Street lighting is not just a necessity in the dark, but also comfort in a particular area, an opportunity to improve the visual image of buildings and landscape design. Further in the article – types of outdoor lighting, the specifics of its organization from a technical and aesthetic point of view.
TYPES OF STREET LIGHTING
There are 4 types of outdoor lighting of the territory:
- Utilitarian. Permanent lighting for purely functional purposes. It provides good visibility on highways, pedestrian areas, on the territory of enterprises, etc.
- decorative. The main goal is to “ennoble” the object, to make it more aesthetic.
- Security. Illumination of important objects – courtyards of private houses, perimeters, entrance nodes of public buildings. Effectively works with a video surveillance system.
- Festive. It is used during national, city, private holidays.
Can You set outdoor light timer?
After you obtain every one of your outdoor lights organized beyond your house or your company, you may discover it a problem to remember to transform them on or off. Maybe you just want them on when it’s dark outside, or to just stay on for a collection time period, like a couple of hrs.
Whatever your particular demands are, if you’re hoping there are some means to make use of a outdoor light timer, this is the appropriate post for you. You can place outdoor light timer a couple of various means, depending on the kind of light you use. For lights wired to a switch, a timer will certainly require to be set up at the button. With smart bulbs as well as lights, the setup is much easier, commonly utilizing an application or with a smart residence center. For lights that are connected in, a straightforward electrical outlet timer can be used.
Outdoor lights can provide a setting as well as welcoming feeling to outdoor areas and also supply much better security. If you want your outdoor light timer to run effectively and also remain on for a set quantity of time, you need to use a timer. To discover the kinds of outside timers as well as how to install them, first allow’s cover the different kinds of outdoor illumination timers.
Now let’s talk about the features of each type.
FEATURES OF UTILITY LIGHTING
FUNCTIONAL UTILITY LIGHTING SYSTEMS ARE ESSENTIAL FOR STREETS, HIGHWAYS, RESIDENTIAL AREAS, INDUSTRIAL AREAS AND OTHER PRIVATE AND MUNICIPAL FACILITIES.
Since it is responsible for the safety of citizens, it must be designed strictly according to all the rules and principles. First of all, it is important to consider:
- Type and power of lamps:
- On roads and highways of paramount importance, it is necessary to install devices with reflectors, 250-400 watts.
- On minor roads – models with a diffuse luminous flux, 70-250 watts.
- On sidewalks, narrow streets – diffusing lights, 40-125 watts.
- In private areas – vertical floor lamp structures with diffusers, 40-125 watts.
- Light level:
- On major main highways, main streets, the illumination should be within 15-20 lux;
- On district streets – 10-15 lux;
- On the streets of local importance – 4-6 lux.
- Lighting. Luminaires are fixed on the supports of overhead lines up to 1 kV, on the walls of buildings,high mast supports, parapets and fences of bridges at different heights:
- not less than 6.5 m – above the carriageway;
- not less than 3 mparks, boulevards, on footpaths.
- The layout of lighting equipment. Depends on the width of the road:
- up to 12 m – one-sided placement;
- up to 18 m – two-row “chess” placement;
- up to 32 m – rectangular “chess”.
When creating a specific outdoor lighting project, engineers rely on SNiP 2-4-79 and take into account several more factors:
- structure and reflectivity of the coating: tiles, asphalt;
- climatic features, atmospheric influence;
- the presence and features of light in the territories located nearby;
- illuminated area.
In addition, when developing, it is important to take into account the architectural and artistic appearance of the entire city: lighting, a combination of shades, dominant colors.
FEATURES OF DECORATIVE LIGHTING
The main task of decorative illumination is to highlight individual sections of the landscape, interesting details of structures. Therefore, it is especially relevant for parks, recreation areas, for arranging the territory of a country house, a summer residence. When designing decorative lighting, the main emphasis is on its aesthetics and on how it matches the style of the surrounding landscape and buildings around.
DECORATIVE LIGHTING TYPES:
- architectural. It is necessary for lighting buildings, more precisely – placing accents on architectural details, texture. For its organization, lamps are mounted on roofs, walls or on objects located close to the structure. When designing architectural illumination of building facades, the shape, proportional and design features of the building, the texture and colors of the cladding are taken into account. Modern lighting technology allows you to create dynamic lighting on the walls, “tracking” light by leading spotlights, light, three-dimensional “pictures”.
- Marking. It is used to highlight the contours, boundaries of territories. Often installed along paths, alleys, entrances. An ideal marking effect is created by bollards – luminous columns up to 50 cm high.
- Illumination of reservoirs and flora. For fountains and artificial ponds, waterproof, sealed lighting devices are used. They well emphasize the water surface and adjacent landscape objects: bridges, gazebos. Illumination of the flora is necessary if there are beautiful flower plantations, alpine slides, unique shrubs. If it is impossible to supply electricity to water bodies and plants, LED and solar-powered lamps are used.
MORE OFTEN FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF DECORATIVE ILLUMINATION APPLY:
- Lanterns and columns of different heights. The height of the columns is 20-150 cm, street lamps – up to 3 m. The luminous flux of such models is directed downwards.
- Hanging lamps. Mounted on suspensions in the form of cables and chains in gazebos, at the entrances, tree branches.
- Outdoor wall lamps–sconce. Installed on the facades of buildings.
- Embedded technology – point, tape. Mounted in steps, floors, platforms, soil, tiles, paving stones, curbs, walls, roofs. Used for landscape lighting. The glow of such lamps is intense, but the angle of distribution of the flow is small.
If you want to be surrounded by a uniform, comfortable, soft light, without a blinding effect, then choose lamps of reflected light with plafonds-balls. And if you need a bright beam to illuminate a specific object, then spotlights will suit you. They can be installed on the ground or a supporting structure.
