Loving Landscape Lighting!

Lighting up the exterior of your home all by yourself may seem a little scary if you have no electrical skills to speak of. But installing outdoor lighting, like say, landscape lighting is fairly easy. There are many reasons why adding landscape lighting is an advantage. For one, landscape lighting makes for a safer home. It has been shown in several studies that a house that is well-lighted is less likely to be vandalized and burglarized. Lights on the sidewalk help people navigate their way safely in the dark. Lighting adds beauty to your landscape, so that you get to enjoy it as it should be.

Before anything else, a homeowner must first choose the kind of exterior lights that he would use. The lights must be a reflection of the homeowner’s needs, as well as his sense of beauty and style. It may be advisable to use solar lighting. Solar lights do not need wires. You do not need to sweat over difficult installation instructions. Moreover, there is no difficulty in transferring solar lights anywhere you want. They could also be moved inside your house during winter. The lights turn on and off automatically. It will turn on at dusk and turn off at dawn. This is because the batteries used in solar lights use solar energy directly from sunlight. If you do choose solar lights, place them in areas where they are most likely to get the most sunlight during the daytime.

You could also choose to use traditional electric powered lights. If you prefer, you could also combine the different types of landscape lights.

After choosing the type of lighting to use, the next step is to prepare all the materials you need for setting up the lights. Things like bulbs, lights, wire strippers, electrical tape, screwdrivers, and etc. must be at hand before you start installation. As you put up the lights, try to design their arrangements. Think of the best points of your landscape. By keeping them in mind, it would be easier to place exterior lights in strategic places in order to achieve a stunning effect. You can use the foliage around your landscape as hiding place for some of your lights. This is where combining exterior lights of different types come in handy. You might also choose to use one of the most well-known outdoor lighting methods known as moonlighting. The technique is done by strategically placing a light in a higher position and allowing it to shine through the branches of surrounding trees. Another technique is called uplighting. This is achieved by placing a light under an object and allowing it to highlight or shine on that object. On the other hand, the shadowing technique is done by placing a light behind an object to produce a shadow. This is very effective on statues and sculptures in the landscape. It is also advisable to use few lights all though the landscape. In order to achieve a look of stunning beauty, low key accent lighting may be used too.