Now is the time to evaluate your outdoor and landscape lighting needs in preparation for the summer season.  Follow our step-by-step landscape lighting design plan and get the job done right.

Learn how to get luxurious landscape lighting effects and make your home shine by Memorial Day 2014…

Step One:  Review the perimeters of your home, including surrounding outdoor property—front yards, back yards, side yards—to see which features you would like to accentuate, such as fountains, sculpture, or flower boxes. Choose a few areas that will stand out and add a luxurious element to your home at night.

Step Two:  Scout out areas where you will need security lighting—leading up to and at all home entryways.  Take note of areas where path lighting, step lighting, and task lighting are needed.

LED strip lighting under steps, railings and benches provides excellent security lighting and may be custom-tailored to your decor. LED light strips are especially suitable for outdoor areas, as they are long-lasting and extremely durable, radiate very little heat, and use up to 80 percent less electricity than standard light sources.

Step Three:  If you have existing outdoor lighting—review your property at night to see where you can upgrade your lighting design.  Check that everything is in working order and adequate illumination is provided at all significant locations.

• Where there are large areas blanketed in darkness, consider installing a floodlight equipped with energy-efficient lamps and lighting controls.

• Equally important is to check for areas that are excessively bright. Overly bright outdoor lighting, including path lighting and patio lighting, creates glare and can actually make it harder to see at night and diminish safety and security.

Your landscape lighting should be soothing and comfortable.  Make sure that  landscape and outdoor fixtures do not cast light into your neighbors’ property.  Keep “light trespass” from invading your own home at night.

Step Four:  If you like to entertain outdoors—see that your property is safely lit for guests—pay attention to elevation levels and unusual dips or risings; boundaries defining rock gardens, Koi ponds, and small shrubs should be clearly visible.  Make sure you have enough ambient illumination for safe navigation, as well as sufficient task lighting for cooking and food preparation.

Step Five:  Lighting techniques, such as shadowing, silhouetting and cross lighting add artistry and depth to your landscape at night.  But do not overdo it.  Depending on the size of your property, select one to three key areas that will expand and complement your overall landscape lighting presentation.

• Conceal lights behind and below a statue or small tree to highlight form and create definition.

• Show off a sculpted garden,  a textured rock wall or a unique architectural feature of your home that will stand out at night.

Light responsibly.  Keep an eye on the safety.  Having top-quality outdoor lighting makes for the best “Neighborhood Watch Program.”

Light conservatively.  The most wonderful aspect of outdoor and landscape lighting is that you only need a few well-chosen light sources to deliver a great deal of illumination and an overall luxuriant feel to your home.  Compared to other home improvement projects, top quality landscape lighting adds substantially to the value of your property.

Light efficiently.  You will save money in the long run, if you invest in automated lighting systems and LED landscape lighting now.  For maintenance-free, durable, long-lasting illumination—buy your LED landscape lighting and automated control systems from a reputable dealer.

Top-quality LED landscape lighting fixture are built to last with finishes guaranteed to withstand harsh weather conditions; many come with life-time product warranties.

Find qualified lighting professionals and electricians.  Professional lighting consultants will help you design your landscape lighting to exact specifications with outdoor fixtures that are UL-listed for outdoor use; electricians, familiar with updated LED lighting systems, should be licensed and aware of current electrical codes and ordinances in your town or city.

Order your fixtures early, set the job up now with energy-efficient security lighting and luxurious landscape illumination to ensure you will be ready for summer holiday celebrations.

THE SEASON’S TOP PICS:

Business owners have a responsibility to their customers and employees to keep them as safe as possible. This means it is imperative a business owner or manager chooses contractors with a good reputation. When you are hiring a person to come into your business to perform work, that person is a reflection of your business. You always want to put your best foot forward and make savvy, smart decisions when it comes to calling the right company to take care of any electrical needs you have. Business owners in need of a Los Angeles electrician can rely on The Electric Connection to fulfill their commercial business needs in a professional and timely manner.

