<font color=red>QUICK TIPS</font> Landscape Lighting at its Best

There is a right way and a wrong way to install landscape lighting. CAST Lighting, Hawthorne, N.Y., offers a variety of tips to keep in mind when wiring those pathlights or uplights this season. Here they discuss how to properly light a home or landscaping using lenses and louvers:

Using MR-16 Lenses and Louvers
CAST offers 3 lenses and a honeycomb louver for our MR-16 fixtures. Here's what they do and how to use them.

Optical Spread Lens (COSL)
This glass lens sports ridges in a cross-hatched pattern. It's effect is called prismatic diffusion. It widens the beam slightly, softens the edges and softens the hot spot at the center of the beam. It cuts center beam brightness by about 20 percent. It's typically used when lighting walls or plant material when a softer, less defined beam is desired.

Optical Frosted Spread Lens (COFL)
This glass lens is etched to create an even diffusion. Its effect is similar to the COSL but the diffusion effect is more pronounced, creating a wider beam with very diffuse edges and nearly obscuring the beam's hot spot. It reduces the center beam brightness by about 46 percent. This lens can be used whenever a highly diffuse light source is needed, especially useful when lighting certain plant material or statuary where hot spots would be problematic.

Optical Linear Spread Lens (COLL)
This glass lens sports linear ridges. Its effects are the same as the COSL with the exception that it significantly narrows the beam in one direction creating a narrow oval. It decreases center beam brightness by about 50 percent. This lens is used whenever a long narrow diffuse beam is desired. Typical uses are for uplighting trees or flagpoles, as a wall wash for low retaining walls and for lighting along paths or driveways.

Honeycomb Louver (CXL1)
This black anodized aluminum louver is composed of a honeycomb pattern of dividers. It cuts out stray light (glare) past about 45ß from the beam center. It also hardens the beam edge slightly and accentuates the hot spot. It decreases center beam brightness by about 30 percent. It's main use is in controling glare. Typical scenarios would be to shield glare from fixtures in plant beds that are near walkways or driveways; or in cases where light might otherwise spill into windows.

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