Correctly illuminating facades

Facade lighting: correctly illuminating facades

Public & Outdoor – illuminating public and private buildings

Impressive facade lighting makes buildings visible in the urban space and enables orientation. There are different methods of illuminating a building depending on the type, for example office building, historical building, residential building or museum. The uniform illumination of facades serves to emphasize landmarks and gives them a calm presence in the urban space. Light accents on the other hand structure large surfaces and highlight architectural details such as columns and cornices. Grazing light wallwashing is ideal with facades for highlighting the fine textures of timber and natural stone to create striking reliefs. To avoid light pollution, good glare control and precise lighting technology are important factors when selecting facade luminaires. Contour projectors, for example, illuminate the target surface with precisely defined rectangular beams of light. We give tips on how to strikingly illuminate facades in unison with the needs of both people and the environment.

The perfect lighting of facades: what you should know!

From accenting to floodlighting: find the right light distribution

PLUXTUS offers luminaires for outdoor applications with up to ten different light   distributions. The selection ranges from very narrow to wide light distributions. In this way a wide variety of lighting concepts can be implemented: from the precise accentuation of small details on a facade with narrow light distributions such as narrow spot (approx. 8°), spot (approx. 10° to 20°) and flood (approx. 30°) to the uniform floodlighting of large buildings with light distributions such as wide flood (approx. 50°), extra wide flood (approx. 90°) and wallwash (uniform wallwashing). Oval light distributions such as oval flood (approx. 20° x 60°) are also available and enable the highlighting of linear facade elements and logos. Contour projectors illuminate facade elements with a sharply defined beam of light. ERCO's high-quality optics enable you to achieve maximum illuminance on the target surface via precise LED technology.

                                                     Uniformly illuminating an entire facade

Wallwashing illuminates facades in a uniform way and emphasizes the dimension of the architecture as a whole. A major advantage in the design of urban spaces is that a vertical surface creates a high impression of brightness even with low illuminance. For efficient wallwashing with large spacing between luminaires, PLUXTUS features   specialized   luminaires with wallwash light distribution in many of its product ranges.

           

Modelling the facade structure with grazing light

Another way to wallwash is by using grazing light. With this method, the details on facades are emphasized and highlighted by strong shadows. Grazing light is particularly effective on historical facades with interesting surfaces and reliefs. Facade luminaires and ground-recessed luminaires are ideal for this purpose.

Correct use of light colors and contrasts

Different light colors enhance the nuanced nature of the facade. Warm light colors such as 3000K are suitable for warm-toned materials such as wood, whilst cooler light colors such as 4000K are more suitable for cooler surfaces such as exposed concrete. RGBW luminaires are ideal for scenographic lighting concepts on facades. Different levels of illuminance also enhance the differentiation of the facade. To render accents visible we recommend a brightness ratio to the general lighting of 1:5 to 1:10.

Pay attention to the correct handling of light

Especially in outdoor applications, sustainable lighting solutions for ecologically exemplary applications are imperative to harmonize the needs of people, animals and plants at night. PLUXTUS lighting tools make a significant contribution to this thanks to

their high precision optics and excellent glare control. They direct the light to exactly

where you need itwithout spill light.

To completely avoid light pollution, we recommendthat you make sure to correctly   align the luminaires so that no light shines into

the night sky. The right brightness also helps to protect the environment.

This is why our luminaires for outdoor applications are dimmable.

Ground, building or mast – from where do you want to illuminate?

The location of luminaire installation is one of the factors determining the lighting   effect. PLUXTUS offers various types of luminaire that illuminate facades from below,

above, near or far. To illuminate facades from the ground, ground-recessed luminaires are a very elegant solution—the luminaires themselves remain almost invisible whilst only the effect of the lighting itself is noticed. Ground-recessed luminaires are available in six different light distributions. Facade luminaires on the other hand function as a discreet design element on the

building and create a magical form of grazing light. Projectors, floodlights and wallwashers with up to seven light distributions allow mounting in almost any location: on the ground, on the facade, on bollards and on high masts. Matching accessories enable numerous mounting options.

Example lighting and arrangement of luminaires

Floodlighting creates a very uniform distribution of light on the facade and makes it appear flat. Floodlights are suitable for mounting points opposite the facade, whereas wallwashers are the lighting tool of choice for mounting points on or in the ground.

The wall distance (a) of lens wallwashers should be about one third of the facade height (h) for this purpose. This results in an angle of tilt (γ) of approx. 55°. Arrangement: a = 1/3 x h or γ = 55°
For good linear uniformity the luminaire distance (d) of lens wallwashers can be up to 1.2 times the distance to the wall (a).
Arrangement: d ≤ 1.2 x a

Tip:With a wide arrangement of 1:1.25 we recommend wallwashers with a 48 watt LED module to uniformly illuminate a facade with a height of 12m from a distance of 4m with approx. 50lx.

Uplights give the facade a rhythmic structure. Ground-

recessed luminaires mounted close to the facade generate grazing light and emphasize the surface structures of the materials.

On unstructured walls, gradients of light become the dominant characteristic and are seen as patterns independent of the

building. Light patterns can be used to structure large, uniform surfaces. Beams of light that do not correspond to the architectural structure are perceived as distracting.

Tip:

A distance to the wall of 0.5m is recommended to illuminate a facade with uplights.

Facade luminaires generate grazing light and highlight the surface structures of the materials On unstructured walls, gradients of light become the dominant characteristic and are seen as patterns independent of the building. Light patterns can be used to structure large, uniform surfaces. Beams of light that do not correspond to the architectural structure are perceived as distracting.