Outdoor Lighting For Second Homes

Matt Culberson

July 30, 2008 11:55:33 am

 

It is very easy to see the aesthetic value in an outdoor lighting system for your home. Outdoor lighting has the fastest and most dynamic effect of any home improvements, while also providing utility. If you have a beautiful home and top-notch landscaping, no one will see any of it for half of every day without lighting. But aside from these standard advantages, outdoor lighting proves to be especially useful for second homes and lake houses.

Reasons why second homes and lake houses should have outdoor lighting:

- Security
o Most people with second homes have a high level of income, which usually translates to an expensive house, a house with expensive toys, or both. 

o The term “second home” itself implies a necessity for security measures, since it is normally inhabited every weekend at most. This along with the valuable property mentioned above make second homes a prime target for burglaries. A house with no lights is always a more likely target, and a well-lit home will almost always be crossed of a potential targets list.

o Second homes and lake houses are often secluded or in neighborhoods with larger, more private lots. Improved privacy can make your home vulnerable, and the first line of defense from an intruder is a well-lit area surrounding your house.

- Utility 

o If you are from Atlanta, Alpharetta, or any other local areas that never seem to slow down, the peace of a relaxing mountain or lake house is very luring. So when you finally get out to your sanctuary from the stress of normal life, it is nice to fully enjoy it. The evening hours are often the most enjoyable and relaxing time of the day, and outdoor lighting allows you to enjoy yourself more. Whether it is grilling out on the patio, enjoying the warmth of an outdoor fireplace, or walking down the path to your dock to listen to the water, lighting helps you to enjoy your home away from home that much more.  

- Simple Curb Appeal 

o Apart from safety and convenience, outdoor lighting can drastically improve the way your home looks in the evening hours.

o Second homes and lake houses are places for fun and relaxing, which often includes entertaining. For a really impressive showing at your next party or gathering, outdoor lighting can add a great ambiance and vibrant atmosphere.
 

Let Your Light Shine Down

Rachel Brown - From Points North Magazine

July 17, 2008 1:47:49 pm

Outdoor Lighting Brings the Home Environment to the Lawn

Nothing beats reclining in your favorite lounge chair on the deck after a long day at work, sipping your favorite summer drink and enjoying the beautiful weather. Why not prolong the enjoyment until after dark with a lighting system that brings the family room outdoors? Not only does a lighting plan allow for nighttime entertaining, there are other benefits that include landscape and architectural enhancement, as well as safety and security. For homeowners looking to enhance their current property instead of buying another house, lighting is yet another way to do so.
 

“Over the past year or two, there’s been an increase in the use of outdoor living areas, such as kitchens and fireplaces. People are moving living quarters outdoors,” said Matthew Broyles, president of Atlanta-based outdoor lighting company Firefly Lighting LLC, and president of Association of Outdoor Lighting Professionals (AOLP).

Types of Outdoor Lighting
 

The Different types of outdoor lighting can be categorized as the following: architectural lighting, landscape lighting, deck/patio lighting, and security lighting. Prior to choosing a lighting design, you must consider your objective – whether it is for entertaining, embellishing your landscape or both, whether you prefer a low- or high-voltage system or both, and, of course, a budget.

Architectural lighting is used to emphasize the unique design elements of your home and most commonly accents the façade, which may include arches, columns, textured exteriors, and other structural features. Beyond the house structure, architectural lighting can also be applied to fountains, sculptures, and gazebos.

“With Architectural lighting, there are definitely certain aspects that look the best. Columns are a great architectural feature to light, both classic rounded ones and detailed wooden columns,” recommended Matt Culberson, marketing coordinator for Innovative Outdoors LLC in Duluth. “Another architectural feature that looks great with lighting is stacked stone, because the irregular texture creates a very unique shadow effect.”

To uplight a façade, Broyles suggested using a low-voltage 35-watt (or less) lamp. He also recommended MR 16 lamps for lighting the home front because of their variety in wattages and degree spreads. However, don’t be surprised if it takes a few more light fixtures than expected to achieve the desired effect. Chris Wakefield, president of The Outdoor Lights Inc. in Cumming, warned that in order to prevent light from pouring out to neighbor’s property, more lights may need to be implemented. “If you’re trying to crosslight the front of a home with four fixtures, and they’re shooting beams on a horizon plane, they may be doing more than projecting onto the façade,” he advised. “Sometimes it takes more lights to do the same job more efficiently so it becomes more discreet – you use smaller lamps, but you have more fixtures.”

Another common outdoor lighting treatment is landscape illumination. Landscape lighting is used to highlight your landscape and garden, where lighting can be placed strategically near trees, shrubs, flower-beds, and even Koi ponds to bring attention to these specific elements.

