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as far as moonlighting, I can't seem to make it look good. the glare, the trees, the only success I have is downlighting fountains,statues, arbors, swings, or water features directly under tree branches. when I put fixtures in trees just for trees or lighting paths, and aim them down, it never looks good to me. I see photos where it can look good, but mine never look like that. maybe from one angle, but for me, the glare seems everywhere even with hex louvers.
Downlighting from a tree is a gigantic 3-D puzzle that must be solved to be effective. Every tree is another puzzle. Some trees are more "generous" and offer more places to hide your luminaires. I'm going to try to break this very complex process into reasonable chunks.

A few suggestions for downlighting:

Decide which direction needs the MOST protection from shroud brightness and glare. Then determine if there is a direction where you can direct your shroud brightness without concern. (Most likely not... unless your are very lucky)

Is it possible to light one tree by hanging a light in an adjacent tree? This can be very useful in a stand of trees.

Place your fixture carefully: you need a good branch with enough room below, free of limbs and foliage, to allow the light to spread out and soften some. You will often have to do some pruning to make this happen. (Moonlighting is beautiful but don't try to moonlight through any near by foliage.)

I ALMOST NEVER MOUNT DIRECTLY TO THE TRUNK. You'll have to lift the front of the luminaire high to avoid a hot spot right below the lens. Think ANGRY light for the 1st 3 or 4 feet out from the front of the lens.

Try to mount your luminaire on the "shoulder" of the limb. This will ease your shielding problems as the branch will block the view of the inside of the shroud for almost 180 degrees. Keep "angry" spill entirely off the branch. A fixture with a side-mounted knuckle will help a lot. I usually use the Vision 3 FL11. If I'm really lucky there will be a usable smaller branch on my larger branch that is sticking up. Then both branches help with shielding.

Don't try to "reach out" too far - you will only compound your glare problems. I like to point straight down or angle back in toward the trunk a bit. I reach out only if I'm certain there is no possibility of glare for the neighbors.

Don't try to light the entire trunk below - only the bottom half. You'll use uplight to do the top half and to soften any too warm/angry spots.

Do pick some foliage (sufficiently distant from your luminaire) to downlight through for that lovely "moonlight" effect. Plan to uplight the nearby foliage to soften the downlight brightness in the canopy.

You don't have to light the entire tree. I often use partially lighted trees to "fame" a scene. Mystery should always be part of your design.

The best situation is for the Designer to employ an arborist who "gets it" and will mount the lights for the Designer at night. That's when it gets to be real fun.

Hope this helps. Questions?

Tom
 
The best thing you can do is get hooked up with Unique Lighting Systems. They far surpass all others in landscape lighting products and support. They will help you along the way and are THE BEST hands down. I am sure i will get a few responses from this reply but i invite them. Bring it!! :cool2:
 
Discussion starter · #28 · (Edited)
The best thing you can do is get hooked up with Unique Lighting Systems. They far surpass all others in landscape lighting products and support. They will help you along the way and are THE BEST hands down. I am sure i will get a few responses from this reply but i invite them. Bring it!! :cool2:
You own stock or somethin' ? Oh wait,,,,,didn't they get sold to Toro? That's it; you own Toro stock.
 
Discussion starter · #32 ·
Thats all you got???? Toro bought them. Explain how that makes them NOT THE BEST.. Try again
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I'm new on this forum, yardslayer. Haven't seen you post during the time I've been on here. I wasn't disputing anything. I only have my learner's permit.
 
Thats all you got???? Toro bought them. Explain how that makes them NOT THE BEST.. Try again
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Funny, I used to make this same stance. Until I finally realized there are a lot of really good manufacturers making great equipment. Except for a few specialty fixtures it's mostly personal preference on which brand you are loyal too.
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I agree with Tim. I have engaged in some pretty long debates over the merits of various distributors and manufacturers, and I have come to realize it's a pretty pointless discussion. Guys are going to use what they want to use and that's their decision. I do find it funny though, how someone who has never posted on the lighting board comes over and his first three posts in three separate threads are about how great a certain line is regardless of what the thread is about.

Steve, on point, that is a great article on moonlighting. Very well done.

Scott Maloney
Sunflower Landscapes
 
Indylights theirs nothing funny about it. The man said his head was going to explode over all the information. Im sure we all felt that way at some point. So in my case my horizon distributor laid it out on the table and said Vista or Unique. I vent with Unique and they have been great. The facts are that as far as quality of fixtures,transformers,hubs,wire,support,education,design,etc no one beats Unique. He asked for help and i gave my opinion just like everyone else.
 
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