Commercial, School And Park Lighting Systems

When investing in park lights, it is important to consider three things. Safety of course is the first consideration, because no one wants to go to a park at night if someone who is up to no good is lurking about in dark places. Effective park lighting keeps pedestrian and recreational areas free from threatening shadows and provides an ambient, decorative visibility that helps set the mood for a quiet evening away from the traffic and noise of nightlife.

Because they play such an important part in setting the emotional tone for such an evening, park lights also have to be very decorative and offer an aesthetic that compliments natural surroundings. There is an enormous diversity of fixture and lamp styles when it comes to making your park, boardwalk, or hotel gardens more attractive and relaxed. People tend to romanticize the past as a better, less stressful time (because it was in many ways), and so any type of fixtures with an antique, early American style, or classic European look will often work well to accomplish this. Most park lights feature more symmetrical geometric designs and more intricate decorations, offering a much better fit to a natural, outdoor setting than typical flood lights, parking lot lights, and other industrial lights generally do.

Large companies with sophisticated landscape lighting systems often decorate walkways and outdoor seating areas with park lights. Even though these areas may not be technically considered parks in the same way as New York Central Park or Houston Memorial Park, they nevertheless call for the same blend of safety lighting and decorative theme as larger, official park areas require.

It is also important that park lights be diversified in both height and fixture model to create a true sense of design throughout the grounds. Lights on decorative poles provide general lighting for open areas and walkways. Smaller lights, lower to the ground, provide decorative accent lighting to emphasize landscaped features, hedges, flower gardens, and trees. Lighting bollards are an excellent source of accent lighting. Approximately the size of an industrial bollard, a park lighting bollard emits just enough light from the top to illuminate any number of natural landforms and vegetation types, and it serves as an excellent source of path lighting as well. Park lighting bollards can line sidewalks, rotundas, fountain areas, and the bases of stairways so people can clearly see where they are walking but never consciously notice the source of the light because it radiates at a subdued level of intensity.

Pole mounted fixtures can be obtained in any number of ornate styles that are fitted with special reflectors and glare shields to direct the light into the park in key areas but keep it out of the surrounding neighborhoods and retail districts. Dark sky laws have been passed in most cities now that strictly regulate light pollution, so it is important to purchase your park lighting fixtures from a company who knows these laws and can fulfill your sense of style and decoration without violating any municipal regulatory codes in the process.

Before making your final purchase, speak at length with a lighting expert who can help you carefully balance the three demands of security, decor, and dark sky regulatory compliance. Working with a specialist will save you from a costly mistake.