The installation of commercial grade line voltage outdoor landscape lighting can be a very profitable part of an electrical contractor’s business . With the understanding of basic outdoor lighting concepts (e.g. uplighting, downlighting, and wall-washing) and the right lighting design and fixture specification software to help navigate the selection process, electrical contractors who have not previously offered the service can comfortably expand their marketing to existing accounts to include installation of outdoor lighting.
The selling points of landscape lighting are easy . From mini-mall to strip offices, a well-lit façade and attractively lit grounds increases the value of the property to the owner . Well placed lighting increases safety, enhances security, and – when artfully focused at a building façade, trees, foliage, and architectural elements – improves aesthetics after dark.
The happy news, in these high-tech times, is that you don’t have to hire a professional lighting designer to include some lighting design services in your marketing mix to your clients.
The specifying of fixtures, which has traditionally been at least somewhat complicated, is getting easier, with the aid of computer software, which bodes well for electrical contractors who previously only bid on jobs put out by others.
Electrical contractors who can specify the work in-house stand a good chance of getting the work without competitive bidding, which leads to higher profit margins.
Most lighting design software available requires either expertise in lighting design or extensive application training in order to determine such basic criteria as how high on a wall, how far from the wall and how far apart fixtures should be placed for optimal lighting and at what angle should the light be focused.
Recently, an outdoor lighting fixture manufacturer came up with an easy-to-use lighting specification software solution to deliver quick answers to those types of questions without the user having to understand the technicalities behind the lighting or the underlying formulas.
The software, 3dOP, available as a free download at the developer’s website ( Allscape, www.alllighting.com, 800-854-8277), supports quick analysis of how selected new or replacement fixtures perform in various locations under diverse conditions.
The solution, named for its output, three-dimensional outdoor photometrics, permits electrical contractors and their estimators to visualize effects of proposed choices and what-ifs and then present those results to customers as options, either on a laptop, in an office visit, or in printout.
Here is how it works . The software operator positions one, two or three representations of a selected fixture on any plane of a standard grid to determine how it or they would cast light onto a wall or down onto the ground or otherwise illuminate an area . The user tries out various combinations of variables, altering distances, mounting heights, reflectors, lamp lumen level, and footcandle level to see what lighting works best for the intended application . The resulting new light patterns make it easy to hone in the best combination of conditions.
The program uses fixture lighting characteristics defined in industry-standard IES Type C files that are pre-loaded in the database . In addition to identifying the manufacturer, the IES file carries data delineating the type of lens, wattage, tilt, type of housing, type of reflector, and type of ballast if the fixture uses one.
The software, which is intuitive and very easy to learn, can handle files for bollards, footlights, step-lights, building mount, pole mount and in-ground fixtures, comes with files for the manufacturer’s full line of outdoor fixtures pre-loaded and also accepts other manufacturer’s IES files . Users can therefore quickly visually evaluate and compare different reflector options or the performance of different manufacturers’ fixtures.
For example, lighting fixtures that are ten years old and are not performing nearly as well as they did when new, could be ripe for replacement with products that are more efficient, perhaps even using less total energy overall . If the IES files are still available for the existing lighting (major fixture manufacturers often archive that data), an electrical contractor could use the software to present a case . Setting up a side-by-side comparison of new, more energy efficient and/or improved lighting against existing aging lighting could go a long way toward persuading an owner to proceed with new work.
If the IES files for the old fixtures are not available, the contractor could, instead, input specifications the owner wants to achieve and then test out fixtures and criteria to match them.
The graphic representation on the grid, which can be rotated on any of the three axes and zoomed in on for a closer look, can be shown on a laptop during an office or onsite sell or can be printed as a “report ”, for emailing, faxing or otherwise demonstrating to the client.
The visualization is helpful in showing that an upgrade would carry a good return on investment, in improved quality of light or in better achieving safety, security or aesthetic goals . The program eases the lighting design and specification process; takes a complicated subject and breaks it down into an understandable set of variables and provides easy to interpret answers . The software, as an expediter in decision-making, can effectively serve as a sales tool, helping turn even an informal proposal into a contract or change order .
Bill Feldman writes often on marketing, new products and trends for electrical contractors . For more information, visit www.alllighting.com or call 800-854-8277.
