We make lighting of the plot and the villa around the house - to be economical and beautiful.
How to illuminate a site around a suburban country house - the device of external illumination
Properly arranged lighting of the site (whether it is a simple cottage, where a place for recreation or a country house where you live permanently) is not only convenient and functional but also very beautiful. Remember how beautifully decorated with garlands in the New Year holidays site - and why not give it such beauty for the whole year?
Usually, lanterns are located at the entrance doors, on the balconies and terraces, that is, in those places where penetration into the house is possible.
In terms of lighting design, you can realize any of your needs, unfortunately limited only by your financial capabilities. But first, think about all the same security - say, about how to walk along a path without risking to stumble and fall into a rose bush.
Calculate the lighting in such a way that the entire territory is viewed.
However, you should not forget about beauty either, for example, for your own pleasure or because of the desire to impress visitors, you can place decorative figures in the garden, charged with sunlight during the day and shimmering with magical light in the night.
It is interesting to use different lamps from the same collection (high, low, two-horn), and you can install different types of lighting: let the area illuminate with ordinary lights, a dwarf pine - the spotlight illuminates (why not green?), And the bridge across the pond is decorated with a colored LED strip, and small-leaved linden can also be entangled with LED garland. Such decor is not distinguished by style unity, but many like it - especially if the site is large, and the listed types of lighting are removed at a decent distance from each other.
We save energy
It is unlikely that there still remain homeowners who insert ordinary incandescent bulbs in the outdoor lighting lamps. Why? Because, firstly, everyone is tired of replacing quickly blown bulbs, and secondly, we have long learned to be rational and made sure that energy-saving light sources work much longer and consume less electricity. The problem with “cold” light emitted by energy-saving lamps has also been resolved - now you can buy a “warm” lamp and get the effect of a regular “Ilyich’s bulb”.
The disadvantage of fluorescent lamps is that they contain mercury vapor, and this from the ecological point of view is no good. However, to date, the "green" approach to the problem loses to the calculator, and homeowners in the vast majority switched to energy-saving technologies.
Using LEDs to illuminate the area
All progressive mankind is now in fashion LEDs - this is the most economical form of lighting, in addition, these bulbs do not contain mercury and work even longer than energy-saving. True, they cost more, but the costs pay off with interest. Especially in winter, when daylight is short. An LED is an integral part of a luminaire, but you can screw an LED bulb into a regular “bulb” in the old fashioned way - in reality, few people do this, but in theory this option is possible.
The big plus of LEDs is that they consume little power by feeding on the safe voltage of 12-24 B, while energy-saving and conventional incandescent lamps are powered by 220 B. True, this feature requires the installation of a special transformer in the circuit that converts the mains voltage in the low-voltage. As for the "cold" light, which many fear, then you have a choice. The temperature of the light (warm / cold) at the LED is set initially, and you can buy a suitable model. In addition, there is a special automation that allows you to adjust this temperature. Such devices are expensive, and therefore not in great demand.
It is worth adding that the LED exceeded its competitors in another aspect - it emits a narrow spectrum of frequencies, and therefore its light is more pleasant to the human eye. However, there is no perfection in the world, so LED lighting also has its drawbacks. The first one is that lighting specialists who take part in construction and landscape works cannot calculate how many lights are needed to cover the entire territory and avoid “dead zones”. The properties of the LEDs do not allow you to create programs for the project. And the second minus is that nevertheless it is rather a point lighting, when compared with energy-saving lamps. Nevertheless, there are good reasons to assume that it is precisely for him the future.
There is one more thing that causes certain difficulties. The fact is that our stores are flooded with Chinese products, which professionals do not use. Authoritative brands, such as Philips, Osram and a number of others, sell their goods dearly, and their lines are much more modest than Chinese ones.
Solars for the site
So can be called lamps powered by sunlight. In all garden stores there are a great many of them. There are ordinary, strict lamps designed to mark the path, the entrance to the house, but decorative models revive the market of "solar" lamps. Ladybugs, frogs, dogs with a flashlight - colorful figures can be arranged around the site, giving it a special charm.
Reference by topic: Solar home and batteries - equipment and devices
Such lamps are charged in the light of time, from the sun's rays. However, if the day is overcast, charging still occurs, because ultraviolet penetrates through the clouds. At night, the fireflies give their stored energy.
However, it is not worth seriously counting on the fact that the solarians are able to fully illuminate the territory - they are too weak for this.
The market offers both budget options that are best suited for summer cottages (they can work only 3-4 hours and are little suitable for use in winter), as well as expensive models - they last for 8 hours. However, it is advisable to buy such solars only to create a light intrigue that makes the night landscape more interesting.
