Site lighting: design and construction of effective and colorful garden lighting (125 photos)

Outdoor lighting is an important component of the landscaping of a suburban area. It not only warns uninvited guests, but also facilitates the movement and maintenance of the garden, vegetable garden, greenhouses and other outbuildings. Artificial light shades the natural beauty in a new way, allowing you to enjoy not only clean air until late at night, but also a wonderful view of your own farm.

Both a simple lamp fixed at the gate and a specially designed landscape lighting project will require, first of all, compliance with electrical standards – lighting devices must withstand external influences, and the power supply system must be properly insulated and grounded.

It is also important to ensure the functionality of the system – to think over the control modes and the power supply system.

For outdoor lighting of a suburban area, you need to use special lighting devices with mains or battery power. The electric cable is laid in trenches at a depth of 30-50 cm with a special protective coating for wires.

The installation of the system must be carried out with the preservation of safety standards, special boxes are used for connections, insulated and protected from the effects of temperature changes and moisture. Grounding is required.

Creating a convenient control of the on and off modes, taking into account the range of devices presented on the modern market, is not difficult. These can be both network panels and remote controls.

It is also possible to install automatic machines that will control the lighting autonomously, in combination with a common security system, or as part of a Smart home.

Before you make an independent installation or repair of electrical equipment, you need to familiarize yourself with the instructions and safety standards for lighting on the street.

Types of outdoor lighting

Any light source installed on a private territory performs the functions of protection, access and decoration. When developing a common project, various modes and functions overlap each other, but the following conditional separation helps to develop the best option that combines the requirements of functionality with a common architectural and landscape style. At the same time, the size and location of the plot, residential, office and decorative buildings are also taken into account.

According to their purpose , lighting systems are divided into the following groups:

Security lighting indicates the presence of people. To do this, it is advisable to use an autonomous power supply of lamps equipped with time relays or photocells for automatic switching on after dark.

Security points are placed around the perimeter of the site, at doors and gates, and in areas that are under video surveillance. An audible alarm system can be installed in such systems. Another scarecrow can be infrared sensors that turn on the light when living creatures approach.

A functional lighting system provides access to all areas of the site at night. Lamps are usually installed on the edges of paths, stairs, bridges. They are part of landscape lighting, and in addition to ensuring safe movement, they also have a decorative function.

Such a system should be as durable and easy to operate as possible during all seasons. It is possible to test different methods of energy saving – solar panels, touch sensors, solar cells, etc.

Decorative lighting performs the function of decorating and transforming the site in the dark. It is akin to architectural and artistic illumination, only in this case lawns, trees, gazebos, artificial reservoirs and alpine slides become the object of decoration. If desired, you can also illuminate the facade of a country house.

A kind of such lighting can be considered the festive decoration of the plot and the country house in the form of neon garlands, which can be timed to traditional dates, or simply become a hobby and entertainment during a country holiday.

All three types of lighting are combined in a single project, complementing each other functionally, and creating a common light picture of the object.

Rules for the lighting design of a suburban area

When designing and implementing a lighting project, several universal factors must be taken into account.

It is necessary to avoid in every possible way overkill in the number and power of lighting devices. Calculations and schemes should be done at a minimum. After all, there is always an opportunity to add new elements.

The exact location of the lighting device, especially in cases where the lighting angle will be static, is better determined during experiments on a specific site, with specific lighting devices. This is the only way to adjust both the decorative and functional lighting effect.

The plot should look well-groomed and harmonious also in the daytime. The style and decoration of lighting fixtures in the light period of the day are striking, so they must be selected in harmony of color and shapes. You can also apply the masking of lighting devices.

Lighting of nearby neighboring houses and plots can introduce dissonance, spoil the scenery by crossing the lighting beams. The lighting of the neighbors should be taken into account, and considering the options for lighting your site, it is better to agree in advance with the neighbors on issues of functionality and aesthetics.

Outdoor lighting should not create discomfort indoors. Zoning of the site will help to avoid both excessive and lack of lighting.

The presence or absence of street lighting adjacent to the suburban area, or if it is still at the project stage, should also be taken into account when calculating and marking lighting points.

Types of lamps

The upper or lower illumination is used for the night decoration of the plots. With the upper illumination, for example with the help of pole lamps or spotlights, the objects must be at a certain distance.

With the lower illumination, which is increasingly used not only for design, but also for lighting tracks, light sources are located in the vicinity of lighting objects.

The photo with a general view of the plots shows examples of illuminated lighting at different levels.

Classic park lamps and spotlights, as well as ground lamps and columns in the hi-tech style, allow you to realize any fantasies. The range of festive lighting, sculptural and multicolored lamps for landscape design is also quite wide.

When choosing a design project and lighting fixtures, in addition to individual preferences, you need to be guided by the quality parameters of goods and services.

Photo of the site lighting