Outdoor pathway lighting is important, not only for its additional aesthetic appeal to your home’s exterior but also for its functionality. At night time, it could be challenging to walk to your front door without bumping into a thing or two. Better make sure your pathway is adequately illuminated.
Defining a pathway light is straightforward. It provides illumination that will guide you along your pathway or walkway.
There are pathway lights that provide a subtle glow toward your feet. This is a great choice if you don’t want a distracting glare. Other outdoor pathway lightings are higher than the ground to illuminate the garden as well. So before you get yours, know what you need and your objective.
There are many benefits of using outdoor pathway lighting. Let us enumerate these below.
Today, there are different types of outdoor pathway lighting. It’s crucial that you know their differences and what they are used for so you can choose the right one for your needs.
Flush lights are good if you want a soft lighting option for your walkway. These are installed on the ground and could illuminate up and outwards. With flush lights, you do not have to worry about glare.
Garden lights are usually 18 to 24 inches tall. A canopy on top reflects the light down, giving a more dramatic appeal to the path and garden beds.
Bollard lights are also known as pillar lights. It’s an amazing choice if you want a 360-degree light source. With this option, you can illuminate your pathway and even garden. These are often too bright thus, you should place these at the start or end of the path to assist walkers in the right direction. One downside of using bollard lights is the glare, so using low-wattage bulbs is more ideal.
Downlights are attached to a pole, wall or even a tree and are effective in providing light for pathways. It targets a specific area and the farther away the light is from the path, the bigger area it can illuminate.
If you have a stairway outdoors, there are lighting options for that as well. These are important, especially if you usually host parties and people need to go back and forth to your house. Stairway lighting or step lights can be installed in other areas as well. For example, if you have a wall, you can install these instead. These are perfect if you lack space.
Spotlights are still a thing. You can choose this option if you want to highlight parts of your walkway, like arches. Look for adjustable ones so you can easily position them, depending on your landscape.
Check out how you can properly place your new lights on your pathway.
When installing outdoor pathway lighting, do not place them near each other. Instead, have enough space to maximize its reach. You can have a test run first before permanently installing your lights.
To create balance, you can place pathway lights on both sides. This also provides better lighting.
As much as possible, do not overlight your pathway. The glare can be a pain as well. Look for low-wattage bulbs instead. Find a light that targets the ground and not the eye level. Since we’re already talking about the types of lights, here are the common ones available today.
These emit a good amount of light but have a shorter life span. Plus, these consume more electricity so you have to think twice if you will choose this option.
These are expensive but are justified because of the low energy consumption and long life.
These are known to be more efficient than incandescent lights but with a longer life span. Best of all, it has low energy consumption.
Today, there are a variety of fluorescent bulbs with different colors available. They are made to last longer and consume less energy.
If you don’t know which type of light is best for your outdoor pathway lighting, contact Landscape Improvements.
Do not forget that you should match your light to the type of pathway you have. For example, if you have a concrete or gray walkway, it’s best to use white lights.
Let’s talk about outdoor light pollution. This simply means there’s too much light or poorly installed lighting. Apart from causing glare, it wastes money and energy. Here are a few steps to avoid light pollution.
In most cases, pathway lighting can be powered by connecting to an electric power source. That’s why you need professionals to install the lights for you. Otherwise, the wirings could affect the look of your garden or outdoor area. Some outdoor lights are solar-powered and this has become a more practical solution for many.
To ensure that your outdoor lighting is at its best, you should know how to maintain it. Here are a few tips that could help you.
Adding outdoor pathway lighting should be carefully planned and executed. It seems like an easy task but there are a lot of processes involved. You need to think about the proper placement, the type of lighting, and even the electrical works.
If you want to spare yourself from that hassle, call Landscape Improvements and let us do the hard work for you. We have a team of professionals who can install your outdoor pathway lighting fast.
Call us at 407-606-7326 to learn more about our services. Or you can email us directly at info@landscapeimprovementsfl.com.
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