Photo: Variants of lamps and lighting for country house and country house
Installation of a lighting system in the area around the house - the rules
Whether you combine different types of lighting or choose one, in any case, you need preparatory work, namely: digging trenches, laying the cable and installing automation.
The depth of the trench should be of the order of 50 cm, and its filling should resemble a pie: first pour a layer of sand (about 10 cm), then lay the cable, cover it with a second layer of sand, over which it would be nice to lay a red tape warning that it can not be dug here .
The cable must be necessarily three-core, grounded, and packed in an armored PMD pipe. Next, you fill the soil and sow the grass. At the exit point of the cable, concrete is pre-poured on the surface (for low and medium lanterns, the depth of the base is about 50 cm).
In the classic version, the mortar is poured into a removable formwork and, if the lamp is high and very heavy, concrete is reinforced. For a lamp up to 2 m high, reinforcement is not required. Moreover, you can do without formwork - for example, stick a plastic pipe into the ground and fill its cavity with a binder mass. For high, massive lamps produce special mortgages, which is very convenient. They are mounted in a concrete solution, and then a lamp is installed. Thus, the quality of fastening is improved.
The source of electrical supply is located in the main switchboard - in warm outbuildings or in the house itself. So that no one is injured when the cable is damaged, an RCD (protection against electric shock) of 30 mlA is installed on the shield.
LED lights require another cable - low voltage. For this, a transformer that converts voltage is placed near the main shield, and then the corresponding cable is laid.
If for any reason cable laying is not possible, install a system operating on the radio signal. For this purpose, a special relay is inserted into the electrical circuit.
Having decorated the house and garden with lamps, think about the cost of electricity that they will require. It may make sense to switch to a two-tariff payment system - in winter, when nights are long, this will give significant savings.
Installation of an external lighting network on the site with your own hands - drawing 1:
This scheme of lighting the site can only serve as the most general example, since in the design of the suburban area, all, of course, purely individual.
- Lighting Fixture
- Light switch
- Junction box
- Metal pipe with bent end
- Cable
- Metal pipe
- Switch
- Outdoor lamp
To the note to the summer owner, the owner of a country house
There are light sensors, which are called twilight for their ability to respond to the level of illumination. There are also those that react to movement (there are also combined variants). The motion sensors have a range of 12 m, and the viewing angle is up to 360.
Such automation can be set right before leaving the house, you leave the house, and the entire backlight line lights up. You can program the motion sensor so that it works with a delay of 30 seconds to half an hour. For example, you let the dog out in the late evening for a walk for twenty minutes. All this time light will burn. And when the dog returns home 8, you no longer need to think about the switches - the light will turn off the sensor. As for the twilight sensors, it is better to install them from the north side.
On sites often build fountains, dig artificial ponds. Rarely build open pools.
Read more about using a pond in the country
The pond can be highlighted so that it will look unusually impressive. However, there are differences between Russian and European legislation. If in Europe it is sometimes allowed to install devices with a voltage of 220 V under water, then in Russia this is prohibited. From which it follows that we can only use low-voltage halogen lamps or LEDs. In general, after the advent of LEDs with ponds, it became interesting to work - you can get various effects on the surface of the water, use a different color, while not violating the standards. Of course, protected luminaires with a dust and water protection index of IP86 and higher are required. If this is a fountain where people don’t bathe on the day of the paratrooper, then spots will do: they are installed on the surface, for example at the bottom, and direct the light to where you need it. In pools and ponds, fixtures are mounted to the wall.
You can control street lighting with conventional switches. You just have to duplicate them on both sides of the wall. If the backlight is included in the smart home system, then the control is carried out from the console or the panel. Radio control is either from the key or from the remote (you can choose both options at once). Street lighting, powered from the outlet, requires compliance with certain rules.
So, the garden outlet, reinforced in the street, should be waterproof and "packed" in a metal box, located at an altitude of 60 cm from the ground level. In the winter, this box should be cleaned of snow, and before the flood it is good to clean the snow around so that "on the approaches" the "sea" does not form.
On holidays, especially in the New Year, want to decorate the cottage, or a site around the country house on the New Year's Eve, with the help of original, bright illumination: garlands, LED figures.
To connect these holiday attributes to the network, you need to bring the cable to a street outlet, which has a degree of dust and moisture protection IP67. If you require an extension cord, buy frost-resistant, brand US-4-30, with an industrial flexible cable KG 3 x 1,5. Street outlets have a high class of protection against adverse environmental influences. First of all, it's a sealed enclosure that does not allow dust and moisture to get inside the device.