It is always a good idea for any outside contractor to wear a uniform which identifies him or her as an employee of another company. This cuts down on customer confusion. A clean, attractive uniform is also important to the image of a business. Employees and customers will be able to easily identify the electrician. Los Angeles businesses need somebody who will not interfere with daily business operations whenever possible. Commercial electricians will also need to have a reputation of being prompt and have a flexible schedule that can accommodate a business’s needs.

There is also the matter of understanding how commercial equipment works. It is not the same as residential electrical work and requires additional training. You will want to choose an electrician that has knowledge and experience dealing with commercial electrical needs. Along with the know-how, you will also want to choose a company that can adhere to budgets and timelines for a project. Your business hinges on getting projects completed without any additional headaches. If you are in need of a commercial electrician, give The Electric Connection a call today and schedule your appointment.

We Respect Your Time – Custom Electrical Services knows that we live in a extremely busy world with hectic schedules. When you call one of our Ames electricians we will have courteous and helpful team members take your call and work with you to schedule your appointment.  Our uniformed Ames electrician will arrive in a warehouse on wheels.  They will have the part needed for your repair and if for some reason they do not there is no additional charge to you.  Our electricians have 24 hour access to leading Ames supply houses as well as access to all Des Moines metro area suppliers. This not only saves you time but money as well.

 We Respect Your Schedule – Our electrician in Ames understand that you are making time in your busy schedule to have your electrical problems fixed. Our friendly electricians are prompt and professional and even give you a narrow time window so you don’t have to wait around on them all day. We Respect Your Business – Custom Electrical Services knows that you have choices; we respect your business and will always do the job right the first time. Our Ames electricians never take shortcuts and always use the highest grade materials available.  We understand how important your business is to you as ours is to us.  We want to build long term lasting relationships with our customers so they know they can always count on one of our electricians in Ames to for all there electrical needs.

 We Respect Your Safety – Custom Electrical Services doesn’t just send anybody to your Ames home or business, we send one of our trusted professionals.  Your safety is our number one concern.  That is why we make sure all our service professionals undergo stick 3rd party certifications.  Our electricians are Drug Tested, Background Checked, and Professionally Trained.

Electrician in Ames 24/ 7 Service Area Map

Our on call Ames electricians have a large service area.  We cover not only the Ames area but also the entire Des Moines, Iowa metro area.  Even if you live outside of Ames please do not hesitate to give us a call 24 hours per day.  We can cover areas outside of Ames.  Our on call Ames electrician get your home or business up and running in no time.  Service calls and repairs are not the only thing our electrician can do for you.  At Custom Electrical Services we wire over 300+ new construction homes each and every year.  Are you the general contractor on your home or working with a professional general contractor?  Make sure you have Custom Electrical Services bid your next project.  Our design team and put lighting layouts on your plan and make sure you have the latest and greatest options for your homes electrical.

What is a spotlight? What is a floodlight? Knowing the difference between the two is important for properly lighting any application. Before you can understand the difference, you must know what a beam pattern is. Beam angle or pattern is a measurement of the angles that are formed between a cone of light’s brightest point (the center) and the points on both sides of the center where the light’s intensity is 50 percent as bright.

PAR30 bulb that is available with a spot or flood beam pattern.

Fixtures, such as retrofit LED can lights may also look similar to one another while functioning as either spotlights or floodlights. Some light bars are even capable of emitting flood, spot, or combination beams. There are, however, certain fixtures that we imagine when we think of floodlights and spotlights.

Fun Fact:  A traditional New Year’s Eve religious service, “Watch Night” is observed to give thanks for life’s blessings and pray for divine favor in the coming year.  “Watch Night” was especially significant among African Americans in 1862, as President Lincoln vowed to end slavery with the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.

Wherever you happen to be, New Year’s marks a time for change, a time for making resolutions and a revival of hope.  Make a life changing resolution; Visit a Capitol Lighting showroom and work to improve your future illumination.  Rejoice in unbeatable promotional pricing on the year’s finest home lighting and accessories, including shining innovations from Forecast, Hanover Lantern and Thomas Lighting.