Lights.com—Outdoor Lighting Fixtures
Choosing between outdoor lighting fixtures need not be a long and difficult process, but neither should it be random. Whatever your specific outdoor lighting needs and situation, there will be some fixtures that are much better suited to your purposes than are some others. The only real trick is in recognizing what your specific needs are (like the need to match a certain architectural style, the need to light a large area, the need to enhance design or landscape elements, and/or the need for energy efficiency).
Outdoor lighting products fall into three major categories: security lighting, decorative lighting, and functional lighting. The three categories are not mutually exclusive, however, as decorative lighting can also increase security and functional lighting can also be decorative. It is not necessary to sacrifice one aspect for another, but the more functions a set of fixtures fulfills the higher its price tag usually is. To keep your costs down, you should prioritize your needs in terms of security, aesthetic value, and efficiency.
Energy efficiency can be a major concern for several reasons--with the first being the most obvious. By drawing less power to produce the needed light, energy-efficient bulbs and fixtures reduce total energy costs. Additionally, bulbs that have a longer life can reduce operating costs by requiring fewer replacement bulbs throughout the life of the fixture (depending on a bulb's life-to-price ratio). Less obvious is the cost-effectiveness of energy-efficiency to society as a whole--in that reducing wasted energy, excess packing materials, and discarded waste products reduces the strain on the ecosystem.
Major Concerns for Outdoor Lighting
The most common reasons for installing outdoor lighting are for safety and security. Security lights usually illuminate large areas and provide for safe negotiation through tricky terrain or landscaping, and present a deterrent to would-be criminals. Security lights need to be bright and should be installed where they will illuminate the widest areas. They need to be reliable and able to withstand whatever the weather may throw at them. Motion-sensitive and daylight-sensitive (photo-sensitive) lights are often employed for security purposes.
Decorative outdoor lighting is used to accent the architecture styles, landscaping features, and other aesthetic features (like fountains and statues) of private as well as public properties. Decorative lights are not usually as bright as security lights nor do they shed their light as broadly--though almost any increase in outdoor lighting enhances security somewhat. Decorative lights and fixtures are available in more colors and styles, to match a broader range of tastes, than are security lights or purely functional lights.
The third category of outdoor lighting products is sometimes just called exterior lighting, or functional lighting, and blends the qualities of decorative lighting and security lighting. This includes products that are not designed for security purposes but offer bright light and wide coverage in a more decorative style. Public lighting and exterior, commercial lighting needs most often fall into this category. Sophisticated design and security elements usually increase the cost of a product, and this is the category that offers the most function for the money.
Specific Qualities of Light and Lighting
The visible spectrum of light exists between a reddish-orange and a bluish-white. When every color of the spectrum is present, the light is white. Producing pure white light takes more energy and is inherently less efficient. However the orange light produced by the most efficient sources is less pleasing to the eye, so trade-offs are made. These trade-offs are either made through color-correction processes (in more efficient bulbs) or by ignoring optimum efficiency in favor of preferable light color.
Traditional incandescent bulbs and halogen bulbs are the least efficient but produce the whitest light. Halogens are somewhat more efficient but require a higher operating temperature (making smaller versions more hazardous) and a UV filter to block out potentially harmful radiation. Fluorescent bulbs are more efficient and use an interior coating to block radiation and produce a more pleasing visible light--with more expensive bulbs generally producing more pleasing light.
