Lighting Installation Guidelines

Beautiful: Functional
Ask any landscaper, and you'll be met with resounding unanimity: lighting can make a landscape stand out. Corollaries also ring true: proper lighting can make a mediocre arrangement beautiful; expressive lighting arrangements can make a great yard even better.

But the practice of illuminating a yard is not just for looks. Proper landscape lighting is a basic courtesy to guests when arriving at your home in the evening, and it serves as a fine deterrent to nighttime prowlers. So while aesthetics may be what you focus on, don't forget that in order to keep your friends from stumbling in your bushes, you should probably focus on them as much as your majestic trees.

To assist you in creating a landscape lighting arrangement that represents the fine style you exude in all other aspects of life, we've compiled a list of guidelines ranging from basic safety to aesthetic themes.

From-the-Book Wire-Depth Requirements

• Unspecified locations - 6 inches
• In trench below minimum 2-inch-thick concrete - 6 inches
• Under building - In raceway
• Under parking lots, public driveways, alleys, and roads - 24 inches
• Below one- and two-family-dwelling driveways and outdoor parking areas used only for dwelling related purposes - 18 inches
• Under airport runways, including areas where trespassing is prohibited - 18 inches

Fixture Location
For simple tasks like illuminating house numbers or a pathway, you can use your best judgment. However, there are conventions in landscape lighting to prevent you from any grave errors. Namely, wall lanterns should be hung from about 66 inches high. This is eye level for an average-height person and it creates a warm, direct illumination for conversation on a patio or broad light coverage throughout the area.

Moonlighting
Called moonlighting because it dapples light on an object like moonlight through the trees, this technique should be employed whenever possible. Use overhanging landscape elements such as ivy or a tree to conceal a bright light that shines onto a driveway or patio. An impressive scene full of depth and light is the reward when done properly.

Covering Expansive Elements
While tree lights are ideal for nesting in trees for impressive coruscations, there is no reason why these lights can't be used elsewhere. Their long shrouds and powerful projection can illuminate wide expanses like open lawns, pools, or ponds.