Landscape Lighting Design Flashcards

What is 'grazing' in landscape lighting design?

Answer: Placing a light source very close to a wall or textured surface to highlight its surface relief and texture

Grazing involves positioning a fixture very close to and parallel with a textured surface (brick, stone, bark) so the raking light highlights the surface relief and three-dimensional texture.

What is 'beam spread' in landscape lighting fixture selection?

Answer: The angle of the light cone emitted by a fixture, ranging from narrow spot to wide flood

Beam spread describes the angle of the light cone produced by a fixture — narrow spots (10–15°) concentrate light on a focal point while wide floods (45–120°) wash a broader area.

What does CRI (Color Rendering Index) measure in landscape lighting?

Answer: How accurately a light source renders colors compared to natural daylight on a 0–100 scale

CRI measures how accurately a light source renders the true colors of objects compared to a reference natural light source, with 90+ CRI recommended for landscape applications where plant and material color accuracy matters.

What is 'silhouetting' as a landscape lighting technique?

Answer: Placing a light source behind a plant or object to create a dramatic dark silhouette against a lit wall or surface

Silhouetting places a light source behind a plant or object aimed at a wall or surface, creating a striking dark silhouette of the subject against the illuminated background.

What is the purpose of a 'photocell' or 'dusk-to-dawn' sensor in landscape lighting control?

Answer: To automatically turn lights on at dusk and off at dawn based on ambient light levels

A photocell sensor detects ambient light levels to automatically turn landscape lights on at dusk and off at dawn, providing convenient, energy-efficient operation without a timer.

What is 'voltage drop' in a low-voltage landscape lighting system and how is it addressed?

Answer: The reduction in voltage along a wire run as current travels farther from the transformer, causing lights to dim; addressed by using larger wire gauge or multiple runs

Voltage drop occurs because wire resistance causes voltage to decrease as current travels along longer wire runs, resulting in dimmer fixtures farther from the transformer; corrected by using larger wire gauge or home-run wiring configurations.