Landscape Lighting Basics: Types of Fixtures

In this blog, we go over a handful of common fixtures that are used in landscape lighting.

When home and business owners seek a landscape lighting contractor’s help to illuminate their property, they are often unfamiliar with the basics of lighting design and hardware. While in-depth knowledge of currents, lighting design, and other specifics typically isn’t necessary, clients may find it useful to familiarize themselves with the types of fixtures that will be installed on their property. In this blog, we go over a handful of common fixtures that are used in landscape lighting.

Landscape Lighting for Walkways: Path Lighting and Step Lighting

For homes and businesses alike, illuminating walkways, stairs, and paths is useful. Effective lighting can boost aesthetics while improving safety, making it an excellent investment. There are a few different ways to light up a pathway, but path lighting and step lighting are among the most common fixtures used for this application. Path lights are fixtures that are mounted directly at ground level, either by pushing spiked bases into the dirt or by screwing mounting plates onto hard surfaces. Step lighting is similar, except these fixtures are often flat (or low-profile) and are typically mounted either on the sides or vertical surfaces of stairs. Both fixtures provide light at ground level. While this is a common method of illuminating walkways, some people prefer to use downward-facing tree-mounted directional lights for a more subtle, natural-looking glow.

Directional Lights vs. Wash Lights

There’s more to landscape lighting than walkways and stairs. Directional lights and wash lights are designed to illuminate… well, everything else. Wash lights are often aimed at walls, floors, and other large, flat surfaces to provide ample ambient lighting for an area. Directional light fixtures are more concentrated beams of light. Landscape lighting designers often use directional lights to draw focus to trees, shrubs, or architectural features. These fixtures can be tree-mounted, planted in the ground, or attached using mounting brackets to hard surfaces.

Deck and Wall Lights

Deck and wall lights are often very similar to wash lights: they can provide light throughout an area, but they are often smaller and positioned flat against vertical surfaces. In some respects, they are very similar to step lighting. Many deck and wall fixtures are designed to have a low profile, providing ambient lighting without drawing attention to themselves. Stationing these lights throughout a deck, patio, or yard can create a more dynamic design while providing enough light to make the space usable at night.

Choose Sposato Irrigation

Sposato Irrigation is uniquely positioned to offer high-quality, affordable, and reliable irrigation services to homeowners and business owners in Sussex County, Milton, Lewes, Rehoboth Beach, Bethany Beach, Fenwick Island, Ocean View, Millsboro, Dagsboro, and Ocean City, MD. Thanks to our expertise, innovation and decades of professional experience, we can meet the needs of large properties and small gardens. To learn more about our irrigation installation, LED landscape lighting, and commercial irrigation maintenance services, contact us today. We can be reached at 302-645-4773. Also, check us out on Facebook and Twitter.