Lighting for Veterans Memorial – Piney Creek Park

One of our most rewarding lighting projects was completed this week as we installed a new low voltage lighting system to illuminate a veterans memorial at Piney Creek Park located in Centennial, Colorado. The memorial consists of six flags – the U.S. flag as well as a flag for each of the 5 branches of the military – Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and the Coast Guard. The flush mounted well lights with 35W quartz halogen bulbs were installed with tempered glass lens covers.

Since a grass lawn surrounded all of the flag poles, the lighting fixtures were additionally protected by poured concrete caissons to protect them from lawn mowing damage, etc.

Veterans Memorial Lighting - Flags in Motion

Another photo to the right shows the flags in motion due to a brisk wind last evening. In fact when our crew was on site earlier this week installing the lighting, they experienced wind gusts approaching 70 miles per hour. In fact, the flag contractor was there at the same time to replace two of the flags which required that the flag poles be lowered to a horizontal position. Because of the wind, it took the flag contractor along with some of our crew to help raise the flag/flag pole back to a vertical position.

At Outdoor Lighting Perspectives (OLP) of Colorado, we certainly emphasize the use of energy efficient lighting products such as low voltage quartz halogen, low voltage LED, line voltage Ceramic Metal Halide, line voltage induction fluorescent, and Lighting Control Automation™ for our residential and/or commercial customers. For interior lighting, Compact Fluorescents (CFLs) and LEDs are helping to greatly reduce homeowners’ energy usage as well.

Sometimes, even the little things add up. In OLP’s business operations we recycle copper wiring and the copper cores of low voltage transformers, stainless steel transformers, office papercardboard, and aluminum cans. For service calls and installations, we route and schedule our crews/vans to minimize travel time and mileage.  To improve fuel economy, we off-load unnecessary inventory/tools and ladders on roof racks before heading off to that day’s job tickets.

To take part in Earth Day festivities being held this week in Colorado, please take a look and participate in the events shown below:

EARTH DAY 40TH ANNIVERSARY - NREL Visitors Center, Golden; April 19 – 23; free events during the week; www.nrel.gov

EARTH DAY ON EAST MOUNTAIN - 240 – 262 E. Mountain Avenue, Old Town Fort Collins; April 22. Block Party – celebrate Earth Day with live music/food, demos and presentations about growth and sustainability. www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=105316966166440&ref=ts

DENVER BOTANIC GARDENS - 1007 York St., Denver; April 22; FREE DAY for Colorado residents; www.botanicgardens.org

EARTH DAY AT RED ROCKS - Saturday, April 24; Red Rocks Amphitheater; Morrison. Eco-friendly events – musical performance by Aspen Meadow, wolves from W.O.L.F. Sanctuary, clean up event at the park and environmental displays. www.windstarcoloradoconnection.org

PIKES PEAK EARTH DAY - Saturday April 24; Cornerstone Arts Center – Colorado College, Colorado Springs. Theme – 40 Years of Earth Day – ReVision, RePurpose, ReNew. www.Pikespeakearthday.org

EARTH FEST 2010 - Sunday, April 25; downtown Boulder – Central Park, Bandshell and Farmers Market. Eco activities/events – renewable energy demos, 5th Annual Dirt Day Advanced Challenge/EXPO, live music and organice food. www.earthfestboulder.net

So whether you celebrate at one of these events or by doing something for Mother Earth at home, have a good time and remember that Earth Day should be every day of the year!

Examples of 1.5-, 2.0-, 4-inch diameter sleeves

Many homeowners this time of year are contemplating or even starting home improvement and landscaping projects, including new walkways, patios or driveways. With any type of hardscaping project, please make sure that sleeves are installed beneath any new concrete or brick pavers so that irrigation pipes/control wiring, lighting wiring, and speaker/sound system wiring can be installed at any time after the new hardscaping surfaces have been completed. Above you can see examples of the typical sleeve diameters used for most residential installations.

So what are sleeves exactly? They are heavy-duty polyvinyl chloride (PVC) conduits through which sprinkler irrigation and other wiring can be easily run whenever that phase of the project is ready to begin. Typically, hardscaping contractors will indicate the positioning of the sleeve(s) by a “vee”-shaped notch in the edge of a sidewalk or driveway for example. This saves a lot of work searching for sleeves as well as a lot of unnecessary disruption to the surrounding landscaping.

Since sleeves are relatively inexpensive compared to the increased time and labor cost of boring under a wide driveway, for example, my recommendation is to always install more sleeves than you think you’ll ever need. The other rule of thumb is not to use the same sleeve for both electrical wiring and irrigation pipes, for obvious reasons.

In fact today our crew was doing a lighting installation at a community entrance where the sleeve under the street has become a major headache. The original landscaper installed only one 4-inch diameter sleeve under the street – and then proceeded to run both the 2.5-inch irrigation pipe and all of the irrigation control wires through that same sleeve. Of course, the water and the electrical wiring should have been in separate sleeves. If that had been the case, our low voltage wiring could have easily been pulled through the wiring sleeve. As it is now, we’ll have to investigate other options including directional boring at $18 to $20/foot.

