Any professional lighting designer knows that one size lamp does not fit all applications. Yet, some lighting manufacturers continue to sell their fixtures with the lamp included. We have yet to figure out how they know what will be lit.
The first step in designing a successful and aesthetically pleasing landscape lighting system is to start with the lamp, not the fixture. Different objects deserve to be lit with the optimum wattage and beam angle to maximize the desired effect. You wouldn’t want to light a tall narrow tree with a wide beam angle lamp where half the light is ineffective. Conversely, you wouldn’t wash a wall with a narrow spot. Once the proper lamp has been selected, the contractor or designer can choose the best housing or fixture to support the lamp.
In an effort to be the best lighting designer possible, we encourage you to design with the desired end result in mind, hence your customers satisfaction. Don’t settle for a “mediocre” result; go for the “WOW effect”!
Below is an example of how the same fixture and type of lamp with different beam angles/spreads can make a difference in the finished product. Big difference!
Great examples of designing with light landscape images below courtesy of Light It Right in Houston, Texas utilizing 2700K Brilliance LED lamps in various beam angles. Photos by Gary Zvonkovic Photography. Copyright 2015