While the effect of lighting itself is the main goal in most outdoor lighting systems, landscape lighting can also take a decorative turn. “We’ve hung glass-blown spheres in trees,” said Wakefield, adding that he usually goes with the “less is more” rule unless otherwise instructed by the client.

Deck lighting is one of the fastest-growing categories of outdoor illumination because of the proliferation of outdoor kitchens and pools. “Pergolas and arbors have a very unique look with lighting,” Culberson said. Many times, lighting is mounted on these structures overhead to illuminate the grill or cooking prep area below. Textural elements such as outdoor stone fireplaces light well because of their materiality.

A specialty lighting feature for the pool that Rob Harrison, president of Long Cane Group Inc. in Alpharetta, has recently started experimenting with is the use of fiber optics underwater. “It’s a series of stars on the bottom of the pool that can be designed to change color. Fibers are bound into a cable system built into the bottom of the pool. You could have 100 points of light and the generator shines into one end of fiber optic system and generates the waves of color.” But know your budget: this type of treatment can cost nearly $10,000.

For those interested in providing a safe and secure home environment, a well-designed outdoor lighting system may be the perfect complement to an existing home security alarm system. “Security is a big thing. We’ve been doing zone lighting that stays on all night,” Wakefield commented. “If they get up and hear something, they can look out a window and see anything moving. It’s like a full-moon-lit night. [Some are] wanting this additional zone layered into their existing landscape lighting. It’s aesthetically pleasing – not like flood lights, so they can still keep it on while entertaining.”

Recreating a moon-lit night, moonlighting is the placement of lights in tall trees for a dramatic effect, which also falls under the landscape illumination category but can double as security lighting. “While it is accent lighting, people do a lot of moonlighting for security purposes. It lights a large space that doesn’t have focal points. No one would want to wander into a well-lit space like this if they were trying to break into a house,” Broyles said.

Volts of Light

In the world of outdoor lighting, there are two schools of thought regarding power: low-voltage (12-volt) and high-voltage (120-volt) systems. For many residential purposes, the low-voltage option serves your needs perfectly. However, certain effects such as moonlighting often require high-voltage systems, which have to be installed by a licensed electrician.

“The high-voltage system is more dependable, longer lasting, and the quality of fixtures is higher,” Harrison explained. “Advantages of low voltage are that it’s usually less expensive, there’s no actual current involved so there’s no danger of a shock, and there’s accessibility of the homeowner to do that sort of thing. There is flexibility with fixture options.”

Bear in mind that 12-volt systems involve less permanent transformers that are connected to your home’s 120-volt circuit via underground wire while having an outdoor high-voltage system requires the same precautions and expertise that normal house wiring does. Outdoor 120-volt lighting will need to be installed according to code and may require a buried conduit.

If you are in the business of saving energy and costs, low-voltage lighting is more suitable. LEDs (light-emitting diodes) are becoming more prevalent as an energy efficient, longer-lasting source in many commercial uses but have yet to break into residential applications. While lighting designers are in the process of developing more eco-friendly, energy-saving alternatives, Broyles confirmed “the only thing greener than low-voltage is LED.”

Added Wakefield, “For landscape lighting, LEDs aren’t proven yet. It’s there and it’s available, but some of the color temperatures are still a little cold. We’re in the process of testing it and really understanding where it’s going to fit into a landscape lighting.”

Cost and Maintenance

The time to discuss cost and overall maintenance is during the scheduled consultation with a reputable outdoor/landscape lighting company. It’s just as important to maintain your new investment, so don’t only consider initial installation and design in the budget.

A basic lighting system to uplight the front of a home usually costs around $1,500, and tack on an additional 10 percent for annual maintenance, which includes replacing bulbs. Some outdoor lighting companies charge by fixture while others base it on the job itself.

Perhaps the best way to save money is to choose the right contractor. “We all get in a hurry, and don’t always make the right decision choosing a contractor,” Wakefield advised. “A lot of people look at the bottom line and start signing away.” He noted that things to look for in a reputable contractor are companies that offer employees worker’s compensation, have general liability insurance, ensure a drug-free workplace, and have both an electrical and soil/erosion license from the state of Georgia.

Electrical costs are also something to consider when deciding on outdoor lighting – you don’t want to be shocked when you get that first power bill. The cost can range from around 25 cents per night upwards to almost $2 per night, depending on how long the lights burn and how many watts are being used. The general rule is 8 cents per kilowatt hour.

Whatever the cost, it’s clear that many homeowners are willing to pay the price to create a better outdoor environment – a sanctuary to escape the strip-mall lined highways and concrete business parks. Wakefield observed, “When you go to a five-star resort, the whole environment is very unique, and the place feels relaxed and comfortable – people want to recreate this in their back yard.”