Monthly Archives: January 2020

Photo of relaxing area outside of mansion at night - photo by Vision Green Landscape

Without proper landscape lighting, an otherwise stunning home can be rendered dull once the sun goes down. An awe-inspiring landscape has properly positioned, precisely illuminated, strategically selected landscape lighting in all the right spaces to enhance aesthetic, mood, and safety. Thankfully, an experienced landscape lighting technician can make bring any landscape to life. We’re here to share some of their best tips with you.

1. Choose the Right Light

Every different mood, location, and object has a type of light that will work best. For instance, if you’re looking to highlight large bushes or trees, floodlights are an excellent choice. Low lights at the end of a pool, pointing away, can cast a warming glow across its surface when viewed from a window or back deck. For illuminating structures or walls, well lighting is an excellent choice.

If you’re looking to have guests over on a warm night on a deck, patio, or porch, the optimal mood and guest experience come down to lighting. Accent lighting is an excellent choice for highlighting a patio’s features, while recessed deck lights can create a warm, welcoming atmosphere.

Picture of beautiful residence with garden at night - photo by Vision Green Landscape

2. Direction Makes a Difference

Should your lighting come from above or below? The two effects can create vastly different landscapes. Downlighting can be used to illuminate strategically selected trees throughout the yard. The light shines down like moonlight, dipping through the leaves, skirting the branches, and creating beautifully patterned shadows below. It can also be used to highlight walkways.

Uplighting comes from the ground up to highlight a wall, garden feature, tree, or other large structure that you want to stick out from the rest of the landscape. This type of highlighting creates a powerful aesthetics for guests and neighbors.

3. Placement Can Make or Break a Landscape

If you place landscape lighting in the proper areas, you can significantly increase the property value of your home. In most cases, there are a few objects and spots of focus that require landscape lighting. If you frequently have guests, patios and decks should be well-lit. Gazebos, unique garden features like a fountain or magnificently-tall trees, should be highlighted.

Illuminated garden by led lighting. backyard garden at night closeup photo - photo by Vision Green Landscape

The location of your lighting also plays a role in crime deterrent and general safety. Burglars thrive on the dark corners of your property. Well-designed landscape lighting can keep your home from becoming a target. Pathways, doors, and porches should all be well-lit to protect yourself when coming home and to deter intruders.

In addition to deterring intruders and increasing your property value, landscape lighting can prevent injury. Cast light on outdoor stairs, paths, and your driveway. You’ll keep both your family and guests safe throughout the night, and you’ll decrease the likelihood that a passerby injures themselves near your property.

For outdoor landscape lighting experts in the North Carolina Charlotte area contact Vision Green Landscape.

Vision Green Landscape
1530 Queens Rd #503
Charlotte, NC 28207
704.309.4424

We have been retrofitting fluorescent fixtures to LED T8 since 2012. Not only have we seen almost every possible project type, we have done many ourselves. Here are some common questions we get asked and the simple answers that will help get your project going. Feel free to email us if you just want more information on how to use our products with your fixtures, and suggestions on how to get the most appealing results.

1) Can I convert my fluorescent to LED?

In most cases your fluorescent fixture can be converted. We specialize in the 2’, 4’ and U-bend fixtures, as well as a fixture conversion kit for 8’ fluorescent fixtures that makes conversion quick and easy. By getting rid of the energy sucking fluorescent lamps and the old heat generating ballasts, you can increase your light output up to three times, while decreasing your wattage and energy consumption by half.

2) Do you need a ballast with LED lights?

Our double ended LED replacement lamps do not need a ballast. Take a look at our video and you will see how we remove it, bypass it and stop the energy it wastes by being in that circuit. Double ended LED tubes are the industry standard and there is no need to change out the tombstones. We can also assist you if you want to keep your ballasts, but we do not recommend it. When your ballast fails all your lights will be out, and replacement fluorescent ballasts are getting harder and harder to find as new replacements.

3) Will LED tubes work in fluorescent fixtures?

The LED replacements tubes work in almost any fixture. We can help you determine if the LED tubes will work in your fixture. Let us know how long your fixture is, if it has a lens, if it is open and where the fixture is. Send us a photo of the inside if you can. The more detail we get, the better recommendation we can make.

4) How do you change a fluorescent light fixture to LED?

We are so happy you asked! We have an extensive video set that deals with how to convert fluorescent lights to T8 LED tubes, step by step. 1, 2, 3, and 4 tube fixtures all can be done, and we have frosted and clear LED tubes. LED retrofits can be used most anywhere, a shop, warehouse, garage, basement, kitchen and more applications.

5) Are LED tubes brighter than fluorescent?

Absolutely! If you have a T12 old fluorescent tube you can expect up to almost 3 times the light at less than half the energy. If you have a T8 lamp the results will be similar, depending on the age of the fluorescent lamp.

6) Do LED tubes need starters or drivers?

No, the driver is right inside the tube. A small circuit takes your standard current of 120 or 277v and converts it for the LED strip in the tube.

7) Who can do the conversion for me?

Before you start check out our super helpful one-stop-informatoin conversion tool. We recommend it as the best place to start with your project!

You can also share our videos with your electrician, however we would be surprised if they are not familiar with the process. Tell them you want to use the double end feed method. The single end method takes longer, requires you to change some of the tombstones, and therefore costs more.

We offer resources, videos, diagrams, and details to help your project come out just the way you want. We have assisted with thousands of projects and have refined our products and methods. We offer specialized, hands-on knowledge and experience that you won't find on other websites. We are a small, family business that cares about each and every project we have the honor of working on. Let us help with yours!

Outdoor low voltage landscape lighting is not only magical in summer but also in winter. Our good friend HandyDadTV braved the cold and took these amazing photos below with the recent snowfall that transformed his backyard into a winter wonderland. The trees, shrubs and path take on a postcard like quality you can enjoy during the long dark days of winter. What could be more wonderful.

It is easy to install low voltage LED lighting and HandydadTV made this great video you can see here of the same landscape lighting fixtures he sent photos of in the winter snow light up his yard in the summer.

Outdoor Solar Light

Unlike the solar lights from the big box stores that just can't handle the winter with their rechargeable batteries that only last an hour or two in the cold, and their cheap plastic that becomes very brittle and breaks in low temperatures, our fixtures shine brightly all night to the light way.

Installing LED low voltage outdoor landscape lighting maybe a bit more challenging during the days when the temperature is below 55 degrees, as the ground can be hard from the colder temps, and making it more difficult to attach the connectors on the wire that becomes hard as a rock in the cold. It’s not impossible, but planning for a day where the temperatures are warmer would be a good start. Our large video library of installation notes, hacks, products and troubleshooting videos will make you an expert no matter the season. 

Photo Courtesy of HandyDadTV

Have snow that blankets your yard for months throughout the winter? Not a problem, our outdoor light fixtures just keep looking great no matter the season.

If you live in the warmer states, now might be the best time to install your landscape lighting before it gets too hot to work outside. If you already have snow out there, now would be an opportune time to start planning your outdoor landscape lighting installation, get the materials you will need so on the first day of spring you can “spring” into action.
So don’t let the winter scare you off. Turn it into an opportunity to explore, experiment and plan :)

No matter the season, landscape lighting always makes your home more inviting, welcoming your guests all year long, with a little magic. 

It is so easy to transform your yard into a magical place with our LED Outdoor kits, our stunning tree lights and our LED Christmas lights. Bring heightened visibility and creativity to your walkways, shrubs, trees and eves while increasing security and safety for your property.

Check out our series of insightful videos and make yourself an expert.

See our additional resources to help you make your yard magical!