With the evenings starting to draw in more and more people are starting to notice their outdoor lighting – or indeed the lack of it. Lighting in outdoor spaces is something that’s easy to overlook but when needed is crucial. There’s nothing worse than having to walk through darkness only to hear the familiar crunch of a small creature squished underfoot. Indeed with many gardens containing snails, frogs, hedgehogs and even more exotic beasts the need for illumination is clear. Sadly most traditional outdoor lights use a halogen based bulb. These bulbs suffer from the effects of rain and have a short lifespan meaning they are far from ideal for an outdoor light. Often when the crucial moment of need comes switching them on results in little more than a dramatic noise and last flicker being darkness resumes.
The best solution is to upgrade your garden’s lighting to LED technology. With a few carefully placed lights you can transform an area from a dark uninviting space into a brightly lit oasis. LED down-lights and floodlights like these offer all kinds of benefits ranging from an improved colour tone and brightness to saving energy and lasting longer than 5 years or more. With less heat output and a lower voltage, LEDs are a much safer outdoor light for domestic garden use. With LED power being as low as 12v or 24v they are the perfect way to provide light without the risks of electrocution or a failed bulb.
Whenever dealing with electric outside it pays to take care. while LEDs are a safer option there is still a risk involved with using electric outside. Rain, condensation, freezing temperatures and even wild animals chewing can all pose a threat to the wiring. Getting a NICEIC approved electrician to install the lighting is often a wise choice for people who aren’t used to dealing with electronics. Getting things wrong could not only endanger health but lead to lighting needing to be repaired or replaced. Though it is still true that LEDs are safer.
Coming in a range of wattages and styles it’s easy to see how LED bulbs like these can transform a garden and make the perfect upgrade to any garden space. Floodlights aren’t the only way LED technology can be employed in gardens. Rope lights and waterproof LED strips offer a fantastic way to provide smaller lighting details along paths and even in ponds. Self recharging and stand-alone LED lights may be popular but aren’t the only option in gardens. There are a wealth of lamp styles from floodlights to more ornate spot lamps so making a garden personal and tailored to taste is still easy to achieve.
Once you’ve chosen which type of floodlight you want there are still a number of factors to consider. Beam angle is one such detail that shouldn’t be overlooked. Wide beam angles serve well to illuminate a wider area as the name implies but may fail to provide adequate light levels in certain areas. It always pays to check the specifications of any light you’re buying and ensure the range and lumen level will give the required end result. There’s no point upgrading all your lights only to find the end result is dark areas or indeed the problem of too much light in one place.
As a general rule you should use lots of lower power lights to spread light more evenly and avoid trying to use one big light to cover a vast area. Lighting being too bright results in a football pitch effect which serves to do little for the overall aesthetic of a garden. Again using smaller lights is an option that can have great results. Lighting around a garden feature is one easy way to make a dramatic impact. A few carefully placed single LEDs can give points of reference without disturbing wildlife excessively, and allow people to see where they are.
Over at the Light Rabbit website there are numerous examples of LED lights designed for the garden. These serve will to illustrate some of the styles but there are also tape lights like these which can be used outdoors. With only a few carefully chosen lights you can soon have your garden illuminated and looking exactly how you want it to. So don’t delay, join the green revolution and upgrade your garden’s lighting to the bright new LED future.