Who maintains street lighting on poles? What are the lighting standards in courtyard areas?

Garden lighting or personal plot – important element not only beauty, but also safety. To be convinced of this, just one walk around the backyard or garden with a hand-held flashlight is enough. A well-thought-out and competent lighting system makes it easy to navigate garden plot in the dark and move around it with high level security. Using decorative lighting for flower beds, garden paths, steps and trees can create an individual atmosphere of a personal plot and extend the time of communication with nature.

There are two types of street lighting:

• utilitarian (functional);
• decorative

Let's look at specific examples of projects landscape design, in which it is used garden lighting, how you can not only protect yourself, your household and guests of a country or city private home, but also give your garden plot an atmosphere of celebration, mystery or romanticism.

This is, first of all, safe movement around the site and near it in the dark. If we consider the illumination of a personal plot or backyard from the point of view of comfortable safety, the illumination of the porch of the house, the entrance to the garage or the parking area and garden paths can be considered a sufficient level.

If we talk about the simplest and least expensive way to illuminate an area that is adjacent to a household, then it is enough to evenly place the lamps along the garden paths. Such lighting can become the basis for garden lighting; for small areas this may be enough.

When designing functional lighting, it is important to remember several key aspects:

• lighting equipment must be durable, all-season, simple and convenient in terms of operation and maintenance;
• It is necessary to maintain harmony between the level of lighting of paths and other landscape objects. A person walking along a path will experience discomfort if it is flooded with too much light. It is better to direct the maximum level of brightness to illuminate accent elements - gazebos, patios, trees or shrubs;
• it is important that the facade of the building remains the most illuminated place on the site; it is psychologically easier for residents of the house and their guests to move from a darker place to an area with bright lighting;
• Another factor of psychological comfort is the fact that even in the darkest time of day the boundaries of the yard or area are visible.

To organize functional lighting, both conventional incandescent lamps and energy-saving, fluorescent lamps with various ways fastenings The most commonly used are conventional floor lamps. This lighting, which are mounted vertically and equipped with diffusers made of frosted glass, which significantly improve the quality of light of the lamps installed in them. High-tech style floor lamps are becoming increasingly popular, but there are also design projects with retro-style equipment.

– the organic shape of a sphere made of carbonate or polycarbonate, equipped with low-power lamps, can not only create dim lighting, but also decorate the landscape design of any area.

Lighting fixtures on solar powered – they are charged during the day (for this they are equipped with special batteries) in order to provide dim lighting of significant areas of the backyard or garden at night. Similar devices mobile and do not require connection to the power grid, they can be removed for the winter or moved during the warm season to different parts of the garden to highlight certain objects, constantly changing appearance and the atmosphere of your site at dusk. Because solar-powered devices are equipped with sensors and LEDs that turn on automatically, such lighting can last all night.

In order not to make a mistake when choosing lamps for your personal plot, you can use one simple rule - if the landscape design of the garden is quite diverse, it is dominated by various flower beds, patios with garden furniture, alpine coaster and many others decorative elements, then it is better to opt for lamps of laconic forms or use hidden lighting (we will talk about it in more detail later). And in the case of a simple and laconic landscape design that strives for minimalism, you can use retro lamps, fancy shapes, and different shades of lighting.

IN Lately built-in lighting systems are used quite widely not only indoors, but also in garden plots. You can integrate lamps into the bases of steps, alpine slides, fountains, borders and other landscape elements.

What is important to know when purchasing street lighting devices:

• Be sure to ask the store for a safety certificate for the device;
• make sure that the certificate contains information about the degree of protection of the purchased product;
• inquire about the warranty period for the external lighting element;
• Pay special attention to the material from which the device is made. The lamp body will be actively affected by Sun rays, moisture and other weather conditions. Check whether the inside of the lamp mount is painted; if it rusts, the lamp will have to be thrown away. Lamps made of stainless steel (painted), cast iron and aluminum alloys have proven themselves well in operation.

Decorative lighting

With the onset of darkness, any, even the most beautiful and sophisticated garden plot, loses its individuality. Flower beds and flower beds, garden sculptures, ponds and fountains become indistinguishable in the twilight. Properly organized lighting of a backyard or garden can transform the exquisite beauty of nature and create a unique night image of the area, which will be completely different from the appearance of the yard during daylight hours. It’s up to you to decide what type of garden plot is right for you – mysterious or romantic, filled with drama or festive fun.

An interesting decorative effect can be created by highlighting plants (trees and shrubs). To do this, mini-spotlights are installed on the ground (in small depressions).

