Landscape Lighting

Outdoor Lighting in Carlisle,  Mechanicsburg, Harrisburg & Hershey

FOR LANDSCAPE LIGHTING CONTACT GORDON'S POND UTOPIA

​Landscape Lighting is far more than simply illuminating parts of your property. It is an art practiced by craftsmen and women who are trained and experienced in the many facets of the art. Do-it-yourselfers may try to design and install their own landscape lighting, but their efforts are severely hampered by the technology, access to quality products, and a lack of design knowledge.

Don’t Just Dream About A Perfect Outdoor Space.
Transform your yard into a beautiful and fun place.

There’s no better place than your own backyard for relaxing, entertaining and enjoying the outdoors. And there’s no better time than now   to spruce up your space.  If you’re looking to upgrade a mediocre  yard into something special, here are some things to consider.

Security Lighting

It is well known that a well-lit property is less liable to be invaded or burglarized. Less known is that the placement, coverage, and quality of the illumination greatly determine the level of security.

Most residential security lighting consists of a few powerful flood lights directed towards a few areas of the property. In nearly all cases, this lighting is overly bright and provides limited coverage of vulnerable regions. The result is a property where intruders can pass freely through dark areas allowing them to be invisible to home occupants and to individuals occupying outdoor areas illuminated by the security lights. It's quite possible that a person can exit the car in the brightly lit driveway while an intruder waits in the shadows a few feet away.

A better approach is to create a strategic lighting plan that illuminates several key areas of the property with low levels of illumination. The low levels allow the viewer to see objects in the illuminated areas and to still see details in adjacent unlit areas. This is possible because the human eye is able to compensate for a narrow range of illumination (i.e. from dim to nearly dark). The brighter traditional security lighting offers a far greater contrast to the nearly dark unlit areas, and the human eye is unable to compensate rapidly enough when glancing from the very bright to the nearly dark. A skilled lighting designer will identify the key areas of security concern and provide low levels of illumination to ensure that intruders are not able to move through the property unseen. 

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Comfort

Trees and awnings aren’t just great adornments for your yard; they provide much needed shade for you to sit outdoors comfortably and safely.
Avoid summer mosquito bites by placing birdbaths  far from lounging and eating areas. Install LED yard lighting for night, which is less likely to attract mosquitoes than incandescent lights.

Safety

While safety is related to security, it is not the same. Safety refers to providing illumination that offers safe passage through the property. It especially targets steps, pools, water features, and tripping hazards.When planning your space, make safety a top priority. Since evenings are prime-time for summer entertaining, lighting is an essential safety measure.
Start by considering where you need to increase visibility. Choose post-mounted lanterns near driveways and wall-mounted lanterns next to doors for ease of access and to welcome guests.
For deck stairs or terraced paths, don’t forget step lights to aid in navigation.
And thoroughly check outdoor railings, steps, decks and porches to make sure they are steady and that no nails or boards have come loose.

Task Lighting

Also know as usability, this goal identifies the need to provide appropriate illumination for the various regions of nighttime activity. Areas such as decks, docks, patios, and sports courts require specific lighting designed according to the nature of the activity. Low voltage lighting with its small lighting fixtures and sharply defined beams are ideal to mange the illumination for such areas.
 
In addition to selecting the appropriate illumination, designers may offer various control options for these lights. A patio area can, for example, be equipped with two lighting schemes - one for romance and the other for parties. Such options can be achieved with dimming or with the inclusion of extra fixtures that can be switched on and off as needed.

Aesthetic Lighting

​This encompasses a wide range of human factors and is the most subjective of the goals. The term, 'Beauty', is often used but this word reflects only some parts of the complex visual aesthetic.  Aesthetics represents a holistic experience triggered by visual signals that are processed by the brain and judged to be appealing both superficially and with such depth that even the subconscious plays a role. In every case, a lighting project is judged to be aesthetically beautiful by both obvious beauty and by the wide range of emotions and feelings that arise from the visual experience.
Just as each visitor to a museum reacts differently to the objects on display, in the same way, each person viewing a landscape lighting scene has a different experience. Still, experienced landscape lighting designers learn that certain aspects or principals of lighting design tend to produce positive aesthetic judgments. The skillfully implementation of these principles tends to produce superior designs.

Beauty

Contact Gordon's Pond Utopia

Your yard is an extension of your home, so don’t let design and style fall by the wayside when planning its look.  For a touch of natural beauty, consider planting a flower garden to attract butterflies and humming birds.“Illuminate paths and define edges where the garden or grass meet walkways,” says Jeff Dross, corporate director of education and industry trends for Kichler Lighting.

The interplay of light and shadow adds magic to the night. By carefully placing accent lights at upward or downward angles and using wall wash lighting, you can silhouette trees and direct shadows

Capture the nighttime loveliness of water features like ponds, pondless and fountains with LED lights specially built for underwater illumination. 

Energy savings

Don’t let your exterior spaces drive up your home’s energy bills. New LED deck and landscape lights are low-maintenance, cost-effective options.  Lasting up to 40,000 hours – about 15 - 20  years – these fixtures use 75% less energy than incandescent lights. “Since outdoor lighting is often left on all night or for many hours at a time, savings from LED lighting can really add up.  Remember to avoid cheaper LED lights with a bluish cast that many find unattractive. Opt instead for a warm white light, such as Kichler’s or Cast lighting are the two that Gordon's Pond Utopia uses.