Garden Lighting Hunza Lights Outdoor Lighting Design

Five Step Guide on Garden Lighting Design

1. Garden Lighting - Which Lights and Where

Choosing exterior and garden lighting doesn’t have to be complex. Look at the outdoor space you have and follow our basic lighting layout advice.

It’s good to place garden lighting around and near areas where there will be most activity. Make a note of any seating or dining areas that would benefit from illumination. Next, note any features that would benefit from the addition of garden lighting, inc. water features, sculptures, planted borders, specimen plants, hedges and/or trees, architectural features, pathways, steps, terrace areas. You may want to place a good light source near gateways, parking areas or garage doors?

Think about how you might view your garden lighting from inside your home too. It’s pleasing to be able to look out on a beautifully illuminated garden in the evening, garden lighting outdoor lights.

Once you have made a note of all the areas that you think would benefit from garden lighting you will need to investigate which fittings will be most suited to garden lighting those areas. On the whole low voltage lighting is always recommended and is well suited to most domestic garden lighting schemes, although please be aware that halogen lamps used within most of the low voltage light fittings do get very hot when in use! You can overcome this heat by replacing the halogen lamps with LED lamps in some cases, garden lighting outdoor lights.
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Garden Lighting Hunza Lights Outdoor LED Fittings Design Surrey Berkshire London Brass Stainless Steel Transformers Copper Bronze Low Voltage Lamps Metal Contemporary

Garden Lighting Hunza Lights Outdoor LED Fittings Design Surrey Berkshire London Brass Stainless Steel Transformers Copper Bronze Low Voltage Lamps Metal Contemporary

LED garden lighting is getting more and more popular due to the improving standard of LED garden lights output and colouring and of course the overall ‘cooler running temperature’ of LED fittings.

Outdoor garden lights are usually designed to be installed at three varying height levels: ground, mid height or high on a wall or post (or in a tree). The lighting effects created from these three positions will vary according to the design of the individual light fitting you choose, garden lighting outdoor lights.

It’s always nice to have a mixture of garden light fittings at varying heights within your scheme to achieve varying textures and lighting effects when viewed from different areas within the house and garden.

2. Different Lighting Systems for Garden Lighting

For many years now low voltage 12v Halogen garden lighting has been the preferred choice for the garden design professional due to its efficiency and light output. More recently, advances in LED garden lighting technology and reduction in the cost of the LED garden lighting fittings, has certainly placed LED garden lighting firmly in the race, garden lighting outdoor lights.

A 12 volt electrical supply rather than the widely used 240 volt supply is fed through a (concealed) suitably externally rated transformer. Generally speaking exterior low voltage garden lighting transformers can be placed at ground level but this is not always the case. Low voltage lights are always energy efficient and economical to operate. The brightness level of the garden lighting is determined by the design of the individual garden light fitting and also by the lamp wattage that is utilised. These can range from 5 watts up to 50 watts (halogen). Low voltage cable is weatherproof and shockless and is designed for installation above ground level. However, for protecting the cable and for a neater appearance, your electrician may choose to hide the cable runs within mulch and planting etc. Beware - foxes and squirrels have been known to enjoy chewing through low voltage cable! You may want to protect your electrical cable and investigate the various humane pest control devices currently available on the market for garden lighting?

Being very small LED's (light emitting diodes) can often be used in many areas where normal lighting is not possible. A LED garden lighting that consumes 3 – 5 watts is now claimed to give the equivalent light output of 20w lamp!

Outdoor LED garden lighting is safe, inexpensive to run, robust, reliable, easy to install and great to look at. In past years garden LED lights sources have been either very good or very poor, with the very good quality fittings with proven high beam output being highly priced and used mainly in the corporate sector. The cheaper poorer light output LED’s were only good as marker lights. LED garden lighting technology however is now advancing rapidly and good quality external light fittings, with a good light output, can now be purchased for reasonable prices, garden lighting outdoor lights. It is worth mentioning that most LED garden lighting or exterior light fittings are supplied as sealed units and therefore once the fitting fails the whole unit will need replacing as opposed to just the lamp. Generally speaking LED garden lighting runs ‘cool to the touch’. Exciting coloured garden lighting schemes can be created using state of the art LED garden lighting technology and you can always mix and match with traditional halogen lighting if necessary, garden lighting outdoor lights.

3. External Transformers & Drivers for Garden Lighting

Garden Lighting Hunza Lights Outdoor LED Fittings Design Surrey Berkshire London Brass Stainless Steel Transformers Copper Bronze Low Voltage Lamps Metal Contemporary

A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another through ‘inductively coupled garden lighting electrical conductors’. Transformers are used extensively in electronic products to step down the supply voltage to a level suitable for the low voltage circuits they contain. The transformer also electrically isolates the end user from contact with the supply voltage for garden lighting.

Typical External Transformer

LED drivers control the amount of current and voltage supplied to LED’s (light emitting diodes), garden lighting outdoor lights.The driver is an electronic power regulator (driver) and it functions as a current regulator that controls the brightness, color and intensity of the LED bulbs.

