LIGHTING
out. Choosing the right lighting is one key step in highlighting a landscape’s intrica- cies and beauty, and in drawing attention to the focal point of the design. But how do you choose the best lighting for the job? How can color enhance a landscape’s de- sign? Tese tips from a lighting expert will shed some light on those questions. “Adding the right type of lighting will complement the color of the architecture and the plants around it,” says Tom Garber, president of EmeryAllen in Charleston, South Carolina. “If you use the wrong col- or, it just won’t look right. You would never wear blue lipstick with a red dress because they just don’t go well together. A good blend of color makes all the difference in the world.”
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Color temperature refers to the warm or cool color characteristics of a light source, and it is measured in degrees of Kelvin. While you might expect that a higher Kel- vin value translates to a warmer light, the opposite is true. Light with a higher Kel- vin value has a cool blue hue, while warmer light, with a yellow hue, is designated by a lower Kelvin value. Kelvin values over 5,000 are considered cool, while anything below 5,000 K projects a warmer, yellowish light. As LED technology has rapidly ad-
vanced, making LED bulbs more available and more cost-effective, the options for color choice have also expanded, allowing lighting contractors more flexibility in us- ing color in landscaping. “Back in the day, people had an op- tion for halogen lights only,” Garber says. “Tey’re somewhere around 2,800 K. Tat’s what they had, and that was it. Now with LEDs, we are manufacturing artificial light. You could go warmer, a little cooler or a lot cooler. With LEDs, you just have so many options to do so many things.”
Which color is right?
Brighter, cooler bulbs over 5,000 K project a feeling of sterility and are ideal for indoor locations like office spaces, classrooms and other areas where light is needed to com- plete tasks. Harsh, cool light isn’t well- suited for cozy, intimate spaces. Similar- ly, it also isn’t the best choice to enhance the leaves of a delicate tree or to highlight blooming shrubbery. But, if you’re looking for hard-and-fast guidelines for what color
irrigationandlighting.org
fter investing considerable time and effort into land- scape design, plant material and installation, a new land- scape needs to really stand
light to use in each situation, they simply don’t exist. While there are certainly some best practices and rules of thumb to use as a starting point, color preference is extreme- ly subjective. “Te crazy thing about color temperature is that it is very, very regional,” Garber says. “If you go out to California, based on the demographic and the style of a lot of the homes, they are very much 3,000 K. If you move east to the moun- tainous states, they’re 2,700 K. It’s like that across the U.S. Each section prefers a dif- ferent color temperature.” So what are some of the key factors to consider when determining which color temperature will best enhance a landscape?
Architecture
According to Garber, the architecture of a home, building or other structure is one factor that should influence color choice. “If you have a more contemporary house with whites or grays, people will generally go with a brighter, whiter light,” he says. “3,000 K is probably OK, while 2,700 K will look dead. Some people might even go whiter than 3,000 K. For more traditional homes, people generally lean towards 2,700 K. If you have a red brick house and light it up with 3,000 K, it washes out the color.” With that in mind, it’s also important
to scan the neighborhood at dusk or after dark. While the ultimate goal of lighting is to highlight landscaping or architectural features, you’ll also want to take stock of what the surrounding neighbors are doing. While you may be working to illuminate the front of a more traditional home, a home highlighted with a warmer, 2,700 K light will be lost among a sea of homes illu- minated in a brighter, crisper 3,000 K light. “Take a look at the neighborhood, take a look at what the neighbors are doing, and take it from there,” Garber says. “Tere is no rule in this game.” As you plan for lighting, it’s also im-
portant to take note of ambient light from streetlights, parking lot lights or light post lanterns. While these lights aren’t part of the lighting plan you’re creating, they will ultimately cast light onto the space and fig- ure into the lighting equation. “Streetlights are typically 4,000 to
5,000 K, and you don’t want to compete with that,” Garber says. “You won’t want 2,700 K to try to overpower that. Try to stay away from doing any type of illumi- nating around those streetlights because you’re not going to beat those out.”
March 2023 Irrigation & Lighting 27
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