Lighting without the use of lamps

All large quantity landscape design projects strives to use LED lighting, which allows you to create a kind of hidden lighting, without the use of lamps, spotlights and lamps. In this case, any type of support is used to support LED low-voltage lamps - a stone, a branch or the structure of buildings and structures. LEDs are hidden in the crowns of trees and shrubs, placed in flower beds, creating a lot of options for transforming the garden at night.

We highlight reservoirs

The spectacle of thoughtfully illuminated water is mesmerizing. Multi-colored lighting can transform your pond, and monochromatic lighting will add significance and nobility. Pool lighting, small ponds, fountains and others artificial reservoirs can radically change the appearance of your garden plot.

Several designer ways to decorate your garden

There are many ways to add individuality to the landscape design of your site. Why not make with my own hands original lamps or purchase lighting fixtures unusual design? Experiment, don’t limit your imagination, but don’t forget about safety and functionality.

Some important information about decorative garden lighting:

• with the help of lighting you can zone a spacious garden plot, and in the yard small sizes create a visual expansion of boundaries - warm light brings the object of illumination closer to us, while cold light, on the contrary, visually moves it away;
• for vacation spots ( open terraces, patios, platforms and gazebos) soft is more suitable diffuse light warm tones. Dim lighting can create a cozy atmosphere that will be conducive to communication and a pleasant time with family or friends;
• If lamps of different colors are used in the garden, then it is advisable. So that they complement each other. Usually using 2-3 colors is enough. Very bright White color is capable of “depriving life” of your area, be careful when using it. Red and brown colors should also be used carefully and in doses;
• You can create festive lighting in the garden using garlands and LED strips placed on trees, in a gazebo or along the perimeter of the patio.

And finally

It is necessary to create a project for lighting a personal plot at the start of the stage of creating a landscape concept. Lighting is planned in parallel with the projects of gazebos, terraces, rock gardens, garden paths, indoor and outdoor areas, patios and other recreation areas. If you do not include a lighting system in your initial yard landscaping plan, you may incur additional costs later and spend more time and effort organizing it. You will need to install electrical equipment, which may involve some landscaping remodeling.

Where might is right, right is powerless

Japanese proverb

For some reason, in our country, the idea of ​​pinning everything on the weaker side of relations, including financial ones, constantly comes to the minds of those in power, and not only those (also the financially stronger ones). And the courts and state supervisory authorities are not lagging behind them in this regard.

Regular innovations in legislation always involve some costs: time, financial, etc. However, changes to laws often do not indicate sources of funding for their “improvements.” It is supposed that they are paid for by the performers in the person of entrepreneurs and ordinary citizens - after all, it was for them that the authorities came up with these improvements: after all, they think about the good of the people...

It is very sad that easing the tax and supervisory burden for small and medium-sized businesses, improving life and raising its standard for citizens are just proclaimed slogans in our country. In fact, we see the opposite. At the very least, innovations in legislation and law enforcement practice do not contribute to the implementation of these slogans and do not correspond to them.

So in the housing and communal services sector, all improvements for owners always require financing by management organizations (MAs). No one is interested in the fact that the owners do not want to take part in general meetings, where payments for everything should be approved compulsory work on the maintenance of the house. And in general, the owners do not want to raise this fee in 99% of cases. There is no legal liability for failure to fulfill their obligations by owners in this matter.

Although the norms of housing legislation directly state the imperative rule that all necessary requirements of the law for the maintenance of the house are ensured through economically justified financing from the owners of premises in an apartment building (hereinafter - MKD).

All responsibility and blame went to the management organizations, which are to blame, however, as always: they work poorly and were unable to hold a meeting so that the owners approved a new tariff for its services, naturally with an increase (after all, a decrease in prices for anything occurred in our country only during the USSR).

It is only for resource supply organizations (RSOs) that tariffs are accepted at the state level with all their necessary costs included in them. And then they try to gain some additional preferences for themselves, successfully lobbying their interests in legislative and judicial bodies.

Here comes the lighting local area, intra-block passages (hereinafter referred to as street lighting) some authorities local government(Local self-government bodies) are trying to make it the responsibility of the management organization. I have repeatedly seen responses from local self-government bodies addressed to management organizations, where this responsibility of the management was directly pointed out by the “smart heads” of representatives of the municipal government. Not to mention the fact that the standards for the maintenance of common property for electricity and other resources are constantly being cut and do not ensure that these costs, which include lighting of common areas of apartment buildings, are fully transferred to the owners of the premises apartment building. And management organizations are to blame themselves, “entrepreneurial risks”, so to speak...

