LED Holiday Lighting at Blithewold Mansion in Rhode Island

The Blithewold Mansion in Bristol, Rhode Island has begun the process of converting to LED lighting for the 2010 Holiday Season.  While everyone knows that LED lighting is less expensive to operate, the folks in charge of the Holiday Lighting at Blithewold were motivated by another factor — Safety!  People don’t realize how easy it is to overload an electrical system with holiday lighting.  In a home as large as Blithewold, the additional trees, decorations and spot lights in each of the mansions 45 rooms puts a huge strain on the electrical system.  The result has been tripped breakers and dangerously overloaded circuits. 

So the folks in charge called Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Rhode Island for help in making the transition to LED.  Now with LED lighting on the main tree (almost 5,000 lights!) and spot lights throughout the mansion, Blithewold can start taking advantage of the 80 – 90% reduction in energy useage.  That gives the electrical system a much needed breather and saves on energy bills for years to come!

Beautiful landscape lighting in Newport, Rhode Island

Landscape Lighting around Patio

Here’s a story about an outdoor lighting project we recently completed on Bellevue Ave in Newport, Rhode Island.  We used architectural lighting in the front to highlight the beautiful victorian features of the home.  Then in the back, a comprehensive landscape lighting plan gives the owners great ambiance around their patio and pool after dark. 

Click on the link to check it out…

It takes a lighting design professional to light up Newport on Bellevue

Historically Sensitive Architectural Lighting

Recently we were asked to come up with a lighting design for a historical clock tower.  This tower has a number of challenges; it’s difficult to access, requires 360 degree views, has severe limitations where we can place fixtures, and to top it all off, must maintain historical integrity.  Slapping a bunch of cheap light fixtures up on the roof and blasting the tower with light is definitely NOT the approach we want to take! 

Instead, we’re recommending the use of cutting edge new LED light bars that have an extrememly low profile (so they’re easy to conceal in an architecturally sensitive way), have terrific pure white light output for a beautiful wash of the tower, and have extremely long life so that we’re not climbing the tower constantly to maintain them.  We know the client will love look and we’re pleased to have a product that can meet such a complex combination of needs.

This is another example of the difference between using a lighting professional  that spends the time to create a quality design with the right materials and what a ‘part-time’ lighting person might do.  Design and product knowledge make the difference in outdoor lighting!

Spring has sprung…it’s time for some outdoor lighting maintenace…

Spring is a great time to get your lighting system back in shape with a little bit of maintenance.  Like many other systems around your house, landscape lighting doesn’t need a lot of service but its a good idea to give it a once-over each year to ensure things are in top shape.  It’s common to have a light or two go out, maybe some storm damage or even bit of roughing up from the family dog.  If you tackle the problems early, they don’t have a chance evolve into bigger issues that are more time-consuming (and expensive) to fix.

We highly recommend changing the bulbs each year as they start to dim over time and the quality of the lighting effect suffers.  Speaking of the effect, spring is also a great time of year to make sure your fixtures are free of debris that may have collected over the winter.  Leaves, dirt, sticks and other materials will block the light from the fixture and can even lead to small fires in extreme cases.  Lens covers are a great way to keep that from happening.

So think about a little spring cleaning for your lighting system and enjoy it all season long!  Its a great way to protect your investment for the long term.

Our blog is here!

We’ve been leading the way to transform the way outdoor lighting is done in Rhode Island over the last 5 years and now we’re blogging about it! 

We’ve all seen outdoor lighting done poorly and have heard horror stories about shoddy workmanship, poor customer service, missed deadlines, etc.  Let’s say goodbye to all of those nightmares! 

Outdoor Lighting Perspectives is the premier provider of high quality landscape and architectural lighting in the state of Rhode Island and the ONLY full-time local company.  If you seek quality outdoor lighting with professional service and a company that will treat you right now and for the long term, we might be the right choice for you!

Check out our website (www.outdoorlights.com) or call us today at 401-398-2977 to ask about our FREE Nighttime Demonstration!  And watch this space for more updates coming soon!