"Ray of Light" in the suburban realm

Dennis Yashugin So it's desirable for all Russians time of year - summer. And with the warm days come holiday season. For three or four months we have virtually change their place of residence - are going to the cottage, on the Russian "hacienda" where the surrounding wildlife, which are magical summer night, perched on a site where a small and cozy "house in the village." You leave in the evening on the porch, looks round their possessions ... This is an alpine slide, next to the flowers grow on a track laid, stool is ... But something is still missing ... And suddenly the thought occurs to you that make the site more cozy and romantic decorative help Lighting - street lights, night lights and other lighting gadgets main thing - safety and beauty to properly design the lighting tracks, you need to understand the requirements for the lighting system of the site. Firstly, it concerns the safety and convenience. Pavement, for example, should have sufficient brightness to move on it in the dark was easy and pleasant. On the other hand, must be respected by the right balance between coverage of tracks and other objects of the landscape. Psychologically, people feel more comfortable if he moves from darker areas to light and when lit the property line, therefore, necessary to avoid "overexposure." Secondly, this aesthetic considerations. The basis of a properly designed lighting system should be based on compositional solution, and track lighting should be part of the generated ensemble. Track - a movement, so it is very important rhythm that creates light. And of course, great attention should be given the choice of design of the lamp. Finally, it is considerations of durability, reliability, ease of operation and maintenance. Must take into account the seasonal factor: because the lighting system used in the winter, devices must provide an acceptable level of protection, or be high enough off the ground. Darker? Lighter? Depending on how much covered the surrounding area, the same level of illumination can be perceived very differently. Typically, the path should not be overly bright, distracting attention from other elements of the composition of light - the maximum brightness should be "reserved" for the placement of accents - lit trees, sculptural forms, etc. The uniformity of illumination of the track is more important than the absolute values ??of brightness. Ideal - to achieve a balance of brightness of pavement (paving) and other landscape elements. Importantly - to minimize the effect of glare! Direct rays of light, beating in his eyes - the most unpleasant side effect of landscape lighting. In this case it is better to use light of reflected light or special instruments to illuminate the track with the cosine curve of luminous intensity (CIL). Retro lights and the sphere, "Classical" lamps, typically have luminous intensity curve close to the sinus. Speaking common language, they shine sideways and into the distance, uniformly on all sides of the world, and do not light up and down, as there are cap and bearing a lamp. With all due respect to history, we have to state a fact: the track, these lights do not illuminate. That is not something that does not cover ... Of course, part of the light it gets, but even better, they shed light on the nearby bushes, the white trunks of birch trees and walls in the garage or shed twenty meters from the pole with the lamp. Try to replace the lenses on the mat. Picture a little softer, but the fundamental changes have occurred. Everything is still flat, it is difficult to understand the real distance to the lights, the scene is a bright point in the dark. However, there are exceptions. If next to a lantern is a shrub or tree, it manifests itself at its best - if you're lucky, get a real ensemble. The spherical shape of the lamp is preferred because in harmony with "natural" forms - leaves, water drops, etc. The most concise "invisible" form - a transparent ball. Widely used matte scope of polycarbonate or PMMA. An interesting solution - the upper part of the sphere, pereotrazhayuschaya light downward. Although the scope and do not look blinding dots, the brightness of their glow is very high, which is a serious drawback to "building" light the scene. Indirect lighting and lamps pathlights reflected light (Indirect lighting) - "indirekty" - came into vogue in the last few years, and now, perhaps, all the major manufacturers have them in their catalogs. Lighting design provides anti-glare effect and uniform illumination of large areas, and apply them in modern metal halide lamps operate with better color rendition, long service life, making it easier to service the whole construction. For suburban areas and garden areas, such fixtures - just a great choice. What is surprising is the fact that light, it is intended to highlight the track (pathlights), unfamiliar to our customers. Widespread in America, they are rarely used here, although its characteristics are ideal for lighting paths. Lamp in a lamp shining straight down (cosine KCC), and therefore the effect of glare is absent. For the small paths are quite tiny lights that use halogen lamp MR-11, they can be hidden in roadside bushes. In light Dimension more commonly used compact fluorescent lamps. Lamp on a pine tree ... on a mast in the garden rarely graces the site, usually a "foreign element" and therefore warranted a desire to "light without lamps. As supports, and sometimes as a lamp can be used by any element of the landscape. Pine, so common in the Leningrad Oblast and the Karelian isthmus - the beautiful natural supports for low-voltage "galogenok" which, by the way, you can safely tie screws - conifers, which have "pockets" to the resin an excellent job with this invasion. You can embed marking "aplayty" (protection of at least IP67) directly in the path, and the lights should be low intensity, and themselves lamps - small. Ideally suited for this purpose LEDs. By the way, the LEDs can highlight any built-in paving translucent elements, such as pieces of glass, transparent tiles, etc. It is important not to forget about the lighting, while track is not ready yet. So, the dacha garden lighting - no easy matter. Specialists in it consider themselves as landscape architects, and lighting. First is traditionally interested in how seamlessly fit into the garden of "alien" elements of the technical subsystems - lights, irrigation, drainage, sewerage, etc. Therefore, first and foremost an architect draws attention to the design of fixtures. However, creating a light track on the site, we can not forget about the main thing - the night the picture, the light stage, a visual environment at night, and finally, on a purely practical considerations such as safety and security of territory - say, lighting and, of course, also be rights.