It is encouraging that, for the most part, the courts and the Prosecutor's Office in this matter do not agree with this opinion of local self-government bodies in all regions. And this fact allows managing organizations to avoid imposing an additional financial burden, which is already considerable, thanks to the smart legislative initiatives of the Ministry of Construction and deputies of various professions.

In accordance with Part 1 of Article 36 of the Housing Code Russian Federation(hereinafter referred to as the Housing Code of the Russian Federation) the owners of premises in an apartment building own, by the right of common shared ownership, the common property in the apartment building.

According to Part 3 of Article 39 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, the rules for maintaining common property in an apartment building (MKD) are established by the Government of the Russian Federation.

Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated August 13, 2006 No. 491 approved the Rules for the maintenance of common property in an apartment building (hereinafter referred to as Rules No. 491), which regulate relations regarding the maintenance of common property owned by the right of common shared ownership to the owners of premises in an apartment building.

The composition of common property in an apartment building is determined by part 1 of article 36 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, as well as paragraph 2 of Rules No. 491 and is exhaustive.

External lighting networks in the local area are not included in the common property of an apartment building. That is, the obligation of owners of premises in apartment buildings to bear the costs of street lighting in the residential complex of the Russian Federation is not directly contained in Rules No. 491.

In accordance with paragraph 19 of part 1 and part 3 of article 14 and paragraph 25 of part 1 of article 16 Federal Law dated October 6, 2003 No. 131-FZ “On general principles organization of local self-government in the Russian Federation" (hereinafter referred to as the Law on LSG) to issues local significance urban, rural settlement, urban district organization of improvement of the territory of an urban, rural settlement, urban district(in particular, street lighting).

In accordance with Part 2 of Article 18 of the Law on LSG, financial obligations arising in connection with the resolution of issues of local importance, executed at the expense of local budgets(with the exception of subventions provided to local budgets from the federal budget and budgets of constituent entities of the Russian Federation).

In accordance with clause 4, part 2, art. 45.1 of the Law on Local Self-Government, issues of organizing lighting of the territory of the municipality, including architectural lighting of buildings, structures, structures may be regulated by the Rules for the improvement of the territory of the municipality.

Ministry of Construction of Russia in Letter dated September 18, 2017 No. 33418-ACh/04“On organizing the repair of street (yard) lighting” notes that in accordance with clause 19, part 1 and part 3 of Art. 14 and paragraph 25, part 1, art. 16 of the Law on Local Self-Government includes the organization of improvement of the territory of an urban, rural settlement, urban district (in particular, street lighting) as issues of local importance for an urban, rural settlement, urban district. In this regard, the organization and repair of street (yard) lighting falls within the competence of local governments.

The only possible case for the imposition of such responsibilities and expenses for street lighting will be cases when all the following conditions coincide in the aggregate:

land plot the adjacent territory has been formed and is owned by the owners of the apartment building premises;

street lighting included project documentation and utility networks were built at the expense of participants in the shared construction of this apartment building and transferred to the owners as part of the general property of the apartment building;

the specified street lighting performs the functions of illuminating the local area of ​​only one apartment building.

Thus, based on the literal interpretation of the law, if the elements of street lighting are not part of the common property of the apartment building, that is, in the absence of the above conditions, assigning the costs of street lighting to the apartment building to the owners, read the management organization, is contrary to the law. Although there is also reverse law enforcement practice of the courts, which does not guarantee a decision in favor of the MA in a particular case.

Judicial practice on disputes regarding the assignment of responsibilities for street lighting in apartment buildings is as follows.

Decision of the Orenburg Regional Court (upheld by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated October 3, 2018 No. 47-APG18-4): “From the systematic interpretation of the stated norms it follows that the land plot on which it is located apartment house and the boundaries of which are determined on the basis of state cadastral registration data, with elements of landscaping and landscaping, facades, entrances, buildings and address tables (indicator of street names, house numbers, apartment entrances) on houses in the evening must be illuminated and compliance established requirements must be borne by property owners.

Letter No. 33418-ACh/04 of the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of the Russian Federation dated September 18, 2017 cannot become the basis for satisfying the demands of the administrative plaintiff, since from the meaning of this letter it follows that local governments are entrusted with the responsibility for organizing street lighting, then There is lighting for places that are not in the shared ownership of the owners of the premises of an apartment building.