If you opt for low voltage or LED lighting then you will require transformers as part of your purchase, unless your installing electrician is happy to supply them for you.

The size of transformer or driver that you will require will be determined by:-

a) The light fittings that you choose

b) the wattage of the lamps within those light fittings

c) the positions of the light fittings in relation to each other

d) the required switching circuit

e) the main power source for garden lighting

A helpful electrician will always work out the best layout plan for external transformers for you.

One point to consider is that in any garden scheme externally rated IP67 (IP rating refers to the weatherproofing of an item) transformers and drivers are always preferable and need to be used in conjunction with IP rated cable connectors, garden lighting outdoor lights.

A basic requirement will be to allow one transformer per garden light fittings.

Garden Lighting Outdoor Hunza Lights Fittings

SUGGESTED EXTERNAL TRANSFORMER LAYOUT

Garden Lighting Outdoor Hunza Lights Fittings

The black boxes on the above plan represent the possible transformer positions for the various light fittings. The size of the external transformer is dictated by the wattage of the lamps within the garden light fittings. Ideally the transformer should be located within a 4m radius of the garden lighting, light fitting/s to avoid voltage drop, garden lighting outdoor lights.

4. Remote Controls & Sensors for Garden Lights

A Remote Control Lighting System can be installed easily into any outdoor environment. Single or four channel circuits are widely available and they generally allow a 200m range from the wireless switch. Systems vary from make to make and some are not dimmable! garden lighting outdoor lights. A remote control unit can be used to control your lights, water features, gates, etc.

Garden Lighting Outdoor Hunza Lights Fittings

A PIR Radio Sensor can be placed anywhere you like without the need to hard wire it. The sensor can be easily mounted on a wall or post. Garden lighting features include; time delay (dawn to dusk), operating light level and distance/range.

Ask for more information!

A Remote Control Lighting System can be installed easily into any outdoor environment. Single or four channel circuits are widely available and they generally allow a 200m range from the wireless switch. Systems vary from make to make and some are not dimmable! A remote control unit can be used to control your garden lights, water features, gates, etc.

A PIR Radio Sensor can be placed anywhere garden lighting you like without the need to hard wire it. The sensor can be easily mounted on a wall or post. Features include; time delay (dawn to dusk), operating light level and distance/range.

Ask for more information!

5. Installation Guidelines for Garden Lighting

We recommend that outdoor and garden lighting should always be installed by a professional electrician, who has PART P Competancy. A Part P Certificate should be issued to you upon completion of any electrical works undertaken for your garden lighting.

In our experience it’s rare that a good quality garden lighting light fitting fails if it is installed with care and attention to detail by a professionally qualified and experienced electrician. Failures are generally related to the use of unsuitable cable connectors and unsuitable transformers being fitted. Always employ a suitably qualified electrician – as your product warranty will not cover bad garden lighting workmanship and you may well end up paying for new lights and for another electrician to refit! General maintenance for your garden lighting scheme is minimal and easy to carry out and may include changing halogen garden lamps, wiping over fittings and checking cables for any obvious signs of damage garden lighting.

PART P - In January 2005, Part P of the Building Regulations came into force. These regulations introduced safety standards to electrical installations within domestic properties. This means that, with few exceptions, any electrical work undertaken in your home such as the addition of a new electrical circuit or any work in your kitchen, bathroom or garden lighting area must be notified to the Local Authority Building Control for inspection. It even includes work that has been carried out professionally, by yourself or another family member or friend. Garden lighting by using a contractor who is registered with a Competent Persons Scheme, the contractor will be able to self-certify that the work meets the required standards and that it has been notified to the local authority.

Approved contractors have been independently assessed to ensure that they operate to the highest safety standards. If the work you’ve had done is affected by Part P, your contractor will notify the authorities of the garden lighting job done and you will receive a building compliance certificate so that you know that the work has been registered with your Local Authority Building Control.

You will almost certainly have to produce garden lighting this certificate at a later date, so when it arrives, please keep it in a safe and secure place!

NOTE: PART P of the Current UK Building Regulations – states that any electrical installation must be carried out by a ‘PART P - competent person’. This is in line with the competency expected from gas installers and goes far beyond just knowing which colour wires do what. Competency, in this case, garden lighting will mean a full, qualified knowledge of electrical installations. It will mean you have the ability to thoroughly check a circuit for safety and you will be able to issue a minor works certificate as a self certified "competent person". Electricity kills and injures many people every year. Garden lighting, A great many of these people are dead or injured because they tried installations which they did not understand. If you have an installation which is not correctly certified, your house insurance may not be valid.

NOTE: This legislation does not apply in Scotland.

NOTE: PART L of the Current UK Building Regulations – states that ‘a certain number of dedicated low energy garden lighting light fittings must be installed within new build UK homes or extensions.’ Certain rules also apply to offices and commercial properties. These fittings must have integrated ballasts within the garden light fittings to ensure only low energy lamps can be used and replaced. (download a copy of the latest

Building Regulations regarding lighting from the official Government website).