Posts Tagged ‘lights’

Designing Your Outdoor Lighting

Saturday, September 19th, 2009

It’s always around this time of the year that I appreciate the design elements of our outdoor lighting scheme. The days are getting shorter and I find that I am turning on our outdoor lights slightly earlier each day. The result of decent outdoor lighting is that we can still use our outdoor space into late August and September.

During the longer days of mid summer, it seemed that I could cook and entertain relatively late without worrying about turning on the lights. Safety is a big issue for me, and I like having stairs and pathways of my back yard lit well enough so my friends and family don’t end up in a bush. But now that the days are shorter, I just enjoy turning on the lights so that my evening guests can enjoy the ambiance as much as I do.

We started to create our outdoor lighting scheme about 5 years ago. My spouse and I were charmed by the simplicity and beautiful effect of the outdoor lights of a French restaurant we visited in Mexico. Since that time we have experimented with many different types of outdoor lighting designs. Our scheme is a work in progress and it gets refined each year. Some years we use a lot of string lights while in other years we use spot lights and twinkly lights. We generally tend to stick to white lights although we sometimes use the odd colored spotlight.

A Neat and Green Bathroom

Sunday, August 23rd, 2009

Its not a very pleasant sight to see your bathroom in a not-so-tidy shape. Who wants to be stormed by plumbing problems of this kind? Keeping in mind the importance of a clean bathroom, its certain that nobody wants to own a dirty bathroom. I really believe that one should go in for effective bathroom remodeling.

So really- It is not going to be a bad idea to go in for green plumbing in your bathroom. We shall thus be able to contribute to the global environment by making a washroom that is eco friendly as well as energy effective.

`A prime advantage of green plumbed bathroom would be of plunging plumbing expenses. In a matter of time, you would notice that your bathroom parts do not require any effort and equipment installation replacement.

So the falling need for a plumbers services will only make your budgets get less burdened. What you could do for starters is ” go for earthy, light and easy plumbing equipment in the bathrooms. These should serve just right if they lead to optimal usage of water, and light/electricity- the two things that should be consciously conserved.

Beauty Of Light Works Changes The Houses Face

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

With great home lighting, you can make a plain space look great and a great space look fantastic. Light affects how we perceive spaces and the items within them. A good lighting plan should create a cozy, inviting space and add sparkle to treasured art work and furnishings.

Besides the electric lighting fixtures, natural light should also flow uninterrupted into the rooms. You can achieve this by removing secondary glazing on the window, replacing heavy curtains with light drapes. Also, placing a mirror near the window makes it look larger and brighter.

Now, for achieving the desired effect in a room with electric lights, it is first important to understand 4 basic types of home lighting fixtures.

Ambient lighting fixtures are used for basic lighting purpose in the home. They are mostly ceiling mounted fixtures (florescent rings and tubes). Florescent lights are great in lighting up large areas, but halogen lights gives a better effect and can be adjusted using a dimmer.

Outdoor Spot Lights Can Benefit Any Outdoor Lighting Scheme

Monday, June 29th, 2009

Have you ever thought about installing an outdoor spot light? It is easier than you thought and these lights serve more purposes than originally thought. Most homes or business establishments that have outdoor lighting schemes can benefit from the installation of outdoor spot lights. Outdoor spotlights have a number of different purposes ranging from providing extra security, high-lighting pathways, providing extra safety, and providing a nice form of ambiance. Properly positioned spot lights are a wonderful addition to any outdoor lighting scheme.

Typically when you think of outside spotlights you probably think of outdoor concerts, or outdoor shows where event planners needed to draw your attention to one specific spot (moving or stationary). Or perhaps you have only really seen spotlights lighting up the sign in front of local businesses. These are ideal uses for the spotlight, but you might not realize that there are many places around your own house that you could install a spotlight to great effect. Think of your backyard lighting scheme, do you have a wonderful statue or birdbath that could be lit up at night? Using outdoor spotlights let you focus attention on objects that would normally be lost in the dark, allowing you to create focal points that add extra dimension to your outdoor lighting scheme.

Solar Lighting Can Save Money

Friday, June 12th, 2009

Much of the global economy is tied to powers of oil and other nonrenewable energy sources. Today, the same trend continues with everything from cars to electricity and the manufacture of everything from cans for sardines to plastics for toys are directly or indirectly linked to the consumption of oil.