At the same time, clause 5.5.8 of the contested Landscaping Rules provides for the obligation of the owners and managers of the company to provide external lighting for “yard areas”.

Clause 2.23 of the Rules defines “designated territory” as part of the city territory provided in in the prescribed manner legal entities, individual entrepreneurs and citizens on the right of ownership, lease, other right of use

Clause 2.32 of the Rules contains a definition of the concept of “domestic territory” - the territory allocated in accordance with the established procedure for a residential building (building, structure), including those included in technical certificate residential building (buildings, structures), and associated economic and technical structures, and including: the territory under residential building(building, structure); driveways and sidewalks; green areas; playgrounds for children; recreation areas; sports grounds; temporary parking areas Vehicle; sites for economic purposes; sites equipped for the collection of solid municipal waste; other territories related to the maintenance and operation of a residential building (building, structure) (clause 2.31).

Paragraph 2.32 defines what refers to the “adjacent territory” - the territory directly adjacent to the boundaries of a land plot, building, structure, residential building, fence, construction site, retail facilities (stationary, non-stationary), organizational facilities Catering, engineering networks and other objects owned, possessed, used by legal entities or individuals, individual entrepreneurs, with lawns, small architectural forms, and other landscaping and landscaping objects (clause 2.32).

The Housing Code of the Russian Federation in paragraph 4 of part 1 of Article 36 classifies as the common property of the owners of an apartment building the land plot on which the house is located, with elements of landscaping and landscaping, other objects intended for the maintenance, operation and improvement of this house and located on the specified land plot . The boundaries and size of the land plot on which the apartment building is located are determined in accordance with the requirements of land legislation and legislation on urban planning.

Thus, neither the Land Code of the Russian Federation, nor the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, nor the Housing Code of the Russian Federation contains the concept of “yard territory”, nor is this concept given a definition in the Landscaping Rules approved by the appealed decision.

The lack of a clear definition of which land plot belongs to the “yard territory” does not meet the criterion of formal certainty of a legal norm, allows for ambiguous interpretation of legal concepts, and therefore allows for a free (broad) interpretation of this term, and, as a consequence, imposing on the owners the obligation to organize illuminating an area that does not belong to them.”

The impression from the above court decision is twofold. It seems that the norms of the municipal regulatory act did not comply with the higher law and contained ambiguities in the interpretation. However, the court did not dare to say that these responsibilities should be assigned to local self-government bodies by force of law, but preferred to floridly justify that this was not the reason for the decision on the illegality of legal acts. And the Letter of the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation, precisely based on the norms of housing legislation, was dismissed out of hand in the decision. That is, both ours - it seems, and yours... Okay, at least the illegal norms of the Landscaping Rules were abolished - and thank you for that.

Appeal ruling of the RF Supreme Court in the case: “Guided by the position set forth in the Resolutions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation dated April 25, 1995 No. 3-P, dated July 15, 1999 No. 11-P, dated November 11, 2003 No. 16-P and dated January 21, 2010 No. 1-P , the explanations contained in paragraph 25 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated November 29, 2007 No. 48 “On the practice of courts considering cases challenging normative legal acts in whole or in part,” the court of first instance came to the reasonable conclusion that in the absence Without a clear definition of which particular plot of land belongs to the courtyard area, it is impossible to draw an unambiguous conclusion that the external lighting networks of the courtyard area are part of the common property of an apartment building, therefore, the burden of organizing the lighting of the courtyard area and maintaining the property necessary for this will be placed on persons to whom this territory and property do not belong.”

Appeal ruling of the Sverdlovsk Regional Court dated October 26, 2017 in case No. 33-18622/2017: “At the same time, having established that the Zonalnoye HOA had the main type of activity indicated in the extract from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, “managing the operation of the housing stock for a fee or on a contractual basis,” the court of first instance came to the incorrect conclusion that the HOA’s responsibilities include carrying out work on the organization of lighting of the intra-block territory. At the same time, the court did not take into account the provisions of subsection. “b” and “h” clause 11 of the Rules for the maintenance of common property in an apartment building, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of August 13, 2006 No. 491, by which the maintenance of common property includes ensuring the readiness of intra-house engineering systems electricity supply and electrical equipment, included in the common property, for the provision of public electricity supply services; as well as their current and major repairs.

The erroneousness of the court’s conclusions is directly indicated by subparagraph “e” of paragraph 2 of the said Resolution, according to which the land plot on which the apartment building is located is included in the common property, and the boundaries of which are determined on the basis of state cadastral registration data, with elements of landscaping and landscaping.”

