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Exterior Lighting Design: Enhance Building Aesthetics and Functionality with New Lighting Technology and Thoughtful Placement

As a property owner, the beauty and security of your buildings matter. New York City is full of architecturally significant structures. During the day, it is easy to appreciate the buildings and feel safe, but without adequate lighting, they lose their beauty and sense of security at night.

Exterior lighting design is a crucial aspect of building ownership. Tenants want a bright and welcoming home. Discover the importance of lighting design and ways to brighten your properties.

Exterior Lighting Design

Its Importance and Functionality

Exterior lighting is necessary for aesthetics, functionality, and security. With the correct placement of lights, you can highlight architectural details, accentuate landscaping, or illuminate pathways and parking spaces.

The NYC violent crime and property crime rates continue to decline year over year and fall below national averages. Still, exterior lighting plays a significant role in the safety of a property. Buildings without adequate lighting may be more prone to vandalism and looters.

Effective lighting should deter crime and make tenants and staff feel safe. The lights should be bright and discreet, meaning they should not detract from the property or its neighbors. Lighting should complement the structure while providing enough illumination to see clearly.

Beyond protecting against crime, exterior lights also protect against slip-and-fall injuries. The lighting clearly defines property edges, curbs, and steps, helping people navigate the exterior safely and reducing liability risks.

Exterior Lighting Design Options

Hard-Wired or Plug-In Versus Solar Powered

Buildings often use a combination of hard-wired, plug-in, and solar-powered lighting options. Each fixture type has its uses and benefits.

Hard-wired options mount and wire directly into the building. The lights connect to the existing electrical system, allowing control from an interior switch or circuit breaker. Some hardwired options have sensors to automate when they turn off and on.

Landscape lighting typically uses plug-in options. The staked lights have a short cord that plugs into a GFCI outlet that is hard-wired into the building’s electrical system. Property owners don’t usually use plug-in lights for security lighting because people can manipulate these lights easily.

Solar-powered lights are energy and cost-efficient and typically motion-activated. The lights are decent options for low-foot-traffic areas that only require occasional lighting; for example, gardens or open spaces. While you can install solar-powered lights in heavy traffic areas such as garages or walkways, it is better for security to rely on continuous lighting in more vulnerable and populated areas.

HID Versus LED

Consider looming federal restrictions before figuring out your property’s exterior lighting design. The Department of Energy announced in May 2022 that beginning August 1, 2023, there is a ban on halogen and incandescent light bulbs. From August forward, any bulb producing less than 45 lumens per watt will be illegal to sell.

Building owners, then, have two practical options for exterior light bulbs: high-intensity discharge or light-emitting diode. A typical HID bulb produces 71 lumens per watt. Despite the light output of HID bulbs, they could be more energy-efficient.

LED lighting is the better lighting option for your NYC property. The initial cost is more than traditional fixtures, but the upgrade is worth the investment. LEDs are energy efficient and long-lasting. Over time, you can recoup your initial investment.

Also, as NYC pushes toward a zero-emissions future, property owners embracing LED lighting and fixtures will find themselves ahead of the curve. Consult with a Bolt Electric technician to learn more about energy-efficient lighting options.

Fixtures and Beam Shape

Exterior lighting design is more than light bulbs and fixture placement; it is also about the beam shape — the measure of light spread from the source. Light fixtures can have a wide beam shape or a narrow one.

The type of shape you want depends on the fixture’s location and the area’s illumination needs. For example, in a parking lot, you likely want a light fixture with a wide beam to offer maximum illumination of the area.

Another term for beam shape, especially when discussing LEDs, is lighting distribution. LED lighting has six main types of lighting distribution:

• – Type I: Distributes the lighting output to the sides, limiting output toward the front and back
• – Type II: Focuses the lighting output at a 25° angle toward the front of the lighting map
• – Type III: Concentrates light to the front at a 40° angle
• – Type IV: Angles the light toward the front at a 60° angle
• – Type V: Uses a circular pattern to illuminate a large area in all directions.
• – Type VS: Illuminates all directions using a square pattern

To ensure optimum exterior lighting design and visibility, consult Bolt Electric. Professionals can help you find the correct lighting distribution pattern for your property needs.

Lighting Controls

Manual outdoor lighting control is possible, but it is also a mistake. Manual lighting is vulnerable to staff forgetfulness, meaning lights may be left on all day or never turned on at night. Timers or automated sensors are the more efficient and safer methods for exterior lighting operations.

Timers work well seasonally. You can set them to turn lights on before dusk and off after dawn. The limitation is that timers still require manual operation on overcast days, creating the same problem as with an entirely manual system.

Automated sensors are the best option for exterior security lighting. The sensors respond to dim lighting by activating the exterior lights; it doesn’t matter what time of day it is.

As a property owner, you want to keep your building and tenants safe. Automated lighting is the best way to remove human error, ensuring your property is well-lit whenever natural lighting isn’t enough.

Professional Exterior Lighting Design

Call Bolt Electric for a Consultation

Exterior lighting design helps add to the beauty and security of your property. You have various options for exterior lights, from HID to LED, and different light distribution patterns. The number and style of lights you need depends on the size, shape, landscaping, and other design elements of your building. Contact Bolt Electric at 212-734-5000 to learn more about your lighting options and schedule a property assessment to determine placement needs.