As I drive down the Austin roads at night, I am always looking for lighting on homes and businesses. When you’ve been designing outdoor lighting for a long time, you quickly see the difference between those lighting projects that were designed and installed by a professional lighting designer and those who sell and install lighting but are not actually trained as a designer.
The easiest way to tell these projects apart is what I like to call the mark of ‘Vorro’! We all know the mark of Zorro, the ‘Z’ that the famed Zorro slashed wherever he went for all to see. The mark of Vorro is the dreaded ‘V’ that is plainly visible for all to see in outdoor lighting systems installed by those who are not well-educated in how light performs or lighting design. This is frequently the mark of an inexperienced lighting installer who does little actual design.
the v look
The typical landscape lighting “bullet” light, whether it be a halogen or LED, and regardless of the quality of the fixture, emits light in a cone shape. When used to graze a wall, the light looks like a V since you only see part of the cone. These lamps or LEDs produce beams in the areas of 15, 30-45 or 60 degrees of spread. These beams are commonly known as spot beams, flood beams and wide flood beams. There are times when each of these beams can be used appropriately for a specific purpose. Unfortunately, some installers use the same fixture, same light intensity and same beam spread for everything, without taking into account the desired look or function of the fixture where it is being placed. What we see most often is the 35 watt halogen (or equivalent LED) with a mid-range 35 degree beam spread used for everything on the property from walls to trees.
When trying to graze a narrow column, for example, the skilled designer may choose the 15 degree spot beam to shoot a narrow light stream straight up the length of the column. On the other hand, if the designer wishes to graze a wider area, they may use the more diffused 60 degree beam for a softer, more radiant effect. Adding a linear spread lens to the fixture will widen the beam even more. Or the professional lighting designer could select an entirely different fixture all together. Personally, we tend to use wider wash fixtures when grazing expansive wall areas instead of the over-used bullet type fixture.
Escondido 5
Since narrower beams are confining their light in a smaller beam area, they produce a more intense and distinctive V shaped light effect; while the wider beam is usually gentler, more even with a less pronounced V effect. If a linear spread lens is used on the wider beam, the V effect is usually eliminated. When using a wide wash fixture instead, there is no V to begin with since the light is typically emitted in approximately 180 degree spread.
The next time you’re driving down the road at night, look for the mark of Vorro … and beware.  If you are in the greater Austin or Texas Hill Country, can we help you avoid the MARK OF VORO?  Contact us here