In this case a new decision was made, which satisfied the claims prosecutor of the Dzerzhinsky district of Nizhny Tagil Sverdlovsk region in the interests of an indefinite number of persons to the Administration of the city of Nizhny Tagil, Sverdlovsk region, to assign responsibility for organizing street lighting near the apartment building.

However, judicial acts on claims of RSO against local self-government bodies for the recovery of expenses for street lighting in municipalities are mainly negative for RSO. In principle, this is not a problem for management organizations; after all, bumps must sometimes fall on RSO, but they still cannot collect the cream without any losses. After all, our laws (adopted not without increased influence from nearby RSO forces) allow them to do just that...

As the famous actor Bruce Willis said: “When the going gets tough, you have two options: submit or walk through the fire.” If we apply this expression to relations in housing and communal services, then management organizations, when trying to pin these costs (and not only) on them, have two options: submit or sue all the ideas of local self-government bodies and others like them that do not comply with the law, up to the Supreme courts of the Russian Federation.

The company "Burmistr.ru" has launched the "Tests" service, with which you can test your knowledge in the field of housing and communal services. The website provides more than just a qualifying test. On this resource you can test your knowledge on more than 35 topics, and topics are constantly being added. You can take the tests.

Sincerely, Ilmira Nosik.

You can discuss the article and ask questions on or use the form below.

None of the regulatory legal acts of Russia contains a definition of “domestic territory”.

At whose expense should it be done?

In accordance with the Housing Code, all costs for maintaining the common property of the house are divided between the owners in proportion to the area of ​​their apartments, and since the adjacent territory belongs to joint property, payment for street light falls on the shoulders of the owners. Costs for street lighting are calculated using a common building meter and are included monthly in the residents' receipts.

Reference! If it is not documented that the territory around the house belongs to common property, the inclusion of such a line of expenses in the payment receipts is unlawful and can serve as the beginning of legal proceedings.

Returning home in the dark is much more pleasant and safer in a lit yard than getting to own apartment in the dark, shuddering at every rustle. The lack of light in the yard is a reason to contact the management company or administration.

Every owner has a desire to organize the lighting of the yard and local area so that it is convenient, beautiful, and also so that he does not have to pay very large electricity bills. The task is not easy, but really doable. If you have basic electrical skills, you can do everything yourself. But in order to plan street lighting with your own hands correctly, you need to take into account many nuances.

Lighting is not only safety, but also beauty

Street lighting the house consists of several components, reception they are usually separate, turned on and off independently of each other. In order to correctly develop an outdoor lighting scheme, you need to think in advance where and what type of lamps should be placed, how to supply power to them, and how to control this lighting. Place lamps in the following places:

As you can see, the system is really complex and making street lighting with your own hands is not an easy task.

Control methods

When designing street lighting with your own hands, think about how it will turn on/off. The most common and familiar method is manual control. Switches or switches are installed in the house, which are manually turned on or off. This is quite reliable, requires virtually no cost (only for the purchase of a switch, switch) and is often used to turn on decorative lighting. When needed, they turned it on; when they got tired or it was time to sleep, they turned it off.

But this type of control of security lighting or path lighting is convenient only if someone is constantly in the house (and does not suffer from forgetfulness). If from time to time there is no one in the house, or you have to return from work late, this method of control causes discomfort: the light can only be turned on when it is dark when entering the house (or garage). This problem is solved by automating the switching on/off of street lighting.

To automate the control of external lighting of a private house or cottage, use:

• Time relay.
• Motion sensors.
• Photosensitive sensors (light).

These devices are connected in series. In the normal state, their contacts are open, power is not supplied to the lamps. When triggered, the contacts close and supply power to the lighting fixtures.

The installation location depends on the operating principle. Light and motion sensors are installed on the street, usually close to lamps, but it is more appropriate to install time relays in the house.

What devices are best to use? Depends on the type of outdoor lighting. For example, on a driveway it is worth installing both motion and light sensors. Light-sensitive sensors will work when dusk comes, but the light will not appear until a moving object (car) appears in the coverage area. To prevent the lighting from turning off as soon as the car drives away, the motion sensor must have a shutdown delay. Convenient and economical, but not without drawbacks. The disadvantage is that incorrectly configured sensors can turn on the light “unauthorized”. Sometimes this happens in cloudy weather, sometimes dogs, cats and even birds are mistaken for a car or a person.

