Sep 26, 2022 11:52:00 AM
Are you wondering how bright your landscape lighting should be?
The “brightness” of outdoor lighting is an area where people (even some “pros”) often go wrong. That’s because this is one of the areas that can get somewhat complicated. There are a lot of considerations that come into play with brightness.
Of course, getting the brightness right is very important.
If your outdoor lights are too bright they can be intrusive and even uncomfortable. But if they’re not bright enough, they might not be functional the way that you want them to be. While people often think about the number of light fixtures that they have around their property, it’s also the brightness of each fixture that matters.
We’re here to dive more into how bright landscape lights should be so that you can ensure you’re making the best decisions for your Memphis home.
Lumens are a unit of light measurement that help determine the power or brightness of light. While we know that people are often looking for an easy answer to how many lumens they need for outdoor lighting, there are simply too many variables to provide a blanket answer for everyone.
The truth is, every property is different and will have different needs to be met. There is also going to be a lot of variation around a single property depending on the different areas that you have.
For instance, the brightness of lighting in an outdoor kitchen where you might be preparing meals is going to be quite different from the brightness of a cozy firepit area where you want just the right ambiance to sit by the fire and have a glass of wine.
In a cozy spot, you want just enough lighting to perhaps see where your seat is or have a drink. You don’t have to be able to see well enough to do chopping or other meal prep tasks!
As you can see, a lot of it does boil down to the “mood” that you’re trying to set as well as the purpose of the lighting.
Different lighting applications will naturally require different brightness. Security lighting, as an example, is often about ensuring a home is well-lit so that intruders stay away. In this application, lighting is often brighter to achieve those goals.
With all of this in mind, it’s important that you hire a lighting professional who is going to use different lumens for different applications.
Unfortunately, this isn’t always done. You’ve likely seem some landscape lighting designs in which every single light is the same (or similar) brightness. But this absolutely detracts from the look and the purpose of the lights.
You want your outdoor lights bright when they need to be and not-so-bright when you’re setting a mood. That’s why there really is no simple answer.
There is so much personal preference and customization involved in brightness…at least there should be if you’re working with a pro that is creating a truly custom light design for your Memphis home.
But this is a good place for us to remind you that with landscape lighting brightness, less is more in most cases. You don't want to light up your home like Clark Griswold, after all. All too often, even lighting professionals tend to overdo it on brightness and it can really take away from the overall aesthetic.
Varying light intensities around your property is what is going to make it unique and multi-dimensional. One of the biggest mistakes that people make with outdoor lighting is failing to do this.
But when you hire the right lighting professional, you’ll get a lighting design that adds both aesthetic appeal and functionality…where you need it and when you need it. That will allow you to truly maximize the use of your outdoor spaces.
If you’d like to talk more about outdoor lighting ideas, including how bright outdoor lights should be for YOUR home, we’re here to help. We want your outdoor lighting design to be everything that you desire.
Are you ready to create a secure, functional, and beautiful property at any hour of the day? If so, let’s meet and discuss some bright ideas.
