How to control glare with landscape lighting

Have you ever been momentarily blinded by lighting as you've been walking along a pathway maybe around a pool or decking or possibly in a garden? It doesn't make the space very comfortable, so today I just wanted to go through the different options that we can offer to help create a more relaxing environment for all.

​Uplighting with inground lights is obviously one of the hardest areas to prevent glare from lighting. It's particularly important to reduce glare in areas where the lights are in direct pathways. On a daily basis we are helping our clients choose lights that create distinctive lighting effects with either our honeycomb lenses or low washing lights  that  look sophisticated and clean. The honeycomb lens sits under the glass and creates a shield from the light source right until the moment you step on top of it. It does reduce the amount of light coming out of the fitting but we do have a range of fittings in various sizes and wattages to cover a number of applications.

   Honeycomb lens                   Uplighting along walk ways        Low washing lights

​Our low washing in ground LED lights like our Keo Horizons and Radius lights are particularly popular for stair treads, stepped pavers and even around pools to wash light across a pathway without any light shining up into your eyes. For driveways they are also really practical as unlike the more traditional uplights that just create a spot on the ground like a runway they wash outwards.

Amos directional in ground light                        Keo 2W in ground - Deep frosted face                  

We love our little Amos in ground lights. The LED chip is set down a little in the fitting and has an adjustable tilt of 15degrees which both help with reduced glare. These fittings are great to highlight retaining walls, brick columns or timber/steel posts.

For the more classic deck lighting that uses inground lights to indicate the edge or border of an entertaining area, our Keo 2W LED light with deep frosted lens is the guy you want. It is dull enough to be pleasant on the eye when walking directly over or near it, plus its solid construction is suitable for seaside residences or urban oasis's.

Also for a point of difference check out the Orbit mini step lights for the edge of decking or recessed into the riser of steps like these pictures above and below. We love the elegant detailing that is created by the fine ring of light and they are really well priced.

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We have a good selection of inground lights that are suitable for not only residential but commercial applications as well. Asymmetrical inground lights or our adjustable lens options are really useful for uplighting flag poles and large walls to create impact and attention.

Garden lighting is all about ambience so its crucial to ensure that there is no glare created from lights particularly fittings that are close to the house or in areas where you will be walking past on a regular basis. Positioning the lights correctly is part of the process but sometime lights can be viewed from various angles so its not always as straight forward as that. With our Lotus spike lights and our Willow spike lights we give clients the option of a glare guard which provides a shield around the light. The best thing is that they are made from our durable machined aluminium and treated the same as our lights which are anodised and then twice powdercoated. We don't do things by halves, we like to do it properly the first time. See the image below of a close up on our Lotus light with and without the glare guard.

As a final note, lighting should create a feeling of comfort. It really can transform your indoors or outdoors space with the correct type of lighting. Talk to us about how you want to use your space and we'll go through the considerations that will help you decide on what and how to use your lighting to get the right effect. Love your life! Andrea :-)