6 Tips to Make Your Landscape Lighting Environment-Friendly

Lighting is a critical aspect of the outdoors. It brings value and character to space by drawing attention to textures, colors, and forms of an area. Hence, lighting helps outdoor spaces achieve their true value by highlight the flora and the architectural details. 

Most people aim at creating breathtaking landscape lighting to draw attention to their homes. But it is one thing to create a stunning lighting layout and another to achieve a layout that’s aesthetically pleasing and environment-friendly. This can only be achieved with proper planning and ensuring that a majority of the light is reaching its target. That way there’ll be less wasted light while highlighting the desirable aspects of the area. 

The primary objective of environment-friendly landscape lighting is to minimize energy consumption and reduce wastage. Whether you are landscaping from scratch or revamping an existing outdoor space into an eco-friendly area, the tips shared below will help. 

 Opt for Energy-Efficient Landscape Lighting 

Make your outdoor space more eco-friendly by investing in smart technology and energy-efficient lighting solutions. The obvious options are solar and LED lights. 

• Solar Lights 

Solar lights are a great replacement for old inefficient incandescent lights. They are easy to install and need little maintenance. Moreover, since they use readily available solar energy, you don’t have to worry about wasting energy when you forget to switch off the deck lights. 

Think of replacing the lights in your walkway, patio, and garden with these solar fixtures for added security. 

• LED Lighting 

In comparison to the traditional incandescent lights, LED (light-emitting diodes) lights use 25%-80% less energy and last about 25 times longer. Moreover, LED lights are known to emit little heat in comparison to incandescent bulbs and CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps). No wonder, LEDs are one of the most rapidly developing lighting technologies available today. 

LEDs are available for a variety of home and industrial applications. For your outdoor space, install industrial LED lighting that emits light in a specific direction, reducing the need for reflectors or diffusers. 

Research Well before Picking Lighting Fixtures

Diligent research when purchasing lighting fixtures for the outdoors will go a long way in saving energy and money. Check the fine print to ensure that you install suitable fixtures. For instance, if you want to install lights in bushes and the grass area, make sure the lighting fixtures are approved for use in wet areas. 

Similarly, lights installed around the walkways and stairways should be resistant to impact damage from kids playing around, pesky grass cutters, and weed whackers. 

Further, calculate the exact amount of light you’ll need. Multiply the square footage of the space you intend to light up by 1.5 to get a rough estimate of the wattage needed. 

Place Lights at Different Heights 

Placing lighting fixtures too low, at ground level can render a dark and eerie appeal. Moreover, since the area isn’t illuminated enough (despite a great assortment of lights), you will end up using more lights and wasting energy. 

Instead, place lighting fixtures at varying heights in the outdoor space. This will ensure an even distribution of light and broaden the scope of landscaping at night. 

Invest in Smart Lighting Fixtures

Smart light fixtures offer a technologically advanced way to save energy and reduce light pollution. These lights are designed with timers, dimmers, daylight sensors, or motion sensors that turn down the lights when not in use or at pre-selected time intervals. This considerably reduces excessive energy consumption. 

Moreover, these lights turn on automatically when they detect motion, thus scaring away miscreants. Thus, you can carefully position these lights close to the building or otherwise dark corners where anyone could lurk undetected after sunset. 

Remember Not to Go Overboard

Too much outdoor lighting can create unwanted lighting that will reflect light indoors. This may blind people, waste energy, and wash out the natural view of the stars and other heavenly bodies. Excessive lighting also contributes to carbon emissions and interferes with animal migration.

While you are all gung ho about boosting your home’s nighttime curb appeal, it’s important to know when to stop. Follow these quick tips to avoid excess outdoor light. 

• Place the lights in the evening to ensure that they are positioned properly. This will help prevent the glare that’s often a result of a light source being too big or bright.

• Opt for light fixtures that come with reflectors and shielding. This will ensure that the light is concentrated where you want it to.

• Go for low-wattage bulbs as they offer enough illumination for outdoor spaces. Usually, lights that are 40 watts or lower are perfect for lighting pathways and garden beds. 

Avoid bulbs with higher wattage as they produce unnecessary harsh light and negatively affect the aesthetics of the outdoor space. Moreover, bright outdoor bulbs can blind visitors, disrupt neighbors, and cause auto accidents.

Keep the Light Fixtures Clean

Any dirt or dust settling on the lighting fixtures will absorb light and reduce its efficiency. Make sure the light fixtures are cleaned regularly. Turn off the lights and let the bulb cool. 

Next, use a cleaning solution and microfiber cloth to clean them. Also, ensure that the fixture is dry before turning it on. 

Wrapping Up

Lighting is a critical component of our everyday lights. The addition of appropriate landscape lighting can transform your backyard or garden and boost your home’s curb appeal. However, it’s also important to consider the impact of energy usage from an ecological perspective. 

Use the tips shared above to illuminate the pathways, entries, driveway, stairs, decks, gazebos, and other architectural features in your garden while minimizing your carbon footprint.