![]() These quaint hexagonal structures are usually lit in two ways – from within and/or from outside. Just as with architecture, you want your lighting to reveal the entire shape of the tree – not always an easy task, but the impact can be tremendous. The number of fixtures you use for such trees depends on your budget and whether or not you want the tree to be a focal point of your design. If the canopy is very dense (such as with Blue Spruce), you should position fixtures far enough outside the drip line so you can illuminate out to the upper canopy edges. Position other lights out towards the outer edge of the canopy (drip line). Use 60º beams and position one light about 1 ft. Tall expansive trees such as Live Oaks always require more than one spotlight. Two spotlights will give better coverage. Tall trees such as Coconut Palms may only require one spotlight positioned near the base with a beam wide enough to encompass the entire canopy. Or, one can be positioned near the trunk with the other located outside the tree with a wide enough beam to illuminate the entire width of the canopy. These can be positioned under the canopy a few feet from the trunk. If the tree is short and wide (such as a Japanese Maple), then two 60º spotlights may be required. If the tree is short and narrow, then a 24º spotlight is appropriate. Trees that are young or ornamental usually only require one spotlight. Tree canopies (often unnoticed during the day) when illuminated can be reminiscent of the glorious ceilings of cathedrals. They are impressive features of your landscape and often serve to define the extent of your property – both horizontally and vertically. There are several reasons to light trees on your property. Care should be taken not to shine these lights into second story windows. An alternative method is to position narrow-beam spotlights from the ground aimed at the underside of these upper eaves. This can be challenging since lights are best mounted in gutters or under upper-most eaves. This is only accomplished when upper parts of the building are illuminated along with lower parts. ![]() One of the aims of lighting architecture is to reveal the shape of the structure even under an extremely dark sky. For this reason, some designers prefer well lights. Columns look best when the illumination starts at the bottom of the column. If there’s a nice white section under the eaves between columns, aim to have the beam from each column meet the next beam halfway under the eaves. Use a 24º or 36º beam if the column is shorter or fatter. Use a very narrow beam (12º) for very tall columns. If necessary, use a surface mount to mount the fixture nearer to the column. One fixture 6” from the base of each column is ideal. Angle the fixture upward until the hotspot in the center of the beam is spread out towards the top of the siding. Position each fixture about 1 ft, from the wall – farther if bushes are in the way. ![]() If the house has windows along a side, position fixtures halfway between each window, and one fixture to the right and left of the outermost windows. For a 60º beam, that would be a spacing of about 15 ft. If the siding is plain (no windows) position spotlights so their beams overlap about halfway up the house. Instead, you want to selectively apply spotlights to create visual accents on the sidings. ![]() The intention of lighting your house is not to flood it with light – then it would look over-lit – just like daytime. Unlike LED flood lights that shed light across a wide area, spotlights have narrower beams so they can focus on one thing at a time. In a similar way, LED spotlights are used for emphasis in landscape lighting – to call attention to specific architectural or landscape features. To be put in the spotlight is to highlight someone so the world can see. They were lights used to showcase the main actors. Spotlights originated in the theater world.
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