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Naples Outdoor Lighting: What is the Difference Between Down lighting & Uplighting?

When it comes to Naples outdoor lighting, there is a lot of lingo that can be thrown around. While you may be thinking of a flood light, we might call it a spotlight. While you may want string lighting, we might call it market lighting. Uplighting and down lighting are terms we regularly use to differentiate two categories of lighting techniques. These terms can encompass the use of a variety of outdoor light fixtures and a variety of outdoor lighting results. With so much to consider when it comes to your outdoor lighting, we want to give you a little more detail about the difference between uplighting and down lighting.

Naples Outdoor Down Lighting

Down lighting is exactly what it sounds like, illuminating an item or an area by shining a light down from a location above the area. Most familiar to homeowners, the light over your driveway would be considered down lighting.

Our path lighting would also be considered down lighting because the light shines down onto the pathway from above the path. We also use down lighting for illuminating large living spaces from above; we call it moonlighting, named for the effect it has of mimicking the light from a full moon. We can also use down lighting for focal lighting. If a favorite statue is situated with a tree or structure in proximity, we can mount a light from above and focus the beam on the item for the desired effect. Dark sky compliant lighting would fall under the down lighting category as well.

Naples Outdoor Up Lighting

Commercial Uplighting

Uplighting is the opposite of down lighting and refers to illuminating an object or area from below with an outdoor light shining upwards. The most familiar uplighting is when a building has a light shining up the facade or on a focal feature of the building.

At Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Naples, we love uplighting for tree lighting, residential architectural lighting, commercial sign lighting, and washing landscape walls or the walls of buildings. Uplighting can be a wide wash or a narrow focal light, depending on the desired effect and the item we are illuminating. For instance, a four story building would benefit from a narrow beam traveling to the roof line. But, an ornamental tree would get a wide wash to highlight the breadth of its canopy.

Both down lighting and uplighting are versatile for a large variety of possibilities. At Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Naples, our award-winning outdoor lighting design team will work with you to decide the perfect lighting for your property. Call today for a design consultation. (239) 970-9554

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