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Everything you need to know about landscape lighting spot vs. flood low voltage

Whether you’re the owner of a residence or business, or a landlord who’s renting out your commercial spaces, it can be challenging to know exactly what type of outdoor lighting will do the best job of highlighting the important features of your spaces. Needless to say, you’re likely a part of a larger group of avid do-it-yourselfers who take pleasure in building a brilliant landscape that you can take pride in. As a professional lighting manufacturer, we understand the importance of installing a gorgeous lighting system that uses the least amount of energy and requires minimal maintenance, which is why we want you to have the tools and knowledge necessary to make an educated guess before you place an order. So, for those who have never really understood the difference between landscape lighting spot and flood low voltage lights, here’s your guide! 

What’s landscape lighting?

Landscape lighting, otherwise known as garden lighting, includes a diverse selection of light fixtures that provide enhancement for private properties or public landscapes, with the purposes of safety, nighttime aesthetics, accessibility, security, and illumination for social events. While the majority of landscape lights are low voltage, there are still higher voltage lights on the market that can be useful if you require a heightened brightness for your space. The best part is that you don’t need to decide on one type of light, because several fixtures can be used in conjunction with each other to illuminate your property for all of the above purposes. 

What types of landscape lighting do we carry? 

Landscape lighting is an umbrella term that refers to a large variety of lights that brighten up the surrounding parameters of your property. 

Here are some types of fixtures that we carry and how they can be used:

  • Path-Area lighting: These lights can be used to line garden beds or pathways by casting pools of illumination for both safety and design purposes. They also work well for walkways in dark, industrial spaces.
  • Directional lighting: These lights are designed to accentuate foliage or structures by turning them into beautiful works of art at night. With the ability to cast upwards or downwards, the shadows are left behind to create a brilliant display.  
  • Pond lighting: Did you know that there’s a specific category of lights that can be used to illuminate your water features? Pond lights can be submerged underwater, which creates a delicate focus on the immediate surface areas above.  

What is spot landscape lighting? 

Illuminating specific areas, or spots, outside your home is easy with the help of spot landscape lighting, otherwise referred to as spotlights. When comparing landscape lighting spot vs flood low voltage lights, you will see that landscape lights illuminate smaller, well-defined areas, whereas floodlights specialize in providing a wider beam of light to cover a larger surrounding area. 

What are floodlights?

While the name does an adequate job describing the purpose of these fixtures, floodlights provide an overflow of illumination (similar to how a real flood would overflow a waterway). This larger expanse of light allows home and business owners to illuminate a space with light as bright as daytime. This allows them the ability to spread the light across a bigger surrounding area to keep it from becoming pitch black in the far corners of outdoor space. The biggest perk of floodlights is that they boast safety, making it so that you can see any obstacles around you, and they deter crime and theft, keeping unwanted visitors from entering your property under cover of nightfall. 

Since the range of your chosen floodlight is dependent on your needs, here are some reasons to use brighter floodlights:

  • They can replicate the brightness of daytime
  • Good for lighting up industrial areas, sheds, and garages for those that work at night 
  • Provides more security, especially in areas that lack sufficient street lighting
  • Highlights entry points onto your property

Here are some reasons to use dimmer floodlights:

  • Accentuate the beauty of nighttime
  • Add functionality to your spaces past sundown
  • Illuminate entry of porch or patio space
  • Highlight patches of an area (play frisbee as the natural light fades away)

Landscape lighting spot vs. flood low voltage lights

Now that you understand the difference between the two, it’s time for you to pick the best choice for your residential or commercial property.

Here are a few points to consider: 

  • How big is the space you want to illuminate: The amount of light needed in your space is a good way to narrow down what type of fixtures are needed. Start by measuring your space and determine how much light you want throughout the area.
  • Do you need these lights for functional or aesthetic purposes? While floodlights are highly effective, they are often considered to be more artistic than spotlights, as they allow you to accentuate your landscape. So, if you’re leaning more towards one of the two primary goals, consider this before making your lighting selection. 
  • Consider the cost and effort: In most cases, it will generally only take one or two floodlights to successfully light up an outdoor space, however, they often need to be installed against a building structure. On the other hand, spotlights work best when staked into the ground, requiring a different type of lighting installation. So, when you’re on the fence between the two, shop around for the best prices and consider how much effort may be required before you will be happy with the finished outcome. 

What type of lighting project do you have on your to-do list for this coming spring? Drop a comment below for some help selecting the perfect fixtures.