If you’ve been considering outdoor lighting or maybe you’ve already had a consult, you might be confused when you hear some of the lingo thrown around by a professional lighting designer or installer. Get up to par with your landscape lighting terminology with this quick guide so that you know exactly what you do and don’t want in your landscape lighting system.
Kelvin
Kelvin is often seen abbreviated as (K) and measures a light’s temperature. Often you will see a light with a low number of color in a restaurant in the evening as the lower number signifies warmer light. If you work in a cubicle, you are probably familiar with the cool light which is higher in Kelvin. A rule of thumb is to use a lower number if you are going for a more relaxed vibe and higher in areas of concentration.
Low Voltage Lighting
If you’ve been following the Prestige blog for long, you’ve likely run into this term. In fact, low voltage lighting is what we primarily work with. As a consumer, you may wonder what this means. Low voltage lights are the standard in residential lighting. They are safer than their counterparts due to the lower risk of electric shock and the financial savings long term.
Lumen
A lumen is often represented with (lm). It is defined as the measure of the total amount of visible light to the human eye from a light source or lamp. As the number of lumens increases, so does the brightness.
Watt
A watt is a measure of how much power a light uses. In a consumer’s eyes and that of a lighting designer, you want the most light for the least power used. So, you want the most lumens for the least watts. LED lights accomplish this!
Prestige Outdoor Lighting has been illuminating residential and commercial properties for a decade. We understand that lighting terminology is not always household knowledge and we strive to make our services and fixtures used as transparent to our customers as possible to allow for them to make decisions and purchases that are best for them! To get a free consult or to discuss any further questions on lighting terminology, feel free to give us a call at 910-754-5483.
