Exterior architectural lighting must compliment natural and architectural aesthetics with luminaires whose fixture designs reflect the geometric themes and subtle nuances of surrounding structures and landscapes.These luminaires must also operate with optimal efficiency and provide the same level of quality that purely functional site lighting fixtures and general lamping options deliver.It is important for your clients to realize from the inception of the consultation process that exterior architectural lights must anticipate stringent lighting control laws now taking effect across the nation.New LPW requirements, light pollution restrictions, and limitations on the actual lamps that can be used are becoming increasingly.What you propose to your client today must be able to withstand not only the forces of nature and time, but also the forces of change and legislation within human infrastructure and society.Creating an exterior architectural lighting system that is customized to the exact parameters of your client’s site with minimal maintenance, upgrades, and replacements is something we specialize in helping you do.
With proprietary, commercial lighting design software, we will input the data that you gather from any municipal, commercial, academic, government, or sports facility site and scientifically calculate the precise photometric requirements for optimal foot candle density and directional lighting control.These calculations are crucial to helping you develop a competitive and cost effective proposal your client will feel confident will meet their long term needs without future complications, expenditures, or mishaps.In essence, this equates to something of a “less is more” approach to fixture placement, as increased efficiency and efficacy in HID and LED outdoor lights now make it possible to get more lumens per watt from the average lamp, enabling us to illuminate larger areas than ever before with fewer physical fixtures and less obtrusive equipment.
This represents a huge competitive advantage to freelance electrical contractors and smaller design firms who normally lack the funding to invest in high-end development software packages and lack the manpower to engage in long-term collaborative design sessions with clients who know intuitively what they want, but lack the technical knowledge to spec out the details in a timely manner.RLLD Commercial Lighting experts will handle this phase of your proposal development for you by taking raw data you collect in reference to the size, nature, location, and usage of your client’s site and generating a point-by-point schematic of the entire exterior architectural lighting system.
As a general rule, we subdivide exterior architectural lighting systems into component elements that represent the specific operations and aesthetics of a site.This is necessary because different elements of site lighting often fall into overlapping categories of regulation.Parking lot lighting is a good example of this.Parking lot lights must meet the minimum foot candle requirements of the local municipality in which they are installed.They must simultaneously control their light output in such a fashion as to fully comply with local dark sky laws, and they must meet with wind load requirements mandated by higher levels of government.Commercial garage lighting requires an equal level of attention be paid to both vertical and horizontal foot candle density, and calculating this delicate balance requires either access to specialty software or a degree in high-level calculus.Building lights and landscape lights must keynote geometric forms and thematic patterns to be truly effective, and these as well must be both energy efficient and optimized for glare reduction and light pollution control to remain compliant with government mandates.
The key to developing a successful, overall architectural exterior lighting system here is to use only enough visible equipment to compliment the scenery without dominating its elements.Decorative fixtures should be visible, yet “low profile” in their positioning, and they must always bring more attention to the objects they light than they do their own appearance.By paying attention to this simple, but much understated fact in the world of lighting design, you will give yourself an enormous competitive advantage over rival bids that over emphasize equipment and miss the essence of precision design and true site enhancement.
Working with a design services hardware vendor like RLLD will give your business, no matter how large or small, access to resources few of your competitors can obtain, and save both you and your clients time, money, and hassle at the end of the day.
RLLD Commercial Lighting carries a wide variety of industrial & commercial lighting fixtures. If you can not find what you are looking for call us toll free at 1-866-654-3961 and we will find it for you. Our home office is located in Houston, Texas with warehouses located throughout the United States that enable us to service all 50 states including Jackson, MS, Jefferson City, MO, Helena, MT, Lincoln, NE, Carson City, NV, Concord, NH, Trenton, NJ, Raleigh, NC, Bismarck, ND, Houston, TX, San Antonio, Texas, Dallas, TX, Austin, Texas, Fort Worth, TX, El Paso, Texas, Arlington, Texas, San Juan, PR (SJU), Isla De Vieques, PR (VQS), Fajardo, PR (X95), Erie, PA (ERI), Killeen, TX (ILE), Sheridan, WY (SHR), Casper, WY (CPR), Parkersburg, WV (PKB), and Escanaba, MI (ESC). We also service clients internationally, with lighting manufacturer representatives working out of Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America.ALBQ, NYC, LA, MPLS.
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This article was published on Friday 21 November, 2008.
