By Clarissa Allison | March 18th, 2016

Using the right mixture of outdoor lighting in your front yard will enhance your home’s safety, security and beauty!

While it may seem like we can simply duplicate our backyard lighting scheme in the front of our homes, there are actually differing objectives to lighting your front yard. Lights in your front yard add security by deterring unwanted visitors while also adding ambient lighting to our landscape, and highlighting the architecture of our homes.

The rule of 3’s. They’re the triple threat of lighting design. Three types of lighting: ambient, task and accent. Three levels of design: top, middle & bottom. For today’s blog post I’ve put together a quick reference guide on what the different layers are, along with a few tips on how to use them to pull your space together.

Three Layers of Light: Ambient, Task & Accent

this interactive picture that shows the dramatic difference in a kitchen after under cabinet lights were added. (That’s next on my project list!)

3. Accent lights add depth & dimension and showcase individual items or areas. A favorite painting or photograph displayed under a picture light on the wall is a popular way to accent with lighting. One of my favorite examples of decorative outdoor accent lighting are Annie’s original post to see if you’re right.]

Three Layers of Design: Top, Middle & Bottom

A common lighting technology in the commercial space is metal halide, at least in the past it was. At an ever increasing rate, businesses are actively searching for a more efficient lighting system that will allow them to cut energy consumption and in turn; reduce overhead expenses.

When companies or facility managers start their search, they often search for the wrong answer. Here are some common questions that we are asked:

“How many watts does it take to replace a 1000w metal halide light?”

“How can I replace my metal halide light?”

“Is it even possible to replace my metal halide fixture with another technology?”

This post specifically will be covering the first question, as for the other two: be sure to subscribe to our email list to know when new posts go live, we are always pushing out informational content to answer your questions just like these ones!

So.. How many watts does it take to replace a 1000 watt metal halide fixture?

It’s simple a simple concept, yet not at the same time. In short, it’s impossible to know just from that question alone. The reason for this is simple too: you can’t base your decisions off of watts alone. Instead, you need to be basing your decisions off of lumens.

What is a LED equivalent to a 1000w metal halide you can easily find fixtures that output at over 100+ lumens / watt. Especially when you go with quality products from reputable companies, you can reach higher than a 150 l/w output. This will allow you to cut your wattage usage per fixture by 2-3 and sometimes 4 times which will prove to save substantial amounts of energy when you start talking about replacing multiple fixtures.

So we’ve explained what it takes to replace your 1000w metal halide fixture, but what does “replacing” consist of?

Replacing can consist of two things: write in to one of our professionals with your questions.

We all remember how exciting the world was as a kid. Everything was an adventure, whether it was hide-and-seek in the basement, or riding bikes with our neighbors. Everything was within our grasp and we were invincible. For children, the difference between what is safe and what is dangerous is often hard to distinguish, especially when it comes to electrical safety. Often times, outlets look like fun spaces to put small things, electrical boxes are good hiding spots, and power boxes have fun switches. It is important to teach your kids about being safe around electricity, so here’s some tips on how you can start talking about it with your family.

Start Early

When it comes to safety, the earlier the better. When your kids reach an age where communication is easy and they understand what you say, start talking about how to be safe. When you start an early conversation with your kids, they are more likely to retain that information overtime and be able to recognize a dangerous situation the more it is talked about.

Show Them Around

The more your child can associate the world around them with the words you say, the better it will stick in their minds. Take a tour around the house and point out the electrical sockets, the power cords, the electrical panel, and talk about the safety precautions with each. For example, tell them about how it is not safe to put things in the electrical socket, or not to pull on the power cord.

You can also venture outside to talk about electrical boxes, the power lines, or outdoor outlets. By making electrical safety interactive, your kids will have fun while learning how to be safe.

Make the Information Interesting

The internet has so many valuable resources when it comes to fun safety lessons! Watch a Youtube video with your kids or find different activities online. Making lessons interesting could also be as easy as taking a mini fieldtrip around your house!

Whatever your method, ensure that your kids know the dangers of electricity. Electricity is engaging and powerful, but should still be treated as the hazard that it can be.