Posted by Robin Steele on Tue, Mar 09, 2010 @ 08:08 AM
I was walking through town yesterday and came across this patch of misfit solar lights. There are 3 different types of solar fixtures in this cabbage patch of solar sign lights. From looking at the lights, it appears the bullet lights were put in first. Then, the two side lights were added. The solar panel in the front is the funniest. It looks as if that is being used as a booster for the other patch of lights that keeps growing trying to do the job.
Solar lighting sounds like a great option - and it feels good on your pocketbook - until you have to continue to buy more solar lights and you still can't see the sign for your business at night.
Outdoor Lighting Perspectives uses low voltage landscape lights. The benefits of low-voltage vs. solar are:
- Low voltage lights throw enough light to illuminate all night long. Solar power lights generally have a low haze in early evening and that light continues to fade throughout the evening. This is especially dangerous if you need the outdoor lighting for security and/or safety. If you have outdoor lighting to ward off prowlers, you want a well-lit area throughout the night
- Solar lights need to be replaced frequently whereas low voltage lighting fixtures are built to last. While the bulbs will need to be replaced after a year or so, your Outdoor Lighting Perspectives fixtures are made of brass, copper and other metals to be strong, durable and long lasting. further, you fixtures come with a warranty in case there is any damage.
- Solar lights do not throw enough light to adequately light commercial and business applications. As you can see in the image above, even this small sign cannot be adequately illuminated with solar lights
- Solar lights are wired to each other, thus the wiring can not be professionally installed and buried appropriately. There are restrictions based on the length of the wire and the knowledge of installing landscape lighting and exterior lighting. Low voltage and LED outdoor lighting, when professionally installed, are installed to where they will not be pulled up by a mower, exposed after a storm, or otherwise unearthed by regular yard and wear activity.
- Your low voltage lighting fixtures can be converted to LED lights by changing out the bulb. Your solar lighting fixtures cannot be modified, enhanced, or upgraded to LED lights.
- Low voltage and landscape lights can be managed by a timer to turn on and off at different times of the day and can also be programmed to turn on and off remotely. There are many ways your home lighting automation can be programmed. It can even be programmed with motion sensors to turn on when someone enters your property, opens a gate, or comes within a certain proximity of your home.
In short, solar lights may seem like an easy inexpensive alternative, but they just don't do the job if you need adequate, consistent illumination of your outdoor spaces.
Posted by Robin Steele on Wed, Feb 10, 2010 @ 05:29 PM
Outdoor lighting design is both an art and a science. But, beyond that, it's somewhat of a nebulous term because what really is landscape lighting design? After all, what does it really take to figure out the best places for a few lights to make the landscaping pop at night?
Clay and Lynn Johnston of Outdoor Lighting Perspectives in Richmond, Roanoke, and Charlottesville VA have won many awards over the year.
"Lighting this magnificent home was a fun and delightful challenge" said Johnston. "Landscape lighting can make any beautiful home or landscape look spectacular at night."
This lighting project involved designing and installing 4 outdoor landscape lighting systems with 102 lights throughout the property to accomplish architectural accent lighting and landscape lighting on this magnificent property. The project followed a complete landscape redesign and renovation totaling nearly $500,000 which was designed and managed by Susan Schlenger, Landscape Architect of Charlottesville, VA
Clay and Lynn placed lighting strategically to softly accent the architectural features of the home. The features they illuminated were:
- fountain
- waterfall and fountain in the rear of the home
- selected tree accent lighting
- blue stone walkways.
The design was done originally by using Susan's detailed plans, creating a budget for the customer and then finalized at night for the customer by temporarily setting up lights throughout the property for the customer to see the effect. The systems were then customized to suit the customer's taste in lighting before final installation. Whenever Clay and Lynn do their lighting design consultation, they provide a night-time demonstration at no charge at all to the customer. Since it is difficult for a customer to envision how their home will look illuminated at night, Clay and Lynn think that demonstrating their lighting design for the home, before purchase decision, is one of the most critical elements of a successful lighting design. But equally as important is the process of reviewing the lighting design, in action, with the customer and moving lighting around to accomplish the most desired effect. Lighting fixtures can be rotated or moved just slightly and create a completely different effect.
Multiple different lights were placed in close proximity when lighting the architecture of this home. The home had fantastic columns which were a stunning architectural element in the front of the home. Clay wanted to accentuate these but do it by casting a very romantic a subtle illumination of the columns.
