Outdoor lights should accent the individual features of commercial landscapes in a balanced sense of proportion to the general surroundings. However, creating a sense of strong individuation without unraveling the property's entire sense of aesthetic of the property can be a challenge—one that normally requires a great deal of careful planning and photometric analysis. You must first see the artistry of the entire landscape itself, and then work backward to find the individuating points that constitute the entirety of the scene. This often requires cross training lighting outdoor lighting technicians in landscaping methodology, or even working in partnership with a landscape lighting company.

It is essential to pay close attention to individual forms in the landscape such as statues, fountains, ponds, waterfalls, and flower beds unique, individual works of art; then take a second and third look from another perspective to find the relationships between these seemingly separate elements. Closer examination should reveal an interconnected unity emerge out of the apparently random placement of certain objects. Landscaping contractors are masters of blending the individual with the universal in this fashion. Outdoor lighting in commercial landscape lights should compliment this apparent paradox and enhance both aspects of the scene simultaneously.

The most efficient way to go about this is to use a combination of high voltage and low voltage landscape lights to create four layers of illumination. The trick here is to invert the assumption that most people would make about outdoor landscape lights. Most would assume that high voltage lights be used to provide an overall “blanket” of bright, general lighting that allows you to see everything clearly. Accent lights, according to this line of reasoning, should be used for adding color or special lighting effects. This actually puts too much light into the landscape and tends to make outdoor structures, decorative elements, and fine art appears somewhat two dimensional.

This is because any object, (including the outdoor landscape as a comprehensive unity) requires a combination of light and shadow to look truly “three dimensional.” Low voltage general lighting is much better suited for this. Low profile, low-voltage outdoor lights can be installed in a variety of unique places throughout the landscape; such as hidden places in trees and bushes. This creates the illusion of bioluminosity, and produces a remarkable interplay of light and shadow on the ground. Waterfalls and ponds can be lit with up lights or led lights underneath the water itself. This will often produce a spectrum effect that creates mini-rainbows above the fountain or waterfall.

High-voltage outdoor landscape lights can then be added to provide additional layers of focused light around larger ornamental structures, earthworks, art, and waterworks. This draws the eye toward the object for emphasis without overpowering the general lighting theme of the property. With the right combination of high-voltage and low-voltage outdoor landscape lighting fixtures, you can combine as many as four layers of light. Not only will this better unify the many elements of the landscape into a harmonious unity, but it will also augment building lighting in such a way as to create a sense of unity and proportion between architecture and Nature as well.

It is essential to keep in mind that all of this can be done with practicality in mind as well as aesthetics. Our experts will help you in two very important ways create an outdoor lighting system that not only makes your client's property look better, but also make it safer. We can perform a systematic photometric analysis of the site and generate a design schematic that itemizes all necessary footcandle requirements and fixture locations. We can then supply you with motion sensor lighting controls that will allow you to integrate outdoor security lights into the landscape lighting system. Our many years of experience working with landscapers have taught us some very unique methods of hiding transformers and fixtures so that all an intruder would see when approaching the property is a sudden wall of apparently sourceless light that appears to spring suddenly up from the ground.