In the arrangement of a small country house, a country house, a townhouse, as well as the entire garden, lighting plays a very important role. At night, electric doors illuminate entrance doors, gates, driveways, garden paths, terraces, gazebos and building facades. For these purposes, they use special street lamps for giving. From ordinary household lighting, they differ in design features. In addition, they have high requirements in terms of protection from various environmental influences.
Varieties
By appointment, all street lamps for cottages and country houses are divided into three groups:
- decorative, which are designed to give the house and the adjacent area the most aesthetic (according to the owner of the house) look;
- attendants (for example, automatically turning on the backlight of the entrance gate of the fence or door when the motion sensor is triggered);
- workers (included for the required period of time).
By used power source:
- powered by a 220 volt household power supply;
- solar powered;
- rechargeable.
By functionality:
- with ordinary manual switch;
- with motion sensor;
- with light sensor;
- with a remote control (usually cordless models complete this device).
By installation method:
- ground (sometimes also called ground);
- wall mounted;
- outboard;
- mounted on the surface of the road surface;
- recessed.
Requirements for street lights
The main requirements for the design features of street lamps for summer cottages are:
- the possibility of uninterrupted operation in various weather conditions (rain, snow, frost, wind, and so on), that is, the housing design must be completely dustproof and waterproof;
- absolute security for the user;
- reliability and durability;
- simplicity of installation and subsequent maintenance.
Major manufacturers of outdoor lighting
To date, the most famous companies involved in the design and manufacture of street lamps for summer houses, cottages and country houses are:
- Austrian Eglo and Globo;
- German MW-Light, Chiaro, Favorite, Maytoni and Brilliant;
- Italian Arte Lamp, Odeon Light and ST Luce;
- Hungarian Novotech;
- Russian Trif;
- Swedish Markslojd;
- Belgian Lucide;
- Spanish Crystal Lux;
- Chinese Feron and Electrostandard.
Criterias of choice
The main selection criteria for a particular lighting model are: its purpose and location. Before you acquire a specific model, you must clearly understand for yourself what area and with what intensity you need to illuminate. For example, to illuminate garden paths or alleys, it is perfectly acceptable to use low-power single lamps installed at a certain distance. And for lighting a large covered gazebo, you need a fairly powerful pendant lamp.
An important role is played by the appearance of the lighting device. It should be harmoniously combined both with the style of the building itself and with the landscape design of the arrangement of the entire site.
Last but not least, you should ask about the manufacturer’s reputation and the warranty period for the purchased product.
Wall Street Lights
Outdoor wall lights for summer cottages are designed for installation on vertical surfaces. By design, they can be made both in the form of usual for many indoor sconces, and in the form of flat panels.
For example, the Laterna 4 model made in the classical style from the Austrian manufacturer Eglo in a frosted metal case with a transparent glass shade costs 1,400-1,500 rubles. It is possible to install a standard incandescent lamp in it with an E27 base and a maximum power of up to 100 W (providing an illuminated space of about 5 m²). Such a lighting device is very well suited, for example, for lighting the front door of the house.
For lovers of strict minimalism, the Street Pluto high-tech street lamp from the German manufacturer MW-Light with a matte acrylic cylindrical shade and a stainless steel body is best suited. The design is designed specifically for the installation of one energy-saving lamp with a power of up to 40 W (with E27 base). Despite its very modest dimensions (8 X 33 X 14 cm), this “baby” successfully illuminates up to 2 m². Today the price is about 1800 rubles.
Pendant lights
Pendant street lights for summer cottages are attached to the ceiling. They are used for lighting canopies, gazebos, terraces or other indoor recreational facilities. By design, they are very diverse. So, to illuminate a large-area gazebo, Rua Augusta model from the well-known German manufacturer Maytoni is suitable, which is a full-sized chandelier with three energy-saving lamps of 60 W each and attached to the ceiling with a chain, for 15800-16100 rubles.
And to illuminate a small space under a canopy from the rain, a single Zagreb pendant lamp from the Italian manufacturer Arte Lamp with an ordinary incandescent lamp with a power of 60 W and a cost of 1000-1200 rubles will be enough.
Street lamps for giving on poles
This is perhaps the most difficult to install category of outdoor lighting devices for summer cottages. For their arrangement, it is necessary not only to safely lay the electric cable in the ground, but also to build a foundation to strengthen the foundation (because the lamps, due to their design, have significant weight). For example, the total weight of the popular model of a street lamp for a summer residence (ball on a pillar) Aalborg from the German manufacturer Brilliant (column height - 105 cm, ball diameter - 20 cm) is more than 30 kg. It is possible to install one lamp in the luminaire with the E27 base (incandescent with a power of up to 60 W or LED with a power of 5.8 W). The illuminated surface area is more than 3 m². Today, such a lamp costs 5400-5700 rubles.
With the help of the London lamp from the German manufacturer Favorite with three transparent shades in the classical style (one incandescent lamp with a power of 100 W each) and a height of 2250 mm, you can create a well-lit area of about 15 m². The price of such a model is 15300-15700 rubles.
