people can and do still use the basic switch. My personal favorite for outdoor lighting is the timer. Simply set your on/off times and forget about it. The lights will take care of themselves from there. Just as convenient is the photocell. This is probably the most efficient, because it monitors light levels and will only turn the lights on when it it dark enough. Some people will combine both the timer and the photocell. This allows the you to control the time frame you would like to have the lights running, but with a security blanket in place that will keep the lights from turning on if the its not dark enough when the timer is tripped. Lighting controls: what's your preference?

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We cannot perform our tasks to the best of our power, unless we think well of our own capacity.

William Godwin

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Undercabinet lights provide great task lighting

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Troubleshooting 101: My Light Won't Turn On!

We have all had that problem at least once: you reach to flick the switch when all of the sudden it hits you, the light didn't turn on! Let's assume you are walking into the kitchen, and your switch controlls one light in the center of the ceiling. The first thing you want to do is make sure the bulb is tight in the socket. Let's face it, these things can come loose. Still no light? No worries. Turn off the switch and unscrew the bulb. There is a tab inside the socket that may not be pulled down enough to make contact with the bulb. Let's face it, these things can move too. If the light still doesn't work after that, then 9 times out of 10 it's just replacing the bulb. What about that other 1 time? Well I'm glad you asked! If the light still won't turn on, then you can (only if you are truly against calling a professional) turn off the breaker for the circuit you working on, and check the wire connections at your light, your switch, and lastly your breaker panel. These steps are all quick, easy, and effective! Good luck!

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LED lighting burns less electricity and has a longer lamp life than the common compact fluorescent bulbs

The truth is always more heroic than the hype.

Jessica Lynch

#lighting #lighting design #landscape lighting

Does LED Live Up to the Hype?

That's a bit of a loaded question isn't it? I mean how often does anything really live up to its hype? Well let's break it down. We know in comparison to a standard CFL (compact fluorescent), LED can have up to 5x longer lamp life. Ok impressive so far. We know it consumes less electricity. In fact, it can take 3-4 watts for an LED to produce the same light that CFL needs 20 watts to produce. When you multiply that times the number of bulbs you have in your home, that can make quite a difference. We also know that the light from the LED does not produce heat, while CFL does. I know, a lot of this stuff is common knowledge. What about the stuff they don't tell you? Did you know that LED does in fact tend to change color over time? This is caused mostly by their sensitivity to heat. Now that has no bearing on a large portion of the country, but for us Texans, LED may not be the best choice for outdoor lighting. I've seen horror stories of people who spent thousands of dollars on an LED landscape lighting system, and with three years the lights weren't as bright and they had changed to a shade of green. Now with this short list of pros and cons, you can decide whether its worth it to spend up to 10x more per bulb for the LED, or stick to the old reliable CFL. The choice is yours.

#landscape lighting #lighting #lighting design

uplighting can create a unique effect virtually everytime you light something new

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Plans are nothing; planning is everything.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

#lighting design #lighting #landscape lighting

A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art.

Paul Cezanne

#lighting design

Can You Feel What You See?

Have you ever looked at a diamond ring? A steak? A salad? A tree... in the dark? The absence of light; affectionately know as darkness, is our best friend in the lighting world. It creates an opportunity to bring it to life. The choices and placements of fixtures creates different effects, and these opportunities can be taken advantage of. When working with textured materials, it creates a chance to feel what you light. Yes, you can feel what you see... and never touch it.

#lighting design #lighting

properly placed fixtures can bring more attention to the specific details of textures of an object

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It takes less time to do a thing right, than it does to explain why you did it wrong.

Henry Longfellow

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Nemesis

The worst enemy of the lighting designer is none other than: other light! Excess light spilled over from outside sources creates challenges. It becomes more of a challenge to create the desired effect if other unforseen light is in the way. Unfortunately, it can come from sources that are beyond our control, such as a steetlight or even natural light from the sun or the moon. Just as unfortunately, there truly isn't anything you can do to combat this light. The best thing you can do is to view the area you will be lighting in advance at night (prior to coming up with a design). Turn off all light that you can control yourself. This gives you a realistic idea of what light pollution you may or may not have. This will give you the best possible insight as to what obstacles you may be facing in your design and possible even your installations.

#lighting #lighting design

the worst enemy of a lighting designer is the pollution spilled from other light

#lighting #landscape lighting #lighting design

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