The street outlet itself can be made in any place, the main thing is to observe the necessary rules and thereby save the house from a short circuit and itself from electric shock. If you plan to mount an outlet on the wall of the house (to connect garlands, which, for example, decorate balcony balustrade rails), then it is desirable to have it at least 60 cm from the floor.
If you are a fan of automation, then street light control can be included in the "smart house" system, programming music accompaniment, there are lamps connected to the acoustic installation, which allows them not only to shine, but also to sound.
Comparative characteristics of different types and types of lamps that can be used for lighting organization - table 1
Lamp Type | Voltage, in | Power, W | Service life, h | price, rub. |
Energy-saving Donolux DL-17220 | 220-240 | 20 | 8000 | 160 |
LED GU5.3,halogen analogue | 220 | 4 | 30 000 - 50 000 | 400 |
LED Gauss LED Globe 9 W 2700 K 1 / 50, analogue incandescent lamp 100 W | 220 | 9 | to 50 000 | 1300 |
Incandescent lamp "Cosmos" SHRPR 60 W E 14 | 220 | 60 | 1000 | 18 |
Street lighting options
Street lights
It is difficult to imagine the lighting of a garden without streetlights. Their range is quite diverse: cantilever and wall, floating on the water and standing on cast-iron supports, classical appearance or LED in the spirit of modernity.
Easily fitting into any plant composition, the lanterns look great in the form of pairs of guards at the gazebo, gate or gate, and hung in a row between the window apertures significantly strengthen the stylistic solution of the house. A large lantern with spectacular design can become the main figure in the decoration of arches and doorways.
Pretentious forged models on high legs, reminiscent of traditional park lights. A somewhat lightweight and glamorous version - curving thin stems-supports with shades-colors. Both are good both in the multiplied version, and in proud solitude.
Elegant accent look round plafonds, especially in the decor of forged elements. Balls are beautiful on the support of any height, but more fun floating and on the low, hidden behind the plant mass legs. Along the track in strict rows, stainless steel cylinders are often built, but keep in mind that they are more demanding of the style environment than the less fastidious lanterns-fungi.
Note
Determined with the choice of lighting devices for the garden and their number, remember that a lack of light can be dangerous when moving in the dark, and too strong lighting will not emphasize the dignity of the garden landscape and architecture.
Garden fireflies
Lanterns on solar panels have become a breakthrough in the lighting of suburban areas. Completely autonomous, they do not require cable management and pay for used energy, are completely safe and have an attractive design. Choose a suitable place and stick the flashlights into the ground, during the day the batteries are charged by the sun, and with the onset of twilight they will light up, like fireflies in the grass.
Such lanterns do not have enough brightness for high-grade illumination of a path, but here to designate its contours to these solar devices quite under force. This can be used for point marks on the corners of buildings, at the entrance to the gazebo, along a creek or basin. For the winter lanterns in the room.
Rare little things
Author's things, like an exotic seasoning for a dish, give the landscape light touches of originality.
It does not matter how much they cost and from what material they are made, because their task is to surprise, giving a new sound to the habitual appearance of garden corners.
It can be a stylish Japanese lantern from mahogany or carnival garland with shiny paper covers, a forged antique lamp covered with patina, or a rough old stump topped with a lace shade bound by grandmother's hands. Any dishware can also be used: from a terracotta vessel for storing onions and a hole-stained hollow to colored bottles with a cut-off bottom.
The main thing is that they fit the spirit of your worldview and the style of the garden site. You can safely increase the number of completely identical or made in a single key lighting items, because in the plural they look even more spectacular. But to combine lamps of different style should be done with great care, so as not to turn the model line into an opening store.
Candles on the site
The candle flame soothes, promotes relaxation even in the most dank evenings, giving a feeling of coziness and warmth. It's a favorite nightlight for dreamy and romantic natures. If the candles serve as temporary lighting, for example, to illuminate a party under the open sky, then enough candlesticks in the form of glass containers without a cover, which protect only from the wind.
These can be the most common cans for canning, salad bowls, glasses, glasses or glass vases. But regardless of the vicissitudes of the weather, sit-downs or stationary lighting of any corner of the garden means closed candlesticks: from lanterns for one candle, to glazed monumental geometric floors designed for 20 - 30 candles. The painted candles do not change the brightness and color of the outgoing light. But the colored glass of candlesticks will give a similar shade to the illuminated space, the light will be muffled at the same time.
A garden is an integral part of our life, and we, gardeners, would like it to look beautiful and cozy not only during the day, but also at night.