Next, well lights were used to illuminate the large windows on the front of the home. The benefit of using well lights on this low patio was they provided pathway and security lighting for the home's entrance while also showing off the beautiful windows and casting architectural accent lighting that collectively gently illuminated the entire facade.
The next aspect of the lighting design plan was pathway lighting. Path lights were placed near the walkways and also in front of the stunning fountain out front. The path lights, unlike well lights, are made to be seen. The copper fixtures are really stunning. They are genuine copper so they patina beautifully over time. In addition to making the pathways safer though, the path lights also offered a beautiful garden lighting effect to the stunning fountain landscaping that Susan created.
As gorgeous as this home was out front, the home also included a waterfall in the rear of the home. The waterfall lighting included utilizing pond lights in addition to path lights around the perimeter of the stone lined fountain.
Here is a picture of the finished fountain waterfall lighting.
The brass pond lights are submersible which allows them to illuminate the waterfall features from below. The pond lights come in two sizes to create different effects. The SL-11AB is a large pond light. It's 100% submersible with a bracket for budge-free placement. It has a broad round face for maximum illumination. It's best when trying to provide a soft glow around waterfalls as well as around rock banks and more. The lamp is a 35 watt quartz par36 bulb.
The smaller pond light also adds visual impact from below the surface of the pond. Also cast brass, it utilizes only a 20 watt MR16 bulb for even softler, gentler and more romantic water lighting effects.
Clay and Lynn Johnston can be reached for complimentary lighting design previews at any of their 3 Virginia locations.
Charlottesville, VA (434) 963 - 9985
Richmond, VA (804) 874 - 9985
and Roanoke, VA (540) 576 - 9985
You can also reach them by emailing olpsva@outdoorlights.com
Posted by Robin Steele on Sun, Feb 07, 2010 @ 02:55 PM
When Marlin Bennetch of Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Birmingham AL went to Lake Martin, he was not going to swim or water ski, he was lighting a deck right on the lake.
The low-voltage outdoor lighting fixtures used to illuminate this lakeside deck are the BB-07 Handrail deck light and the BB-08 copper wall/deck light.
The BB-07 is a pier-mounted version of the classic path light. It's perfect for securing atop retaining walls and along decks, handrails and bench seating. The BB-07 casts a widespread glow that effortlessly boosts visibility where you will enjoy it most. It's stake mounted with a standard 7" stake. The lamp is a 20 watt quartz bi-pin. This copper deck light can also use an LED bulb.
The BB-08 deck light uses a 10 watt quartz bi-pink lamp. Made of copper, this deck light can also be used as a wall light and can also utilize an LED bulb instead of quartz. The light cast from this lamp is indirect from its perch upon deck posts and retaining walls. The half moon sconce creates rich ambient light, and the beautiful copper finish weathers the elements with grace - gently developing a patina over time.
Marlin's Birmingham AL Outdoor Lighting Perspectives office designs and installs residential and commercial low voltage and LED landscape and architectural lighting. Based out of Birmingham, Marlin services Jefferson, Perry, Saint Clair, Shelby, and Tuscaloosa counties.
To contact Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Birmingham, AL:
call (205) 991 - 5483
Visit our Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Birmingham web site
or email us
Below is another example of Deck lighting by Outdoor Lighting Perspectives.
And another...
The same lighting fixtures can be used for stair lighting
They also work perfectly for dock path lighting
and lastly for trellis lighting
Posted by Robin Steele on Sun, Feb 07, 2010 @ 12:49 PM
As seen recently in the Earth Times article, Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Clearwater Introduces New Line of LED Lighting Fixtures for Residential and Commercial Properties.
When owners Robert & Rian van der Putten started their outdoor lighting business several years back, low voltage outdoor lighting was traditionally the best and most popular option for outdoor lighting.
"LED landscape lighting offers many benefits to commercial and residential lighting projects, including energy savings, superior reliability, elimination of toxic materials and unique fixture designs."
In addition to installing LED exterior lighting, your existing Outdoor lighting fixtures can be retro-fit with new LED bulbs.
Robert van der Putten says "I'm happy I can now offer my customers a more energy-efficient lighting option while not compromising the quality of the fixture or the lighting effect, LEDs can save a household up to 80% on their lighting costs, but they're also made of solid brass or copper which means my customers are still getting a high quality fixture that will last for years."
To read more: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/outdoor-lighting-perspectives-of-clearwater,1153727.shtml#ixzz0esX0TK0H.
Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Clearwater can be reached at:
Outdoor Lighting Perspectives Clearwater
owners: Robert & Rian van der Putten
3360 Lake Shore Lane
Clearwater, FL 33761
(727) 785 - 6000
email Robert & Rian van der Puten
web site: http://clearwater.outdoorlights.com/
blog: http://outdoorlightingclearwater.wordpress.com/
Posted by Larry Spada on Fri, Jan 29, 2010 @ 12:02 PM
The reason for the stunning and vibrant image quality of high definition movies on the new Apple iPad tablet computer is an LED lightsource, according to Apple Senior Vice President Hardware, Bob Mansfield.
"Wow. This is a really vibrant display. The backlighting system is LED, and LED is what gives you the crispness and color quality in the display itself." Mansfield says in the new Apple iPad video overview. Watch the Apple iPad video here.
It's amazing how LEDs have taken off in popularity in just a few years, and how far they have come. It used to be that only low voltage halogen landscape lighting fixtures were the preferred choice for outdoor lighting and architectural highlighting for both homes and businesses, but thanks to LED lighting, it's a whole new ballgame.
Outdoor Lighting Perspectives now features an incredible selection of new LED outdoor lighting and landscape lighting fixtures, all handcrafted out of copper and brass. Casting beautifully rich warm glows of LED light, these new LED lighting fixtures are an excellent choice for the safety and security illumination of both homes and businesses. And your energy savings can be very dramatic, as LED outdoor lighting is 80% more efficient than conventional line voltage outdoor lighting. 80%! That's huge.
To see the newest LED landscape lights in person, or even better, to see them in action around your home after dusk some evening, call Outdoor Lighting Perspectives for a free demonstration and outdoor lighting design consultation. Their professional landscape lighting designer will come to your home and temporarily set up an original outdoor lighting design to illuminate and protect the areas you want to highlight. To schedule your free demonstration by phone, call toll-free 800-447-1112.
Posted by Robin Steele on Mon, Jan 25, 2010 @ 10:07 AM
Churches large and small are so beautiful with their arches and buttresses, steeples and cupolas. Often Outdoor Lighting Perspectives gets called to design outdoor lighting for local churches large and small.
In this photo, you can see how David Perlmutter of Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Pittsburgh artfully designed outdoor lighting to illuminate not only the beautiful architectural features of this church, but also the doorways and entrances to increase safety while the church is in use in the evening.
This church is in South Park, PA. Outdoor Lighting Perspectives' new 24 volt 39 watt ceramic metal halide HID fixtures were used.
Other areas served by the Pittsburgh lighting office include Pittsburgh, McKeesport, Boyers, Greensburg, Warrendale, West Mifflin, Butler, Annandale, New Kensington, Monroeville, Acme, Elco and other surrounding offices. You can reach the office in Warrendale PA by calling (724) 933 - 6120. Or email the office: olp-pittsburgh@outdoorlights.com.
Patrick and Laura Harders of Outdoor Lighting Perspectives Northern Virginia designed the exterior lighting for the Church of the Epiphany in Herndon, VA. The church is located at the corner of Fairfax County Parkway and Franklin Farm Road. The goal the church had for its architectural lighting was to get more visibility at night for two reasons. First, in being in a high-traffic area, the lighting can help more people notice the church. The lighting serves a security benefit as well.
From their blog: "We installed a combination of 12 volt lights with two 100 watt ceramic metal halides lighting up the cross. This combination allowed the church to get the best value possible."
Patrick Harders works with his wife Laura and the local staff at Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Northern Virginia. Their office does nothing but outdoor lighting and has been serving the NVA area for 8 years. Before purchasing this office, Patrick worked for 2 years in the Charlotte office so he has 10 years of experience in landscape lighting, exterior lighting, garden lighting, path lighting - you name it - any lighting for outdoors. This even includes commercial exterior lighting for large and small commercial facilities.
Here is a close-up of the architectural effect that the lighting created on the brick building.
Representative cities covered by this office are Alexandria, Annandale, Arlington, ASHBURN, Burke, Chantilly, Clifton, Culpeper, Dulles, Dumfries, Loring, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Front Royal, Herndon, Leesburg, Lorton, Manassas, Mclean, Potomac Falls, Quantico, Reston, Round Hill, Vienna, Warrenton and many other cities in Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Frederick and Loudoun counties.
To contact the Northern Virginia office, call (703) 361 - 0505 or email olpnva@outdoorlights.com.
Posted by Robin Steele on Tue, Jan 19, 2010 @ 12:24 PM
Wow, take a look at this unbelievably beautiful golf course image of the Dyker Beach Golf Club in Brooklyn, New York.
