The Benefits of Outdoor Lighting

When days get shorter and nights are a little longer, homeowners start thinking about adding landscape lighting around their homes. When we meet with Main Line homeowners, we talk about their biggest needs and what they hope to accomplish with added lighting. One of the potential benefits of custom outdoor lighting is such as safe illumination of all the beautiful plants and landscape features throughout their property.

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4 Benefits of Natural Lighting

Of all the benefits of outdoor lighting use in your landscape, here are four on the top of our list.

1. Safety First

One of the big benefits of outdoor lighting is improved safety. Of course you want a safe outdoor living space, but darkness obscures tripping hazards, such as uneven ground. Landscape lighting increases safety by allowing you to see the area you are walking on, and illuminating any tripping or falling hazards. The improved safety is especially important during the winter months when the days get dark quicker, and icy patches are more prevalent. Many lighting solutions can address this problem, such as post lights and flood lights. These types of lights can illuminate large areas of your home and property to deter crime and keep you and your loved ones safe.

Another way of improving safety through lighting is by adding path lighting. Garden lights, downlights, stair lights, and flush or in-ground lights add soft illumination to walkways. Stairs and steps, in particular, are areas where homeowners appreciate increased safety due to outdoor landscape lighting.

2. Home Security

Homes that lack lighting during nighttime are prime targets for burglars because shadowy areas make moving around undetected much easier. Having a well-lit house at night tells any would-be burglars that someone is home and makes trespassers easier to spot. Some lights have motion detectors that activate via movement in your yard, which can deter trespassers from entering your property. Smart landscape lighting even allows using zones and timers that can be controlled with your smart phone. Even landscape lighting designed to highlight architectural or landscape features will help prevent deep shadows in your yard.

Outdoor Lighting For Your Outdoor Enjoyment by Burkholder

3. Visual Appeal

Each house is unique, and your home may contain distinctive features you would like to show off! Besides the practical benefits, outdoor lighting is a great way to highlight certain areas of your home, as lights can be decorative in nature or built to blend in with a currently existing material. You may want a ceiling fan with an attached lighting fixture if you want to illuminate your covered porch, or you may opt for festoon lighting.

Another example is using accent lighting to accentuate your landscape’s individual plants or architectural features of your home. You can highlight special features on the exterior of your home or stately trees, even in the dark. Swimming pool areas and walkways often feature path lights to guide people along certain areas.

By lighting certain areas or landscape features, you create a welcoming, inviting atmosphere, add ambiance, and make your outdoor space more livable during all hours.

Home in daytime - benefits of outdoor lighting - Burkholder Landscape

Home at night- benefits of outdoor lighting - Burkholder Landscape

4. Expanded Time to Enjoy Your Outdoor Living Space

Outdoor landscape lighting enhances the beauty of your home while extending the time you can spend outdoors. Why should your deck or patio go unused once the sun goes down? With the right outdoor lighting design, these spaces can be transformed into inviting areas for evening barbeques or quiet conversations with friends and family. This extended use of outdoor living spaces means homeowners get more value from their property.
Another example is using accent lighting to accentuate your landscape’s individual plants or architectural features of your home. You can highlight special features on the exterior of your home or stately trees, even in the dark. Swimming pool areas and walkways often feature path lights to guide people along certain areas.

By lighting certain areas or landscape features, you create a welcoming, inviting atmosphere, add ambiance, and make your outdoor space more livable during all hours.

Types of Outdoor Lighting Options

Outdoor lighting continues to grow in popularity as more and more homeowners incorporate lighting into their landscape design. Common options include:

Festoon Lighting

These are strands of lights used to illuminate larger outdoor spaces. This photo shows that the light strands can hang from supports built as a garden structure or strung from existing site features that extend overhead. Festoon lighting provides a fun ambiance to outdoor gatherings.

Under-cap Wall Lights

Under-cap lights have several purposes. These lights provide a light source to bring attention to seat walls and patio floors for guests without overwhelming a space with too much light. In addition, under-cap wall lights highlight textures and surfaces in a dark evening setting.

Burkholder Festoon Lighting - benefits of outdoor lighting

Up Lighting

These outdoor light fixtures are typically set beneath specimen trees to flood the canopy of branches with light. The light highlights a tree’s structure from spring to winter—something often unnoticed but frequently beautiful. Many of the trees we use are known for their distinct “habit” or structure, and we use them in our designs because of the benefits their form and habit bring to a garden.

Path Lights

While all outdoor light fixtures provide aesthetic appeal to a garden, path lights may be the most functional. Path lights highlight areas where people are expected to walk in the evenings.

Path lights illuminate the walkway and the textures, borders, and direction all provide a sense of welcome. These types of lights also give a sense of security to visiting guests where walkways are unfamiliar. Walkways used frequently at night, generally closer to

the home or patio, should be illuminated well so that everyone is comfortable reaching their destination in all kinds of weather.

While path lights can be used as a string, one path light after another often gives the walkway the look of an airport runway. To avoid this effect, we use path lights at essential points, places where the path changes direction, or where people should be aware of a step in the path.

Other fixtures can be used to illuminate points of interest along the path. Small uplights on attractive shrubs and flood lights illuminating architectural features of the home combined will cast ambient light on areas of the walkway not directly covered by the path lights.

We use different fixtures for different purposes. A garden is multi-dimensional, and a lighting system should be as well. Whether you seek to prevent accidents, accentuate a particular feature of your home, or increase your property’s value, installing outdoor lighting can ensure that your home will increase in safety, functionality, and curb appeal.

Contact Burkholder Brothers to Get All the Benefits of Outdoor Lighting

Get the benefits of outdoor lighting with Burkholder Landscape’s team of experienced, passionate landscapers and designers. We have served Main Line area residents for over 25 years, providing a one-stop shop for comprehensive services, such as outdoor residential lighting, outdoor kitchens and pool installation, landscaping, and more. Our team works with you to create a beautiful, immaculate landscape and ensure that your landscape will be maintained and continue looking great. If you want to add custom landscape lighting to your home, contact Burkholder Brothers today!

610-558-2678