On the one hand, peoples all over the world and entire nations find themselves almost held up at gun point because of a dependence on oil, and on the other is the ravaging effects of oil explorations and consumption on the ecology, wildlife, and even the indigenous peoples who live in most newly discovered oil reserves. Find out how to make a difference with garden solar lighting, and enjoy the many benefits of nature illuminated the nature-friendly way.

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Why Use Landscape Lighting?

Monday, June 8th, 2009

Outdoor lighting is a functional addition to your yard, but it can also add beauty, too. Outdoor lighting will add security to your property, and be esthetically pleasing as well. If you choose the right kinds of outdoor lighting, your home will look more inviting for visitors. Plus, you can increase the safety of your garden features by lighting stairs, decks, and patios. Line your pathways with a beautiful string of lights, or make your pool glow with landscape lighting. Properly placed lights will emphasize the beauty of your garden, spotlighting its most impressive features. Gazebos, fountains, or other garden structures might get lost in the darkness, but when illuminated, you can enjoy them at dusk as well as midday.

Flood lights can be used to draw attention to interesting areas of your garden. Recessed lighting is the perfect way to spotlight small areas or specific plants. When choosing lighting for your yard, consider both electric and solar lights. Electric lighting involves wires buried underground, but solar lights do not shine as brightly as electric lights. Consider the effect you want, as well as where you will be placing them, before choosing a type of outdoor lighting.

Light Bulbs

Monday, May 18th, 2009

Light bulbs have a very simple structure. At the base, they have two metal contacts, which connect to the ends of an electrical circuit. The metal contacts are attached to two stiff wires, which are attached to a thin metal filament. The filament sits in the middle of the bulb, held up by a glass mount. The wires and the filament are housed in a glass bulb, which is filled with an inert gas, such as argon.

An electric current flows from one metal contact to the other when the bulb is connected to a power supply, moving through the wires and filament. Electric current inside a solid conducter is defined by the mass movement of free electrons (electrons that aren’t strongly attached to an atom) from an area of negative charge, to an area of positive charge.

As electrons bolt through the filament, they are constantly colliding with the atoms in the filament. The energy of each collision vibrates an atom, basically, the current heats up the atoms. A finer conductor heats up quicker than a thicker one as it has a greater resistance to the movement of electrons.

Plants And There Needs

Thursday, April 2nd, 2009

I am building another lamplight greenhouse, so I can expand my study of roses under artificial lighting. I had some very astounding results from cuttings made during the winter and, believe it or not, several are blooming at this very moment in the garden.

My failures were also ever present, but from each 1 learned a lesson, be it in rooting mediums, temperature, hardening off, or what- ever problems beset the indoor gardener. One thing I do know is that it works if you know how to properly balance the lights and take certain other precautions.

I bought a dormant rose the second week in March, planted it in a pot and set it alongside my propagating box under lights. On April 27 I cut my first rose of the year, and I believe the first one in this area. It caused quite a commotion. When I told people I raised it in a basement they said I was “nuts.” The rose had never seen daylight until it was cut and brought out of the house.

Lights Are Important Elements In Growing Plants

Sunday, March 29th, 2009

I am building another lamplight greenhouse, so I can expand my study of roses under artificial lighting. I had some very astounding results from cuttings made during the winter and, believe it or not, several are blooming at this very moment in the garden.

My failures were also ever present, but from each 1 learned a lesson, be it in rooting mediums, temperature, hardening off, or what- ever problems beset the indoor gardener. One thing I do know is that it works if you know how to properly balance the lights and take certain other precautions.

I bought a dormant rose the second week in March, planted it in a pot and set it alongside my propagating box under lights. On April 27 I cut my first rose of the year, and I believe the first one in this area. It caused quite a commotion. When I told people I raised it in a basement they said I was “nuts.” The rose had never seen daylight until it was cut and brought out of the house.

Lighting up a Garden with Solar Garden Lighting

Thursday, March 26th, 2009

Just about anybody who’s had or has a yard or garden has wanted to brighten them up. One way to do so is by improving garden lighting with solar lights. If you do a good job of picking them out and installing them correctly, you’ll see an immediate improvement in style and appearance. In fact, the whole yard — including pathways – can benefit from the easy installation of solar lighting packages.

Old-way energy costs were a sticking point. It used to be that in the old days, expensive conduit piping added to costs. Trenches of from twelve to eighteen inches needed to be dug, and then weather-resistant and long-lasting wiring ran from the house to each of the garden lights in a sequence. Let’s not forget that all those power needs had to be met by an additional fuse or circuit within the house. This required even more energy and added to the monthly electric bill. With solar lighting, though, that’s no longer a problem.

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