The main advantage of such lighting devices is a significant illuminated area, due to the fact that the emitters themselves are located quite high above the ground.
Among the shortcomings can be identified:
- high complexity of the installation;
- inconvenience (albeit minor) during further maintenance (for example, you will have to use a stepladder to replace the lamps).
Lamps equipped with a motion sensor
Additional convenience and comfort to the user is delivered by “smart” lamps, which themselves turn on when a person approaches. In order to save electricity, such devices have long been used in homes on stairwells in the city.
For giving, street lamps with a motion sensor are also very useful and practical. After all, the light is turned on only for a certain (pre-programmed) time, which is enough to go from one building to another or to travel from the porch to the summerhouse.
The popular LED floodlight from Elektrostandard (10 Watt and with a built- in motion sensor in a metal case) today costs 1300-1500 rubles. Effectively lit area is more than 5 m².
LED lights
Due to their high efficiency and economy, and recently, at a very affordable price, LED street lamps for summer cottages have become increasingly popular among suburban real estate owners. Among the varieties of lighting devices that use only LEDs as emitters, for summer houses and suburban areas now produce:
- solar powered lights;
- products for highlighting the facade or other architectural structures;
- luminaires built into the road surface and curbs.
In other products with a standard base, the user will be able to independently install any lamp: incandescent, energy-saving or LED.
Principle of operation and arrangement of solar-powered luminaires
The main principle of operation of such lamps is the conversion of solar energy into electrical energy. Such a light source consists of:
- housing;
- photoelectronic crystalline elements that convert the energy of sunlight into electrical energy;
- a battery for storing energy;
- multifunctional controller combining a charger and a circuit breaker;
- light-emitting products (usually highly economical LED emitters are installed for this purpose).
During daylight hours, energy accumulates in the battery. When dark, the machine connects the battery to the radiating elements, and the lamp begins to work for its intended purpose - to illuminate the area around it.
Advantages and disadvantages of street lamps with solar panels for gardening
Such devices have a number of advantages (especially for country use):
- full autonomy: there is no need to connect electric power sources, and, as a result, convenience and ease of installation (no wires need to be pulled);
- safe operation (only low voltage, absolutely safe for human health, is used in the device);
- automatic operation mode: when dark time sets in - it emits light, with sufficient lighting it switches to energy storage mode;
- a wide range of products currently manufactured.
Of the disadvantages it is worth noting:
- dependence on solar activity and daylight hours in a particular region;
- complexity of repair (in case of failure of the device);
- Battery outages at very low freezing temperatures.
Popular models of solar-powered luminaires
One of the most popular varieties of street ground lights for summer cottages is the so-called ground lamp. It is a ceiling mounted on a metal rod. To install the lamp you just need to stick the lamp holder into the ground.
Very popular with owners of suburban areas are fixtures of this design from the famous Austrian manufacturer Globo. Solar luminaire with a matte shade in the form of a ball has the following technical specifications:
- diameter: from 150 to 500 mm;
- mounting rod height: from 425 to 1100 mm;
- LED lamp power: 0.6 W;
- area effectively illuminated by one lamp: from 1 to 3 m²;
- number of lamps in one product: from 2 to 10 pieces (included);
- operating temperature range: from -30 to +60 degrees;
- battery type: nickel-cadmium;
- cost - from 1200 to 4000 rubles.
The undoubted advantage of such lighting fixtures is the ease of installation and dismantling. They can be quickly installed in the necessary places for the entire summer season, and for the winter period (if necessary) to be stored where convenient to do it.
Decorative solar-powered light sources will not only create the necessary illumination of a particular area in the dark, but also make it truly unique. Such products are presented in the form of butterflies, birds, gnomes, fairy-tale characters or animals. For example, the price of a small luminous gnome (345 mm high) is 1850-1900 rubles, and a peacock (640 mm high) with a luxurious tail costs about 7500 rubles.
Recessed luminaires
Among the many LED street lights for summer cottages, a special place is occupied by products that are mounted directly on the covering of garden alleys or car access roads (sometimes they are also called pavement). These products are subject to the highest requirements for protection from external influences.
The Ice Gl 100 model from the Russian manufacturer Trif with overall dimensions of 100 X 100 X 50 mm, a shade of high-strength Plexiglass (withstanding the load of a car “shod” in studded tires) and LED emitters (1.2 W) are quite easy to install in the road surface from paving slabs or pavers. The price of such products is still quite high - from 12,000 rubles. The manufacturer offers services for the manufacture of these fixtures in accordance with the size of the customer.
Oval emitters of a similar purpose from the Chinese manufacturer Feron, depending on the diameter (from 100 to 300 mm) and power (from 3 to 36 W), currently cost from 980 to 7,700 rubles.
Important! Particular attention during installation should be paid to the safety of the wires. For their reliable protection, pipes of high-strength materials (metal or hard plastic) are usually used.