No single fixture on the market today can take on every outdoor lighting task effectively. Using a variety of techniques and intensities will create the inviting and interesting ambience that most homeowners desire in their landscape lighting system. Once the decision has been made to add outdoor lighting to your property, and you have a pretty good idea which areas need landscape lighting, there are four very basic things that should be considered when choosing the fixtures needed to finish the project well:
1. Know what lighting technique that is being used. The lighting technique will help you achieve the result you want. You know that if you are up lighting, you must use a fixture designed specifically for that. If you are down lighting, you MUST use a down lighting fixture which will not allow water to enter the fixture from the back side. Are you grazing a wide wall or highlighting a column? This will determine if you are going to use a bullet type fixture or a wall wash fixture. Incorporating several lighting techniques keeps your outdoor light plan from becoming flat or monotonous.
2. You need to determine the location and placement of the fixture. If you are placing the fixture in a turf/grass area, you MUST either put it in the ground flush, like a well fixture for up lighting a large tree, or use a very sturdy path type fixture that can’t be damaged easily by lawn maintenance equipment (see our blog on this topic: If you are placing the fixture in a mulched flower bed, you don’t want to use that same in-grade fixture because it will eventually become covered by mulch, and will then be useless; and if it is a halogen fixture, the heat generated could cause a fire. Is the fixture very close to a sprinkler head? If so, it needs to be sealed, and have the lens cleaned more often. Are the plants around it going to affect the light output by growing over it? If so, maybe the fixture needs to be something that shines from above instead. If the fixture is in or near a water feature, it will have to be completely water tight. Believe it or not, I have actually seen regular bullet type fixtures used to illuminate water features from within the fountain itself. This is NEVER a good idea. Also when considering location, think about the environment: is the property in a coastal area that will subject fixtures to salty air and sea spray? If so, then the lighting fixture will need to be constructed of heavy brass —– to tolerate these climate conditions.
3. Then you have to decide the intensity of the light output. Intensity or brightness is measured in lumens. How many lumens do you need to achieve the effect you are looking for? With integrated LED fixtures, this element is built into the fixture itself, so a lot of thought has to go into the selection process. If the fixture is a regular halogen fixture using a lamp, the lamp will provide the lumen output and the beam spread. Another thing that will control the intensity will be the color of the light itself. Whiter light with a higher color temperature (like 4000K for moonlighting) will appear to be more intense and brighter than a warmer color light (like 2700K which is more typical in halogen lighting). This comes into play a lot more now with LED lighting than it used to with halogen when filters were used to create different light colors.
4. Finally, you will need to consider the cost of the fixture. Certainly, there are a lot of things that go into the cost of a fixture. What is the material and finish, and how is it constructed? These are probably the two most apparent factors that influence fixture cost. The home improvement store fixture is going to be made from plastic, or some kind of very thin metal. A spec- grade product will be made from copper, brass, stainless steel or bronze. In between there will be many options. If the client wants the very best and has an unlimited budget, then by all means, give them the very best product you can get. We have found that most clients in the Austin and central Texas area want a well-made product that works efficiently and consistently, with a very good warranty that the installer and the manufacturer will honor. I always go by the rule of giving my client the best bang for the buck – the greatest value for the dollar — a quality fixture that is not over-priced and will stand up for many years.
Naturally, there are other sub-categories to think about, and selection can be subjective and personal when looking at décor or visibility of the lighting fixture. But I think that these four items are the biggies. Start off by thinking about these most important things in your decision making process; then your next steps will include installation, lamp types, lenses and color preferences.
Do you need more information on choosing the right fixture? Leave a comment or drop us a note here.