This stunning property falls in the shadow the Verazano bridge, one of NYC's great bridges which connects Brooklyn to Staten Island. Dyker Beach Golf Club is beautiful golf course and high end catering facility well hidden within a busy residential section of Brooklyn. The Director of Catering called Dennis & Amy Dowling of Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Long Island looking for a commercial lighting and design company to design a lighting system solution that would help them show case the building and allow them to better utilize the back patio overlooking the golf course. They were also very concerned with safety. This 80 year old brick building completely disappears from view once darkness falls, which made outside evening events impossible.
Dennis and Amy first planned the proper electrical infrastructure to support the outdoor lighting system. They also discussed additional circuits needed for future holiday lighting. Next they wanted the design of the proper fixtures that would accent the building and landscape in the most cost effective way possible. They came up with a solution utilizing both low voltage and line voltage systems.
Dennis & Amy's outdoor lighting design called for lighting three specific areas. First the main building, (low voltage design) required 6 transformers and 93 quartz halogon fixtures. A combination of path lights (accenting walkways & garden areas) wash lights (accenting retaining walls) and well lights (accenting the brick building & specimen trees). Secondly, line voltage (LC20) spot lights surrounding the sides and the back patio landscape that high lighted the building, trees and landscape. And third, (8 - LC20) spot lights mounted on 4 back peaks that shined down on the patio creating a soft "moonlighting" effect for evening events. Our LC20 fixtures uses a newer ceramic metal halide bulb technology for longevity, beauty and cost efficiency. All three zones were controlled from the lighting control automation timing system.
The installation went very smoothly, and they were lucky to get the entire project completed one week before Christmas. Dyker was thrilled because they had a sold out New Years eve party, that was a huge success. The new outdoor lighting solution not only brought the building to life at night, buy they are now able to plan outside evening events after the spring arrives.
The client was absolutely delighted with the end result. Dennis & Amy have been asked to look at another one their courses in the Bronx next. The outdoor lighting will now open up a whole new side of their catering business as well, and is certain that showcasing their building, landscape and patio will result in new business.
Here are some pictures:
Here is a close-up of the fixtures mounted on the brick building
Here is a picture of the property illuminated at light
Posted by Robin Steele on Mon, Jan 18, 2010 @ 10:49 AM
Norm Cohen of Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Northern New Jersey looks at your home as his artistic canvas when creating a personalized outdoor lighting design plan for your home, your landscape, and outdoor lighting for your personal outdoor living spaces around your home.
There's more than one way to light a property
Outdoor lighting, done right, is much more of an art than a science. There are many factors that come into play. Factors like budget, lighting goals, and lighting effect are provided by the homeowner. Then, Norm's group takes those and creates a custom lighting plan. To take this a step further, Norm actually sets up an evening demonstration using the actual fixtures and the actual lighting effects. He does this using a temporary transformer because he knows how important it is for homeowners to see before they buy. Lighting is a set of fixtures, but most importantly lighting is an effect. Lighting is beauty. Lighting is a feeling of safety. Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Northern NJ knows this effect, beauty, and feeling of safety provided by outdoor lighting cannot be appreciated without seeing it.
How much does this lighting plan and evening demonstration cost?
Free.
Absolutely free.
One of the reasons Norm joined Outdoor Lighting Perspectives is because of this free evening demonstration. Norm is an artist - a lighting artist. He wants only delighted customers and his many customers will attest to this.
Norm says "my customers need to know that their taste that's important to us." During the demonstrations, the OLP technician has the flexibility to show variations, modifications and enhancements based on what the homeowner
is requesting so that ultimately, there's complete satisfaction with the end product... without any surprises."
With Norm, you get a personalized solution with large-company resources, experience and expertise.
Norm's customers say it best: "I felt that the company was run by someone who is honest and enjoys running his business. Your staff doing the night display was friendly and professional"
Mr. & Mrs. Herman, New Providence, NJ
"What I especially liked is that they were able to give me subtle lighting, which is what I requested. They didn't try to sell me more lights than I wanted."
E. Roller, Mountain Lakes, NJ
You can reach Outdoor Lighting NNJ by calling the office: (973) 486 - 0819
or email Norm at: NorthernNJ@outdoorlights.com
Areas covered: all of Northern New Jersey including Bergen, Essex, Morris, Somerset and Union counties.
