Landscape Lighting News & Tips

Outdoor lighting does much more than improve visibility after dark. When thoughtfully designed, it becomes an artistic feature that enhances your home’s architecture, showcases beautiful landscaping, and creates a warm, inviting atmosphere. The right lighting design can transform ordinary outdoor spaces into stunning focal points that add character and curb appeal long after the sun

At North Star Outdoor Lighting, we’ve staked our business on helping individuals enhance the visual appearance of their properties whether commercial or residential. With years of experience designing indoor and outdoor lighting scenes, we’ve cultivated expertise on what type of lighting highlights the features of any property best. Scottsdale and Phoenix are home to some

Single-Family in ESL Exterior and Site Lighting Design Guidelines Exterior lighting includes any lighting that is mounted outside of livable building areas such as in landscaping, parking areas, along walkways and paths, on the outside of building walls, under eaves and patio covers, under open shed covers and within 3 feet of the openings in

Problem Cause Solution   No power at plug Tripped breaker or GFI Reset circuit breaker in main panel or the GFI usually located in a bathroom, garage or kitchen.   GFI keeps tripping Ground problem or defective GFI GFI’s are notorious for nuisance tripping. Use a high grade model such as the Hubbell #GF5252I.  

1. DON’T OWN A VOLTMETER: Don’t own a volt meter – Trying to install anything electrical without a digital volt meter is like trying to install an irrigation system without a shovel or to eat soup with a fork – it can be done but having the right tools makes it a lot easier.  

Ambient Light Lighting throughout a space that produces general illumination. Ampere (amp) Unit to express the flow quantity of electricity. Analogous to gallons per minute. Baffle An accessory that prevents light from producing glare at certain angles. Ballast Auxiliary unit used with HID lamps to provide the power to start the lamp and regulate the

The Laser Landscape Light combines laser and holographic optical elements to produce stunning lighting effects you must see to believe. Simply point the fixture toward trees or bushes to watch your outdoor landscape come alive with thousands of twinkling lights. The fixture comes in a beautiful bronze finish, is easy to install, and is weather-resistant.

A common mistake made by many is to replace existing lamps with lamps of higher wattage than those originally installed. As an example, Mr. Smith has a low volt system with a 600 watt transformer and 25 fixtures illuminating his landscape. All of the original fixtures had 20-watt lamps in them for a total load

This will help the life of your system! Typical of most every mechanical appliance, the components of the landscape lighting system will require periodic maintenance in order to keep the system operating at peak performance. The wise Lighting Installer will incorporate a Lighting Maintenance Program into his or her offering. Maintenance will typically include lamp

LAMP LIFE Lamp life is rated in hours of operation. If lamps are rated for 4000 hours at 12 volts it means that at 4000 hours, 50% of the lamps are still working and 50% are not. For maximum light output, tune lighting circuits to provide between 11.5 and 12.0 volts as measured at lamp

Why We Are Green How many times have you changed a burned out light bulb in your lifetime? Fifty times? One hundred times? What did you do with all the old bulbs? If you’re like most people, you simply tossed them into the trash can and forgot about them. It is the right time to

FX products are manufactured in southern California where we comply with the world’s toughest environmental, labor and work place safety regulations. We are proof positive that an American company can still compete very successfully with foreign made brands. We win the game with superior quality, delivery and support. REAL EFFECT LIGHTING NOT HARDWARE STORE TOYS

Latest Revisions Approved Minor Amendments to ESL (Effective Mar 22, 2007) Restoration of Damaged Desert Areas (Effective Mar 22, 2007) Side Yard Setbacks for properties zoned ESL (Effective October 26, 2006) Undeveloped lot with an ESL overlay? The city has recently developed an instructional diagram that demonstrates how to determine the buildable lot area. History/Background

If you are a Facebook member, please search me on Facebook @ North Star Outdoor Lighting LLC to receive valuable discounts. 10-15% off on new systems, and 10% off on repairs.

Solar powered outdoor lighting fixtures. NO this is not a home depot solar light. This is a state of the art solar panel, with battery back up for all your outdoor lighting needs.

Exterior Lighting for Single-Family in Environmentally Senstive Lands (ESL) Areas Illuminance Tables Submittal Requirements Photometrics Printable Lighting Guidelines (pdf/48kb/2pp) Ambient Lighting Zones (pdf/319kb/1p) Streetlight Policy Plan (pdf/208kb/1p) Outdoor Lighting Code (pdf/115kb/2pp) Please note: The 2006 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) was adopted by reference via the International Building Code (IBC) adoption.

While most homes operate on 120 volts, low voltage lighting runs on either 12 or 24 volts. Examples of low voltage lighting includes recessed lighting, landscape lights, pendant lighting, and track lights just to name a few. Low voltage lighting is usually less expensive, easier to install, safer, and uses less energy.

Over the past several years the installation or conversion to low voltage indoor and outdoor lighting systems has become more and more common place with new home builds and renovations. This is likely due the lighting becoming more affordable, a more public consciousness towards the conservation of energy on a national scale, or in many