A path or walkway softly lit is a pretty sight,and has the practical benefit of making it less likely those using it will stumble and end up rump over teacup.But folks who worry about rising numbers on the monthly electricity bill—and the health of the planet—might hesitate before installing conventional exterior lighting.
Granted,there's the excellent option of solar lighting but it's not suited to every application.The mature trees above the stone steps at our cottage,for example,means the path get almost no sunlight.That makes it a good spot for a hammock,but not for lighting fixtures fuelled by the sun.
Fortunately,advances in LED lighting technologies mean homeowners can illuminate exterior areas effectively and cost-efficiently,according to Raffi Baltayan,marketing manager for Northern International Inc.,a Quebec-based company that designs and manufactures exterior lighting products under the brand of Paradise Garden Lighting(paradisegardenlighting.com)—available at Rona(rona.ca)—and as house brands for large retailers such as Home Depot(homedepot.ca).
Simply put,says Baltayan,LED lighting is a circuit board of light-emitting diodes that can emit the same amount of light as an incandescent or halogen bulb using far less energy."A 60-watt incandescent gives you 800 lumens,but about 80 per cent of the light is generated as heat.Obviously that's not very efficient.An LED with 800 lumens gives you more or less that,plus or minus 10 per cent—but consumes about 13 watts."
Lumens,for those of you who slept through Grade 10 science class,measure visible light emitted by a source.
LED lighting can also help reduce your carbon footprint,says Baltayan."They last so much longer than conventional bulbs—you can expect to get about 25,000 hours.So you will not be changing bulbs or sending packaging to the landfill nearly as frequently."
It's true that when a LED fixture burns out,it's the entire fixture—rather than just the bulb—that requires replacing."But that shouldn't happen in your lifetime,"he adds.If you want to use existing exterior fixtures,retrofit LED bulbs are available.
Another reason LEDs are good for outdoor applications?They attract fewer flying bugs,says Baltayan,because they don't emit the same spectrum of light as do incandescent,which is attractive to insects.
When it comes to cost,there may be a small premium for LED lighting,but Baltayan says they can typically expect pay-back within 18 months.And as production of LED lighting ramps up,he adds,cost will be driven downward.
Baltayan cites industrial,commercial and civil applications as areas of huge potential for LEDs."Imagine the benefits of LED street lighting,"he suggests.But his company is focused on expanding the options of exterior residential LED lighting.
"We want to be pioneers,so we have a team of engineers looking at all the possibilities.Right now,we're working on some lantern products that produce a flickering amber effect—but those are really at the conceptual stage."
We recently tested a set of low-voltage LED outdoor lights from Paradise Garden Lighting at our cottage.What initially drew me to them was the promise that we could expect up to 73 per cent energy savings over a comparable 11-watt incandescent.
The light is a warmish white without the cold blue tinge that LED used to be famous,or infamous,for.The set was also extremely simple to install.One word of advice—start by quickly sketching out a layout,planning on one fixture every four to six feet.Double check the plan by laying fixtures out before fixing them in the ground rather than installing them as you go along.Snap-on connecters were much easier to handle than those I've used in the past,with the result that the job got done with no punctures to my hands.
We used one fixture about every five feet along the 66-foot pathway,which I was happy to see offered sufficient illumination to make it safe to walk the steps without over-doing it,as I've never gone for Gulag-style outdoor lighting.
For that reason,I also loved that they could be set to an automatic timer that offers several options.Lights can turn on automatically at dusk and be set to either turn off automatically at dawn,or for a set number of hours,which is what we opted for.
While homeowners in some urban settings may wish—for safety reasons—to leave lights on all night,I suspect there's a special place in Hell for cottagers who think it necessary to illuminate the star-drenched night sky long after they've hit the hay.They will,I believe,find themselves right next to the cottagers who insist on setting off fireworks every weekend,to the dismay of wildlife,skittish pets and over-worked city folk.
