Toro outdoor lighting
Three-tier pagoda lights enhance a front walk,
but the key is to use them sparingly, lighting experts say.
Here they are used every 5 feet.

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Light up your night

Outdoor lighting should hav
all the subtlety of moonlight

By Tim Ryan
Star-Bulletin

Outdoor lighting can make a home look more attractive, accent a well-landscaped yard and help provide safety and security.

"It's something that's come of age. People spend a lot of money on their home and on landscaping it, and they have neat things they want to highlight," a Toro outdoor lighting representative says.

Even as it pleases aesthetically, outdoor lighting can also be purely practical. As the two-income family becomes more common, enjoying the back yard, deck or lanai becomes a strictly after-dark affair.

And those who entertain often know that usable living space naturally decreases at night, says Elton Ericson, president of Aurora Lighting on Nimitz Highway.

"Garden lighting opens up the outdoors, making it available, comfortable and inviting after dark," he says.

But before you run to your neighborhood hardware store, you need a plan.

First think about the objects the lights are meant to highlight, Ericson said. For highlights, the illumination should be subtle, experts say, creating a soft glow that imitates the natural light you see on the branches of a tree on a moonlit night.

By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
Malibu Lights, such as this model at Aurora Lighting,
are among the most popular outdoor systems.

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A few well-placed lights can bring out the texture of a simple brick wall, highlight a tree and light the path leading to your front door.

"I wish I could stop every time I see a string of 15 lights along a sidewalk and educate people," says Ericson. Such lighting calls attention to the lights themselves and often the area ends up looking like an airport runway.

Path lighting can be tucked into bushes or plants and still throw enough light on the sidewalk for people to see where they're stepping.

Lighting up a deck opens up the space for nighttime use. It also makes the space safer, as anyone who's tripped over a planter or bench after sunset can attest. There are many products that allow lighting to be attached along railings and the verticals of steps.

Safety is also a factor if you have a pool or pond. When entertaining, you may want a soft glow to illuminate the area without making the pool look like a UFO that's landed in your yard, but it should not be so subtle that guests end up taking an unexpected dip.

However, if doing laps after dark is your thing, you may want a supplemental system to give adequate light for that, too.

Whatever your outdoor lighting needs, planning and plotting out a scheme are necessary. After you've done that, your next step is choosing the lights you'll need and installing them. (See accompanying articles.)

It may sound like a lot of work, but the result will be pleasing to the eye as well as the psyche.

"People are spending a lot of money for their gardens," Ericson says. "And when are they home? In the evening. So you want to enjoy your garden in the evening as well. Outdoor lighting is the best way to do that."

To light the outdoor spaces of your home, you first have to decide where you want the lighting and why -- for simple aesthetics and for safety. Here are some ways to start:

Choose a focal point: Ask yourself what feature of your yard or home is most attractive, what can be lighted for the most dramatic effect. Usually a large tree, landscaped island, main entrance, or even pathway provide the most outstanding focal point. You may choose more than one focus, but any more that two probably will simply dilute the effect.

Consider safety and security: At night, see if there any dark spots around your home that may be a security risk. Corners and building-hugging bushes are common problem areas. Check if obstacles such as steps are clearly visible. You may want to install an appropriate fixture in any area of concern.

By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
Flood lights are a good choice for illuminating
windows and doors.

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Use your imagination: Draw out your landscape lighting plan before beginning. Take accurate measurements, pinpointing fixture locations and the area each fixture will light to ensure that your final effect is sensible, balanced and beautiful. With little effort, you can bring out the colors and shadows of foliage and the many textures your landscaping has to offer.

Some hardware stores have brochures that will help you lay out a grid for easily drawing your plan.

Select your fixtures: Pre-packaged lighting sets offer a convenient way to buy complete systems with everything you'll need. Choose the kit that offers the type of fixtures appropriate for your objectives.

For maximum energy efficiency, you may want to add a photocell to turn fixtures on automatically at dark, off at dawn. Another advantage of the complete kits is their low voltage, which means they are inexpensive to operate, easy to install and movable. Fixtures should be of high-quality, die-cast aluminum or industrial polymers that feature durability and brightness.

There are many styles for individual fixtures and complete light sets. Consider adding more color to your outdoor lighting. Accessory items are available in red, green, blue and amber for creating just the right "mood." A mixture can add drama; blue for a cooling effect, and amber for warmth.

Estimate your cable needs: Using the measurements on your plan, calculate the length of cable required to link your light fixtures to the transformer. Examine the kit you plan to purchase and verify that it includes enough cable for your plan. If not, you can purchase appropriate-length cable separately. Remember that outdoor wiring must be grounded. It must also be rated as water-resistant, UL -approved for outdoor use. Fixtures rated for interior use should never be used outdoors.

Study your lighting options

Many lighting products are available on the market. Some hardware or specialty lighting stores may have demonstration areas to show you what the lights look like in the dark. To help you decide what's needed, know what's out there and what the products achieve. Here's are some basic styles and their uses:

Tier lights: Generally used on steps and walkways create safer passage.

Floods: A good choice for eliminating dark areas around windows and doors.

Down lights: These are mounted high in a tree or arbor and aimed down for a soft and romantic effect.

Up lights: These use fixtures that are surface- or ground-mounted and angled up to highlight a key object.

Cross lights: These are mounted on either side of a tree, gate or arbor to reveal detail and soften shadows.

Shadows: A light is placed at ground level to throw an object's shadow on a surface behind it.

Silhouettes: These fixtures light the surface behind an object, creating a striking effect.

Accents: Intense light focused on a specific object to contrast it against a dark background.

Spread lights: These create circular patterns to illuminate flowers and low shrubs from above.

Other considerations:

Low-voltage systems are less expensive and are now better built than before. There's little added expense for such a transformer, and it's even safer to operate and easy to install -- just plug it in.

Inexpensive lighting kits usually have lights made of expensive forms of rigid plastic. One of the toughest materials is called Noryl and is used in lights manufactured by General Electric. There are also die-cast aluminum fixtures, and solid copper and bronze varieties, but these are expensive.

Consider putting lights on separate switches. It may be more expensive, but it allows tailoring the lighting to create the ambiance you want at different times.