Posted by Robin Steele on Sat, Jan 02, 2010 @ 06:42 PM
Ambient light is an encompassing indirect light that envelops the object it illuminates while revealing rich otherwise unseen colors in those objects. Ambient light is warm. It's romantic. We often assign a romantic feeling to something illuminated with ambient light. We say it has an ambiance. Take a look at this shade for example.
I recently entered this room in the middle of the day to grab a book. Suddenly, I wanted to curl up and take an afternoon nap or pile all the throw pillows together to curl up and read my book in that room. The light source of the sun behind these beautiful blinds created warm ambient light that filled the room with an unexpected, warm, and wonderful ambience.
Now take a look at these blinds up close.
See how you can pick out many shades of color from bright white to winter white, heather gray, darker gray, and even yellow. These shades derive from the obvious posts and slats of the window behind the shade. But, they also come from reflections of the items outside the window. Although we would likely never evaluate the multitude of colors delivered by ambient light, these colors enhance this visual experience and create a wonderful mood or feeling.
So, in selecting light, when we are able to identify light that does not cast a bright spotlight, but rather yields a warm romantic glow, we will create and effect and an ambiance just through the positioning of the light.
Take a look at these roses.
This was a fresh bouquet of bright red roses. With the ambient light, they look spectacular. The natural light cascades over the natural depth dimensions created by the petals and creates the effect of a wide array of colors from dark black to light white. The brightest light shining on the front rose even pulls out or gives the effect of yellow on the tips of the petals.
At Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, we design out outdoor lighting to have this exact effect. Our goal is never to spotlight something but to cast a broad enveloping soft array of light to bring out the natural warmth and beauty of the outdoor landscaping, architecture or outdoor structures that the lighting is illuminating.
Take a look at this deck.
Although the deck light and garden path light are made of beautiful copper and very attractive fixtures, the outdoor lighting plan is designed to almost conceal the fixture. We believe that great outdoor lighting design focuses on your home, your garden, your yard, your pathways, your deck, your pool and all the outdoor areas of your home. Our goal is to help you see those better and most importantly to make them even more beautiful.
In the deck picture above, take a look at the deck slats and the array of colors that is created by the subtle deck light above it. Also notice that there is no "spotlight" effect onto the deck. The deck is merely gently illuminated.
Now take a look at this garden.
At first glance, you may just notice the beautiful garden house, or bird cage, or even the stunning rock landscaping. But look more closely. Look, for example, at the garden house. Look at the effect that the affixed uplight fixture makes on the house. It makes a star effect above and gives a giant "hot spot" on the garden house. Good lighting does not create "hot spot" effects. A hot spot is a bright splotch of color for lack of a better word. A hot spot indicates poor lighting design because it causes the observer to focus on the fixture or on the bright light instead of focusing on what is being illuminated.
Now, still looking at the garden house, look at the shadow of the shrubbery on the white door. The outdoor lighting is designed in such a way to cast soft shadows. Take a look at the gorgeous dome light in the forefront of the photo. This copper light is a stunning fixture. Look at the glow that the fixture casts. It's even and warm instead of "hot".
Look finally at the tree to the left of the garden house. See how gently the young tree and the mature tree are illuminated. The light envelopes the area gently making it easier to see the beauty while making it safer to walk around the area.
Lastly, look at the image below. Good lighting design creates the beautiful tree shadows in the pond. The lighting creates depth, romance, and ambiance.
Posted by Robin Steele on Fri, Jan 01, 2010 @ 05:59 PM
Recently, I was on vacation staying in a condo. Since we had a rather large group, we were wondering if the condo above us had anyone staying there. That way we would have been extra quiet. Someone mentioned that they saw a light on in the condo the previous night. Two other people in the group piped up and said that was likely just lighting timers.
As you can see in this picture, by studying the two 2nd level windows, it appears that there is only one light on in the unit. Conversly, the unit downstairs appears lived in.
So, lighting timers are intended to make it look as if someone's home. But they're so transparent. People who are wondering if someone's really home will likely watch for some signal that something other than lighting timers is at play.
Home lighting automation:
Outdoor Lighting Perspectives offers a service called home lighting automation. I couldn't describe it any better than you see here in this video.
This video was made by Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Nashville, TN. But, all of the Outdoor Lighting Perspectives offices offer home lighting automation. Just call for a free consultation and/or outdoor lighting design demonstration.
The lighting automation utilizes motion sensors to turn on outside and inside lights and leave them on for the desired period of time. For example, in the video example, a series of lights turn on, stay on briefly, and then turn off to make it look as if someone is walking through the house. This combination of more intelligent lighting control automation gives the appearance that someone is really home.