There is no better landscape feature to show off your home with elegance and style than landscape lighting.
Illuminating your home’s front facade puts your property at a higher perceived value in the neighborhood; ambient perimeter lighting around the yard is a better deterrent to would-be trespassers than spotlights, which create hotspots and dark shadows. And of course, the best landscape lighting investment you can make is a well-designed system in those gathering areas where you entertain after dark.
Landscape lighting has come “light years” in the past decade.
LED Landscape lighting technology started becoming popular only about 10 years ago. In those 10 years, technological advancements have quantum-leaped lighting ahead more than any other landscaping feature. At first, LED technology replaced high-energy consuming systems that used halogen bulbs at a considerable savings to the consumer. However, the color was often too cool or too warm and beam control was difficult.
Today, not only are those problems solved, but low-voltage LED landscape lighting has benefits never dreamed of in the old halogen systems:
- low-wattage fixtures use less wire and smaller transformers
- low maintenance – lamps last 6x longer than halogen
- cloud-based and fully customizable lighting programs controlled from your smartphone
- unlimited zone combinations
- interchangeable color palette and dimming options in each lighting fixture
- astronomical controllers automatically adjust lighting start times with the change of seasons
Landscape lighting design is the fusion of technology and art.
While you don’t need an electrician to install low-voltage landscape lighting, it is a wise idea to hire a landscape lighting designer to get the full benefit of your investment. Choosing the right system doesn’t start with picking out fixtures – in fact you should rarely see the fixtures. A landscape designer’s job is to “paint the night with light,” creating a subtle, ambient atmosphere. Landscape fixtures are simply a means to an end. With all of the features available with these new LED landscape lighting systems, the opportunities to create are endless.
Landscape lighting isn’t an afterthought – plan ahead!
Whether it’s a simple hardscaping installation or a full-property landscape project, it makes sense to plan where your lights will go ahead of time. It’s virtually impossible to put in lights where you want them after the landscape block walls and paver patio areas are installed.