How to solve this problem during the day is more or less clear, but what to do in the evening? Various lamps will come to the rescue, of which a great many have recently been presented in garden centers, for every taste and, which is especially nice, for any wallet
As a rule, one simple lamp standing alone near the entrance to the house. not enough. It is very important that the light in the garden corresponds to your condition, because it is on his site that a person rests from the bustle of the city, gets the opportunity to just be alone with himself. Therefore, when arranging various lamps, the task is not so much to illuminate all the hidden corners, but to choose a lighting technology option that would delicately illuminate all the most expressive elements of your garden - a pond, a detached tree, a gazebo, a pergola. In general, everything should be aimed at creating a comfortable and cozy atmosphere.
Principles of lighting
Properly selected lighting can create a different mood - fabulous, festive, romantic ... But in any case, when choosing, you need to follow several basic principles.
Lighting should be functional, it is not necessary to cover the whole territory. This is not only completely uneconomical, but also largely impractical. Of course, first of all you need to highlight the nodal points of the garden - access gates, wickets, entrance to the house, paths, bridges, ascents and descents, then first "pull out of the shadow" the most significant and potentially dangerous in the shade areas.
Decorative lighting is best used only in places where there is something to show. - it can be the most expressive plants, a pond, a beautiful gazebo. And do not forget that intrigued guests will necessarily want to approach the illuminated object closer to better view it, therefore, approaches to it should be well-lit.
Track lighting
Illumination of paths is one of the main in the garden, since in the evening the passage from one part to another should be as safe as possible. Therefore, the lighting of the road and path network has a number of features. Luminaires are chosen in such a way as to uniformly illuminate the entire route, and the lamps should not be directed into the eyes of a pedestrian. If the track is not long and without any obstacles, for example, steps, descents and rises, then it is enough just to slightly mark the contours of the route with small lamps, they can be located very low and even level with the ground. Another important point is that the distance between light sources should be uniform and large enough so as not to violate the integrity of the picture.
Illumination of plants
Highlights can be spectacular, solitary plants - trees, shrubs, large perennials. Light should be directed to the object from the bottom. There can be several sources. In trees, if one luminaire is supposed, it should be placed as close to the trunk as possible. If there are several sources, they are placed from different sides, but in such a way that on top they converge about one point. Not a very good solution, when the lamps are directly in the crown, the object will be highlighted only partially, in this case the composition will appear to be incomplete.
If we talk about shrubs and large perennials, then they can be illuminated both from the outside and from the inside. The second option is preferable. The light source is installed in such a way that the luminous flux that comes from it captures as much of the plant as possible.
Illumination of the reservoir
The illumination of the reservoir should be located below the water level and outside on its contours. If the source is installed above the water surface, the light flux will simply reflect off the surface of the water and the desired effect will not be achieved. The maximum expressive illumination of a body of water is possible when lighting is combined from the inside with lighting of its contours and approaches to it. In this case, the share of the first account for more power, for example, 2: 1 or 3: 1. This ratio will allow to emphasize the construction itself, while at the same time delicately caring about security (so that no one in the evening accidentally stumbled and fell into the water).
Buildings
The illumination of houses and other buildings that deserve attention includes both functional lighting, that is, installation of light sources near the entrance, and decorative illumination of the most interesting from the aesthetic point of view details, for example, pediments, facing the foundation, columns. The main thing - do not overdo it, yet the whole house should be in the twilight, while the light will snatch out the most expressive elements from the darkness.
If we talk about elements of the landscape, such as, for example, the grotto, then the main feature of lighting in this case is that the light does not get into the eyes and does not blind, the light source should be inside the structure. In order not to miss, direct the light flux perpendicular to the entrance, do not go wrong.
Basic requirements for garden lighting
The main thing is that the lighting devices are as safe as possible, the lamps must have a certain tightness so as not to be afraid of dust and water. These indicators are characterized by a two-digit number. The first figure reflects the degree of protection of the lamp from dust and dirt, the second - from moisture. For the street, it is recommended to use lighting devices with a degree of protection of 44 or higher. When installing underwater lights, these numbers should be even higher.
© Tatiana Semenova, Candidate of Biological Sciences
© Authors: O. Chaplygina, O. Voronova, A. Krasavtseva
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My site is stretched along the road, so it is well lit throughout the night. Will it not have a harmful effect on plants, because it turns out that they are under the light of day and night?
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I want to reassure you - nothing will happen to plants. The light intensity coming from street lamps is much less than what plants need, and the range of lamps is completely different. For example, the most unpretentious plants for the process of life (photosynthesis) need at least 1000 lux. The intensity of illumination in the sunny summer is approximately 100 lux, and in winter, on a cloudy winter day - 000 lux. Under the street lamps, at most there will be 3000 lux. And besides, the plants of our climatic zone do not belong to representatives of plants of short daylight hours, for which changing the duration of lighting is important, and such passive lighting will not do them any harm, as, indeed, will be of no use.