If you’re looking for a brief and to the point guide for installing additional landscape lighting in Orlando, Florida, this simple, step-by-step instruction will get you going in the right direction:
Determine The Why’s And Make A Sketch
Before you draw out your wallet and invest in any landscape lighting for your Orlando home, determine first why you want extra illumination for your outdoor area. Is it to create a laidback, romantic mood at nigt? Maybe there are harsh blindspots and shadows in your bench or garden? Perhaps you have several outdoor features you want to highlight?
Whatever the reasons, you want to create a sketch of your yard. This sketch should include your exisiting lighting fixtures; outdoor features like benches, fountain, etc; trees, shrubs, and everything else in between. This sketch should help you in the next step.
Where Should You Install The Fixtures?
After you’ve defined your reasons for additional lighting and made a sketch of your yard, you should match the fixtures’ instllation location with your purpose. Do you want to light up the bench sitting on the side of your pathway? Place a lamp behind it. Do you want to evoke that relaxed mood? Place landscape lighting under your shrubs. Want to eliminate harsh shadows in your pathways and create that feeling of security? You may need a series of short stake lights installed along the border.
Decide On How Much Time And Money You’re Willing To Spend
Not all lighting fixtures are created equal.
Take 120-volt lighting fixtures as an example. These usually require the greatest installation effort. For starters, their wiring has to be buried at a depth 18 inches or kept enclosed to protect it from water. In Orlando, Florida, you’d need the services of a licensed electrician to get this installation job done, which is an added expense you must consider.
On the other hand, there are low-voltage landscape lighting options that only need a receptable and transformer to work. The latter converts the 120v of electricity from the line to 12v to power the lights.
If you want to keep your time and money investment at a minimum, go for solar lighting. Solar-powered outdoor lighting fixtures have no cords and are the easiest to install. You can position it in such a way that the PV cells get enough sunlight during the day so it can light up your landscape at night.
Install The Lighting Fixtures
If you want to highlight several attractions or spots in your home’s landscape (ex.: statue, fountain, etc), you should go for just a few low-intensity lighting fixtures, and install them at various angles and distances. Don’t make the mistake of directly lighting the object as that will create shadows.
Aside from lighting up certain highlights in your outdoor setting, landscape lights can also create soft spot of lights that can gently illuminate your pathways. To add that ‘lit by the moonlight’ mood, go for blue-tinted lights for your outdoor or garden landscape.