Landscape Lighting Basics. Path Lights, Uplights and Wash Lights Explained

You do not need to know the trade to plan a good looking yard. You need to know what each kind of light is for, and you need to decide what you want to see after dark. The rest is placement.

What are the building blocks?

Landscape lighting jobs are built from the same three fixture types. They differ in where the light goes.

Path lights are the short fixtures with a cap on top. The cap hides the lamp and pushes the light down. Their job is safety and direction. They tell a guest where the walk is and where the step is.

Uplights sit at ground level and aim up. In the trade you will also hear them called bullet lights. They create the drama in a yard. One uplight at the base of an oak can do more for a front yard than a dozen path lights.

Wash lights throw a broad, even spread. They fill in a wall or a hedge so the yard has a backdrop. Without a wash, uplit trees can look like they are floating in the dark.

How do you plan a yard in layers?

Good lighting is planned from the big picture down to the details. Think of it as three layers.

• Layer one is the focal points. Pick the two or three things you most want to see from the street or the patio. A specimen tree, the entry, a fountain. Light those first.
• Layer two is the backdrop. Add a soft wash to the house wall or a hedge line so the focal points sit against something. This gives the yard depth.
• Layer three is the path. Add only the path lights needed to walk the route safely. Stagger them from side to side so the walk does not look like a runway.

Then stop and look. Darkness is part of the design. The gaps between lit areas are what make the lit areas read as special. If everything is bright, nothing stands out.

It also helps to think about where you will be standing. Lighting for the street view and lighting for the patio view are two different jobs. Walk both spots before you decide where anything goes.

What are the common mistakes?

Yards that look wrong at night tend to share the same few problems.

• Too many lights. More fixtures do not make a yard look better. They flatten it. Start with fewer than you think you need. You can always add.
• Glare. If you can see the bare lamp from the walk, the street or a window, the fixture is in the wrong spot or aimed wrong. You should see what the light lands on and barely notice where it comes from.
• The runway. Path lights in a straight row, evenly spaced on both sides of a walk. Stagger them and space them so the pools of light just meet.
• Hot spots. An uplight set too close to a wall or trunk burns a bright circle at the bottom and leaves the top dark. Pull the fixture back and let the beam open up.
• Forgetting the plants will grow. A fixture that clears a shrub today may be buried in two seasons. Leave room and plan to adjust.
• Lighting the neighbors. Aim fixtures so the light stays on your property and out of bedroom windows. If you live in a managed community, check the rules first. There is a guide to HOA compliance that covers what review boards look for.
• One switch for everything. A yard that can only be all on or all off gets tiresome. Being able to change or shut off one area by itself matters more than people expect.

Should you choose white light or color?

For everyday use, a warm white is the classic choice. It flatters stone, wood and green leaves, and it looks calm from the street. Cooler white can suit modern architecture and makes some foliage look crisp.

Color changing fixtures let you change your mind. You can keep the yard in a calm everyday look most of the year and switch to color for a holiday, a game or a party. If you already have or want permanent lighting on the house, it makes sense for the yard to follow the same colors, so the whole property changes together. The guide on what permanent outdoor lighting is explains how that works on the house side.

What does the BNLT landscape system offer?

Brighter Nights Lighting Technologies is a manufacturer, and landscape is one of the lighting systems it builds. Here is what it offers.

• The fixture family. It includes an MR16 uplight, also called a bullet light, a pathway light that uses a G4 bi-pin bulb, and a PAR36 fixture for wider coverage.
• Pack sizes. Landscape systems come in packs of 4, 8 and 12 fixtures. An installer is not locked to those counts. Individual fixtures and bulbs can be added, so the design can match the yard.
• Color. The landscape bulbs are color changing, and you choose the colors in the app.
• Control of every bulb. Every landscape bulb is individually addressable, and there is no cap on how many. You can set one tree to a different color than the tree next to it.
• No Wi-Fi needed. Control is Bluetooth mesh, so the system runs without Wi-Fi. An optional Wi-Fi Gateway adds remote access. More on that in permanent lighting without Wi-Fi.
• One network. More than one controller can share the same network, and the app can run everything together or each area separately.
• Warranty by component. Bulbs and the controller each carry a three year term, with an optional five year upgrade, when the system is registered within 60 days.

You can see the fixtures on the landscape lighting system page.

How do you get it installed?

BNLT does not install. It sells through distribution nationwide, and the work is done by certified installers. As a homeowner you fill out one form, and BNLT matches you with a certified installer and an estimate.

When the installer walks the yard, bring your flashlight notes. Ask to see the plan after dark before the wire is buried. Ask whether the installer will adjust aim and position after dark while you watch. That last hour is where a decent job turns into a great one.