A plot with a country house or cottage needs lighting. The light scares away stray animals, prevents intruders from entering, and allows you to put the car in the garage at night or in the evening. The lighting of the site is organized according to certain rules.
Necessary requirements for outdoor lighting in a private house
The lighting system consists of lighting fixtures, electrical wiring, security modules, if necessary. Its elements must be functional, prevent energy consumption and comply with safety conditions.
Regardless of what task the lighting performs in a summer cottage or suburban area, you should adhere to the following recommendations:
- The system is equipped with RCDs and circuit breakers to prevent short circuits.
- Carry out the grounding of the building.
- Cables are laid in corrugated plastic or metal pipes: they protect the wires from damage.
- Outdoor sockets and switches are used only with a high degree of protection against moisture.
- Lighting devices are connected so that it is possible to turn them off locally or in an emergency.
- Cables, RCD luminaires are placed so that free access for inspection or repair is maintained.
- For street lighting of a private plot and a house, it is better to use energy-saving devices - LED, fluorescent. They consume less electricity, but create a powerful luminous flux.
- Laying of cables is carried out before landscaping.
Lighting cannot be random. The project is developed taking into account the purpose of the lighting, the relief of the site, the characteristics of the landscape.
At their summer cottage
A summer cottage can be with or without a residential building. The first case is considered as a variant of a country house, albeit a simplified one: in the country they live only in the summer, ornamental gardens are rarely planted. In the second case, the light scares away animals and prevents possible penetration.
It makes no sense to install a complex option here. If this is an ordinary holiday village, people rarely appear here in winter, there is no one to monitor the safety of the lighting fixtures themselves. However, in the summer, the site will need to be illuminated in order to drive up to the house in the evening, for example.
For general lighting, a good backlighting on the veranda of the building and a couple of lamps near the garage, if any, are enough. If not, a couple of lanterns are secured around the parking area.
The security lighting system includes up to 10 floodlights. Together, all lamps should illuminate the entire area. It is recommended to connect them to motion sensors - this creates the effect of the constant presence of people in the house.
In a country house
They usually live here permanently, receive guests, organize a complex economy. The house lighting system is much more complex and includes both functional and decorative options.
All types of lighting devices are used: spotlights - for full illumination of the site and the facade of the building, pendant and wall light sources - for illuminating paths, garages, stairs, fiber optic systems and decorative lamps - when decorating garden landscapes.
An obligatory element of lighting on a suburban area is a facade one. Such illumination simultaneously acts as a part of general lighting and decorative.
Types of outdoor lighting
Distinguish lighting according to the function performed. In practice, the same system solves several problems.
Functional
The task of general lighting is to achieve an even distribution of the luminous flux over the area, using, if possible, reflected light. A characteristic feature is the absence of shaded areas. Only deep soft shadows are allowed.
They use matte luminaires that create soft diffused light. Lanterns and lights are installed along the main paths, near the gates and approaches to the house, on gazebos, next to outbuildings and the garage.
Decorative
The garden landscape includes lighting. Ground, recessed, floor and wall luminaires are placed to highlight interesting solutions. Pool and gazebo lighting also fall into this category.
Mostly used are hidden or decorative lamps - of an unusual shape and color that generate colorful light. Decorative lighting is expensive, but it creates an amazing atmosphere.
Security
The task is to prevent the penetration of intruders. The security lighting system is part of the general security system. It includes powerful luminaires and floodlights, mounted at high altitude and illuminating the most important areas: garage and main gates, house doorstep, parking lot.
The luminaires are connected to motion sensors. Sudden and powerful flashes of light scare off animals and bullies.
Marking
This lighting of a country house and a plot is a cross between a functional and a decorative option. Low-power lamps are used for it, which not so much illuminate as highlight some elements: stairs, walls of a pool or pond, borders of a parking area, paths in a garden. The most popular are priming lamps and models with legs - "glowing stones".
Marking lighting can easily serve as a backlight for a garden, especially if colored lights are used.
Types of lights for lighting
For different types of illumination, different lamps are chosen. There are many options. The following types of lighting fixtures are suitable:
- Luminescent - create the strongest flux of light, but at the same time consume the least amount of electricity.
- LED - they are inferior to luminescent in terms of efficiency, but they create directional light, generate colored radiation and are extremely durable.
- Solar powered models. During the day they accumulate energy, and spend it at night. The battery charge lasts for 8-10 hours. However, the device generates light diffused and low-power.
- Fiber optic systems are the most profitable and effective option for decorative lighting.
According to the installation method, at least 5 varieties are distinguished:
- Wall - mounted on any vertical surfaces: walls of houses and verandas, pillars in the garden and gazebos, gates.
- Floor - mounted on their own, usually low racks. This is how they illuminate the paths in the garden, the courtyard, the passage to the garage.
- Priming - they are mounted in the ground or in other surfaces, like a path, stairs. A very elegant way to illuminate a house porch or sidewalk.
- Suspended - classic lanterns and their analogues. Used in all areas.
- Searchlights are powerful lighting devices that perform a security function. They are installed at a sufficient height so that the cone of light covers a large area.
Lighting devices used outdoors must have a high degree of protection against dust and moisture. This is especially true for soil and floor models.
Lighting depending on the location
Facade and porch lighting
Outdoor lighting of the house includes 3 components: security, general and decorative. Bright illumination is required on the threshold: the entrance to the house should be clearly visible on surveillance cameras or from a window. Illumination of a building replaces part of the total luminous flux and allows you to save on illumination of neighboring areas: luminaires mounted on facades illuminate a larger area than floor ones.
The decorative function is also taken into account. For external illumination, lamps and spotlights of directional light are taken. They are placed so that the cones create an orderly play of light on the walls, focusing on windows, balconies, and architectural features.
The road home
All paths and stairs that are used in the evening need lighting. Closer to the residential building, powerful lamps are used. In the recreation area and in the garden - decorative in order to maintain a romantic atmosphere.
Garage lighting
The entrance to the garage and the area in front of it are illuminated, especially if it is used as a parking space for guests' cars. This lighting is part of the burglar. On the site, they mount ordinary lighting devices in the garage - searchlights. The latter are connected to motion sensors.
