Facade Lighting

Lighting the home's facade adds beauty and makes it stand out. Color rendition is usually a priority. However, fixture aesthetics are typically not a concern since the fixtures are often hidden from view.

It's common to mount fixtures on the ground, on poles or sometimes on the building or a nearby structure. Head-on flood lighting will make the structure appear flat and uninteresting. It's better to place fixtures at an angle to help bring out textures and features of objects being lit.

Placing the fixtures close to the building will reduce glare for viewers inside the building. This is especially important around bedrooms and living areas.

Adjustable flood-type fixtures are best for facades.

Halogen or quartz lamps are a good choice for small areas. However, their operating and maintenance costs are higher than HID sources, metal halide, high pressure sodium or mercury vapor. Metal halide lamps produce a bright white light and are commonly used in stadiums and grocery stores. High pressure sodium lamps produce a warm, golden light that is especially attractive on historic buildings and homes with warm exterior colors. Mercury vapor lamps, the least efficient of the HIDs, cast a bluish glow that brings out the blue and green in plants. This picture contrasts high pressure sodium light on the left with mercury vapor on the right. HIDs have lower operating and maintenance costs, but are usually more expensive to purchase.

Time clocks may be more desirable than photocell controls, since they can be set to turn off the facade lighting during the later portion of the night. Although, photocells may be best if the facade lighting is used for security purposes.