We just finished our two home shows in North Dakota. Fargo’s Red River Valley Home & Garden Show was held February 26-28, 2010 at the FargoDome and sponsored by the Home Builders Association of FM while the Grand Forks show was held March 26-28, 2010 at the Alerus Center and sponsored by the Forx Builders Association.
Between both shows, we garnered much interest from attendees that this is the year they are going to expand and/or enhance their landscape and outdoor living spaces which will include lighting for better night-time enjoyment. The most common topic areas included:
1. What is the type of light or bulbs used in a system – until the emergence of LED’s the landscape lighting fixture has been predominantly halogen or incandescent bulbs which included Bi-Pin Bulbs, PAR Bulbs, MR Bulbs, Wedge Based and Automotive Style Bulbs. This year we showed a variety of LED’s which is either an LED replacement bulb or fixtures with LED’s ready for installation. Each style has or had their purpose. What it comes down to is what type of illumination do you want out of your bulb/fixtures? With the help of a professional landscape lighting designer, you should be able to view different types and styles. This, along with a night-time demonstration will give the homeowner a great sense of what is right for them.
2. Is there a better solar-powered lighting system then the typical fixtures you see in a big box store? Yes there is! We shared information with clients and prospects on what we have done to build and provide solar power at the power source (transformer) instead of plugging it into 110. The overall lighting system is still the same, however, you know have a solar panel and battery to power the system providing the same quality light you expect out of a system instead of spending minimal money on fixtures that do not provide much light output and do not stand up to mother nature in many parts of the country.
3. What should we expect to pay for a good low voltage system? There are many factors that go into the overall price of a system such as the number and type of fixtures, the watts on the system, the size and type of transformer, the amount and type of wire such as 12-2 or 10-2 wire, labor, timer systems and accessories such as lens covers for certain style fixtures or incorporating lighting control automation. A small system could run $1500 to $5000, a medium system could run $5000 to $10,000 and larger systems can run $10,000 plus. Again, it all depends on a number of factors which should be explained to you during an initial consultation.
4. Can you do water features? Yes, there are many submersible fixtures that can be used to light up ponds and spillway. This may be used along with fixtures outside the water feature to illuminate the surrounding landscape or sculptures.
5. What we found most useful in answering many additional questions was the opportunity we had to light up the builders square at the Grand Forks Show. Tim Shea’s Nursery and Landscaping constructed three separate landscaping displays in the builders square. One-half of the the display depicted the northern woods which showed off a variety of pines and birch trees along with a couple black bear mounts done by one of their employees. One quarter was an example of a Japanese Garden and the other fourth was a backyard vegetable garden. See pictures (some fuzzy due to not knowing my new phone) at end of article.
6. A big reason attendees stopped by our both was to see our Permanent LED Holiday Lighting Systems by ChannelBrite. This exciting product means a home owner may never have to string up lights again. I will be highlighting this in a future blog article. In short, we permanently attach a rail system to your home or office and then inlay the lights which can be either solid or three color lights. With the control pad, the system can run one, two or all three color lights at any given time and for any holiday or event. The control pad can also control patterns, speed and brightiness. A lot of times it is the veiwer that comes up with other applications such as mounting under a vehicle or motorcycle, mount under a top cap of a stone sitting wall for illumination, uses for over/under counters, in wall coves and theatre rooms.
7. For our commercial clients we showed off many of our new fixtures for commercial use whether interior, exterior or walkways and paking lots. Check back at a later date since this too will be a seperate blog topic.
For those unable to attend either show, please feel free to contact us for information or Q&A.
Thank you,
Mark Strand
- Tim Shea’s Nursery & Landscape design in Grand Forks Home Show 1