The design of lighting engineering is determined by the style of the decorative lighting system, the specifics of the design of the object and the wishes of the customer. For buildings in the Art Nouveau style, hi-tech, concise, strict lighting fixtures with smooth monochrome cases are suitable: for buildings in a classic style, vintage and country – cylindrical, conical, oval, with frosted and mirror glass, decorative cast base and curly elements.
SECURITY LIGHTING SPECIFICS
The task of security lighting is to protect the boundaries of the object from offenders. All basic requirements for security lighting are given in SP 52.13330.2016. Here are the basic principles:
- Lamps should form a continuous light strip 3-4 m wide around the perimeter of the protected object.
- The system must work offline, even if the alarm is activated.
- Illumination of the perimeter should be from 0.5 lux.
- Light sources must be placed on the ground and / or mounted on a pole that does not protrude beyond the fence.
Often, security lighting systems for the street with a motion sensor are installed – they work in automatic mode: the devices turn on when a person passes by or a car drives by.
For better visibility, fixtures with a narrow beam can be equipped with technical equipment: security and fire alarm systems, video cameras.
ORGANIZATION OF FESTIVE LIGHTING
Festive illumination is not used all year round – it is designed to create a special solemn atmosphere on specific occasions.
Here are a few rules for organizing festive street lighting:
- Lighting should match the theme of the celebration. For the celebration of Halloween, New Year’s garlands are not suitable, and for a wedding – bright lighting equipment.
- In a large open area, illuminated and unlit areas should alternate.
- The lighting fixtures used should complement each other’s glow, and not interrupt.
- Lamps should not be out of harmony with the site during daylight hours.
The choice of a lamp that will become part of the overall festive illumination is also influenced by the place where it will be placed. For example, to illuminate long railings and columns, it is better to use LED strips; garlands are well suited for roofs, windows, walls, fences; for gazebos – small lanterns, ground and on posts. Landscape floor lamps and spotlights will create a spectacular composition in the garden and park.
The main thing in festive illumination is not to overdo it and not to place devices at every step.
LIGHT SOURCES FOR ORGANIZING STREET LIGHTING
The main characteristic for outdoor lamps is resistance to external influences: moisture, dust, wind, temperature fluctuations. The degree of this stability is marked with the IP index, and IP43-68 are considered optimal indicators. IP43 is suitable for lighting the area under the canopy, and IP68 can withstand even prolonged immersion under water.
Lamps are also important. Depending on them, the devices are:
- RKU (mercury);
- LCD (sodium);
- GKU (metal halide);
- LED (on LEDs).
LED lightsfor outdoor street lighting are distinguished by a high working resource – up to 100 thousand hours, optimal brightness (efficiency – 100%) and safety. There is one drawback – the high cost, but the devices pay off in six months of continuous use due to low power consumption.
By color rendering devices are divided into cold and warm. Cold light – white – helps people concentrate, and therefore it is perfect for highways. Warm – yellow – soothes and relaxes, so it is good for recreation areas.
To save on any kind of street lighting late at night, the light can be dimmed or turned off, but this does not apply to security lighting. They help to save on electricity and photo relay – the devices equipped with it turn on and off automatically depending on the level of natural light. Autonomous lighting systems are especially effective – they turn on / off the lamps on their own: a timer or a special sensor (photodiode) is responsible for this.
Very convenient to use for outdoor lighting solar powered devices. They are charged from the sun during the day, and at night this energy is converted into a luminous flux. Usually these devices are light and mobile – if necessary, they can be carried.
To properly organize street lighting, correctly select devices and follow all the rules. Only in this way can you achieve the desired goal.
Outdoor light sensor
Automated outdoor lighting systems use different ways to control devices. Sometimes timers are used for this, which are programmed taking into account the length of the day and night. However, their settings have to be regularly adjusted and adjusted to the weather. Alternatively, sensors can be used that react to the actual light level.
Sensors are installed in the local area, next to sidewalks and footpaths, on the facades of buildings and any other objects. The sensor gives a signal to turn on when the light level falls below the set value. This principle of operation allows you to automatically adjust the system, taking into account the short winter and long summer days, cloudy and sunny weather. The light automatically turns off in the morning, saving energy.
Features of outdoor sensors
Sensors that will be used outdoors must be resistant to moisture and dirt. Therefore, street light sensors have a protection level of at least IP 44. The BEG range includes models with an IP 54 class. This means that they are protected from dust and splashing water.
Another important indicator is the operating temperature of the device. For all BEG light sensors, it ranges from -25 to +50 °C, so they can be used outdoors both in summer and winter. In addition, when choosing, you should pay attention to other characteristics of the sensor:
- type of installation – models and solutions for mounting on a DIN rail are available;
- adjustment range – indicates the minimum and maximum threshold of the sensor;
- switching capacity – sets the maximum power of lighting devices that can be connected to the sensor.
Where to install the sensor?
The location of the sensor installation is determined when designing an automated light control system. The efficiency of the equipment largely depends on how correctly it is chosen. When designing, it is useful to consider the following factors:
- choose the installation location in such a way that the sensor is not exposed to light from car headlights and other extraneous light sources;
- do not place the sensor too high – it will be inconvenient to remove dirt from it;
- make sure that natural light reaches the sensor unhindered.
Outdoor light sensors BEG
Our catalog contains reliable and functional models that will help save energy and provide comfort. The durable housing is protected from dust, moisture and mechanical damage, does not fade in the sun. All sensors have flexible adjustments that allow them to be adjusted to individual needs. To control their work, you can use convenient branded remote controls.
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