You know every inch of the landscape at your beloved home, but have you been promoting safety in your lighting designs? A well-manicured landscape doesn’t make you immune to stumbling or tripping, especially at night. Coming home after sunset with concerns and responsibilities on your mind can distract you. You could misjudge a step or slip on a pile of wet leaves that blew in while you were at work.
A fall could easily result. At best, you’ll be sore and annoyed. At worst, a trip to an urgent care clinic will consume the rest of your evening.
Promote Safety for All Visitors
Imagine how much harder navigating the property will be in the dark for someone unfamiliar with the paths and steps. The fall clock change makes it increasingly likely that guests and other visitors will arrive at your home after dark.
A couple of porch lights doesn’t equal the safest experience possible. You need the safety benefits created by a comprehensive design for the driveway, doors, deck lighting, and landscaped paths.
Safely Navigate the Property at Any Hour
Do you ever notice how you typically turn your lights on before you go upstairs or come downstairs, or before going down into your basement? As an extension of your home and a connection to your outdoor spaces, the safety benefits of landscape lighting are very similar to this subconscious habit of turning lights on before entering potentially hazardous spaces.
Professional landscape lighting design by Night Owl will mitigate the little hazards hiding within your landscape. As a bonus, a well-designed lighting system enhances your home’s appearance. Safety and beauty are completely compatible without making any compromises about either goal.
Lighting can be tastefully integrated into almost any potentially hazardous landscape features, such as:
- Decks
- Retaining walls
- Gazebos
- Doorways
- Mailboxes
- Garbage & recycling bin area
- Paths and steps (hardscape, rock, wood, etc.)
- Water features, pools, ponds
- Driveways
Illumination of fountains, ponds, beautiful trees, or your home’s walls can also increase safety while bringing out the landscape’s nighttime beauty. Lighting up landscape features defines the space and helps your visitors grasp the scope of the whole property and know where to go.
We’ve helped clients with completely unique terrain, all with their own unique safety challenges.
There is a multitude of products and techniques to draw upon to install stunning and highly functional landscape lighting at your home or business. After evaluating the nuances of your landscape, we will:
- Identify the best lighting placement to produce safety benefits
- Install the latest LED technology
- Choose ideal beam angles for different lights
- Select digital controls for adjusting light zones and light intensity
Without good lighting, the risk of accidents rises. Darkness can cause people to:
- Stumble on an unseen step
- Slip on a puddle or icy patch
- Step off a sidewalk edge and fall
Safety Benefits for The Holidays
Major holidays coincide with the darkest months of the year. As a result, you may have an increase in foot traffic on your property. Guests for a holiday party will need good lighting to walk to and from their parked cars. Holiday house guests, who want to stroll the yard for some fresh air, need illumination for safety.
And don’t forget about the delivery people coming and going. Delivery drivers frequently work after dark as they hustle to drop off packages during the holiday rush. They are always in a hurry and could be fatigued. Give them the best chance of doing their job without suffering a fall outside your door.
Extending this thought – positioning lights appropriately discourages theft, vandalism, and break-ins because criminals will not have shadows to conceal their activities. Read deeper about how landscape lighting benefits home security.
Landscape Lighting Considerations at Commercial Properties
If you manage or own a commercial property, landscape lighting plays an important role in limiting potential accidents and making a good impression. An inviting appearance for a commercial building adds to an organization’s prestige.
The safety of your employees, customers, contractors, and other visitors is of course paramount. Dark winter mornings and early sunsets call for landscape lighting that enables a safe flow of foot traffic between entrances and parking areas – especially if there’s ice or accumulated snow. Lights on all signage are important as well to prevent confusion and needless wandering on a property.
Lighting for utility areas, like around the dumpsters, aids in the prevention of accidents or assaults as well. After-hours cleaners will appreciate having a clear view of the outdoor areas that they have to navigate. Employees working late also deserve a safely lit environment.
How Different Lights Promote Safety Goals
The lighting of paths and entrances represents the priority. Doorways usually demand a relatively bright light mounted above or alongside a door. Small lights placed along the edges of a path make sure that they are visible. Brighter lights mounted directly into steps provide clear safety benefits because people will know exactly where to put their feet. A retaining wall may only need subtle undercap lights to alert people to its presence.
Bulb size and wattage affect illumination intensity. Not all locations require the same brightness. Instead of using a bright overhead lamp, a landscape might benefit from the gentle illumination of a fountain or large mature tree. This technique casts a diffuse light throughout the landscape that helps people see where they are going without being surrounded by deep darkness.
Start maximizing the potential of your landscape
Wisconsin has such an abbreviated warm season. With professional landscape lighting, you extend the functionality of your outdoor spaces every day and year-round.
Night Owl is southern Wisconsin’s expert on landscape lighting. We offer only high-quality materials for professional LED landscape lighting systems and honest advice to maximize the potential of your outdoor spaces.
We’re a local, quality-focused specialist. Reach out and request a free estimate today.