Community developers should also plan on providing line voltage power either behind entrance monuments or nearby to facilitate the installation of irrigation controllers, outdoor landscape lighting systems, and holiday lighting.

So the next time you’re planning an outdoor project, please do not forget the sleeves!

Started in Australia in 2007, EARTH HOUR’S support has grown worldwide and some of the most famous buildings will go dark for one hour during their local 8:30 to 9:30 pm time period including Toronto’s CN Tower, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, Rome’s Colisseum, and Paris’ Eiffel Tower.

In Colorado, both the Governor’s Mansion and the State Capitol building will go dark for one hour. Governor Bill Ritter said that Colorado has become a great example of how a state can implement aggressive energy reduction goals while growing a New Energy Economy. I am proud that Colorado can be a part of this worldwide effort to bring attention to the dire consequences of global climate change.

Please join Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Colorado in supporting this worldwide effort. We of course are trying to do our part by reducing the energy/carbon footprints of both our residential and commercial lighting installations. By introducing and installing energy efficient LED lighting systems for residential applications as well as Lighting Control Automation™ - we are greatly reducing our customer’s usage of electricity. On the commercial side, we are installing energy efficient Ceramic Metal Halide fixtures.

LED Lighting at Diamond Ridge Estates

Our largest LED lighting project to date was completed about a month and a half ago for the Diamond Ridge Estates HOA. The entrance is located east of Castle Rock along North Crowfoot Valley Road. A total of 39 8.7W  low voltage LED fixtures were installed to illuminate the entrance monument as well as trees along Diamond Ridge Parkway on both sides of the street and island. In addition, a 3.7W LED underwater fixture was also installed to illuminate the water feature located at the end of the entrance island.

The HOA made the decision to be GREEN and select the LED lighting option – not only for reduced energy costs but longer bulb life as well. By installing low voltage LED fixtures instead of low voltage quartz halogen fixtures, the HOA will reduce their energy usage for lighting this entrance by roughly 75 to 80 percent.

So the next time you’re driving along North Crowfoot Valley Road after dark, be sure to watch for the beautiful and energy-efficient lighting at Diamond Ridge Estates.

The show hours on Friday are from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m., on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

We’ll have residential and commercial fixtures on display, as well as our new and innovative low voltage LED landscaping lights that won a Hot Products award from 9News at the Colorado Garden and Home Show.

We look forward to seeing you at the show!

Woolly Mammoth in Entrance Garden

There are only FOUR days remaining in the beautiful Colorado Garden and Home Show. You can begin your day at the show in the entrance garden where ice age creatures such as the woolly mammoth and ancient tigers come to life. Stroll the magnificent gardens and see the sights and aromas of spring as you take in the 400,000 square feet of exhibit space in the Colorado Convention Center.

Please be sure to save some time to visit the 9News Hot Products Zone which is located at the top of the escalators near the show entrance. There you will see the nine latest and greatest gardening and home improvement products – including the LED landscape lighting line by Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Colorado.

Our exhibit is located in booth #1442 - and there you can see the LED lighting fixtures up close as well as the latest in low voltage quartz halogen fixtures, line voltage Ceramic Metal Halide fixtures, and Lighting Control Automation™.

Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Colorado Exhibit - Booth #1442

We certainly look forward to seeing you at the show!

ProGreen Expo Exhibit

We finished the ProGreen Expo last week and it was a very rewarding show. Not only did we renew friendships with old acquaintances and trade alliances, we also had the pleasure of starting new relationships as well. The major hits of the show were our expanded product offerings of line voltage commercial fixtures (with Ceramic Metal Halide Bulbs) that have applications ranging from commercial buildings, community entrances, and parks.

After completing this 3-day show, we’re off and running to the 9-day marathon also known as the Colorado Garden and Home Show.

Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Colorado will be exhibiting at the upcoming ProGreen Expo to be held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver – on Wednesday, February 10th (9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.), February 11th (9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.) and Friday (9 a.m. – 1 p.m.) in Booth #2227.

The ProGreen Expo is one of the largest product/trade shows in the country for the GREEN and landscaping markets with over 600 exhibitors. OLP of Colorado will be launching its new Product Sales Division that will be able to distribute our high quality products/services directly to landscaping contractors. OLP of Colorado will be showcasing its low voltage quartz halogen and LED lighting fixtures/transformers, as well as its line voltage commercial grade Ceramic Metal Halide fixtures.

OLP is doing the same thing with its Commercial Lighting Division with the launch of its new commercial lighting website. Standard products can literally take only days to obtain (slightly longer for custom powder-coated versions). Just as is the case with all of our lighting designs and installations on the residential side, the emphasis on commercial lighting is also with quality design and lighting effect. OLP offers a complete turnkey operation – from design, installation, and on-going service.

OLP’s commercial lighting division emphasizes the latest in green-energy technology from low voltage quartz halogen/LED to line voltage Ceramic Metal Halide and Induction Fluorescents. In other words, we use just the right wattage bulb to do the job – but not one watt more than we need to!

To read the full press release from PR Web click here.