The lighting of paths and stairs can be turned on according to the same principle, or you can install a time relay. But this option is not very convenient, since the settings have to be changed periodically - with each change of season, or even more often. When designing street lighting with your own hands, think about ways to turn it on/off so that you don’t have to redo it later.

Street lamps

There are different types of lamps used in street lighting. Ideal light sources have not yet been invented, but there are good options. In order for street lighting designed by yourself to be beautiful and economical, you need to choose the right lamps. The amount of electricity consumed depends on them.

Familiar options

Incandescent lamps are not suitable for outdoor lighting. Their main advantage is their low price, but this is not the best solution - they have a short service life and low energy efficiency. Everyone knows that they have low efficiency, which is why they produce little light despite high power consumption. And since outdoor lighting requires high-power light sources, the bills for light will be large.

Luminescent. They are more expensive than incandescent lamps, but have several times longer service life and consume 3 times less electricity. So they will help you save money in the long run. This solution has a serious drawback: at low temperatures, fluorescent lamps may not light up.

Gas discharge

They have been used for more than half a century. They can be found on the streets, in shopping centers, in stadiums. They are popular because they consume little electricity, have a long service life and the light they emit remains stable and does not dim. They are not used for residential lighting, as they make noise and blink during operation.

But they also have a number of disadvantages:

Therefore, gas-discharge lamps are gradually being replaced by other types. Even more economical and with more simple design and a significantly longer service life.

Mercury arc lamps

Mercury arc lamps have one significant drawback - they contain mercury vapor. However, they are popular due to their high light output and low power consumption. There can be three types:

Mercury arc lamps are usually used where a powerful light source is needed: on a pole illuminating the street near the gate, the gate itself, or the yard. To illuminate the paths, on the lanterns near the entrance to the house, the bathhouse is often installed with other light sources.

LED lightening

At the moment this is probably the best choice for street lighting of the house and site. They are economical (compared to incandescent lamps, they provide 7-10 times more light), have a very long service life - from 30,000 hours to 80,000 hours, do not distort light transmission, and can have different shades of glow.

The disadvantage of LEDs is that they operate on 12 V or 24 V, which requires the presence of a converter. There are lamps with a built-in transformer; they are screwed directly into the lamp connected to a 220 V network. The second disadvantage is the high cost.

Another disadvantage is that over time the glow becomes dimmer. But the service life of LEDs is indicated until the moment when the radiation is reduced to 50% of the original. And this is about 30 years. So, for about 10-15 years you won’t notice any changes.

Technical requirements

Even before starting work, it is necessary to clearly understand the order and scope of work, and without knowledge of the technical requirements this is impossible. Here's how to do it right:

These are the most basic points that cannot be ignored. This is the only way to make your own street lighting correct and efficient. And another piece of advice: don’t rely on your memory, make up detailed plan laying cables, with reference to terrain, large buildings, etc. The more information is saved, the easier it will be to figure it out if problems arise.

How to pay less for site lighting

Let’s say right away that we are not talking about how to “cheat” with the counter, but about how to use legal means to ensure that the bills are small. It doesn’t matter whether you make street lighting yourself or hire specialists, you can come up with the concept yourself.

Choosing economical lamps

Try not to use incandescent lamps to illuminate the area. They draw too much electricity. The rest is your choice. All other light sources are more economical.

We use solar-powered lamps

You can reduce your area lighting bills by using LED lights. Their installation does not cause any problems at all. Each flashlight is an independent device that does not need to be connected to the network. They just buried it in the right place and that’s it. The lighting is working.

The disadvantage of such systems is their dependence on sunny weather. Yes, in those regions where the sun is a rare guest, such lighting is ineffective, but in others it works very well. And high-quality lamps with powerful solar panels have virtually no downtime due to bad weather, and they shine far away. Not like the cheap ones Chinese lanterns, which can only be used for decorative lighting, since they provide very, very little light.

The main problem is that good powerful Street lights solar panels are expensive. But they have a built-in high-capacity battery, which will provide the lamp (LED, by the way) with energy for several days. So in this case, a period of bad weather is not scary.

For those who are still wary of long periods without sun, you can install backup lighting that runs on mains power. Turn it on only when solar-powered lights fail. It is more difficult to make such street lighting with your own hands, but everything is possible.

Every owner strives to organize the lighting of his yard in the optimal way to make it beautiful and convenient. At the same time, energy consumption should be minimal. This is not an easy task, but it is quite realistic. This work can be done independently, if you have basic knowledge and skills in electrical engineering. In order to properly perform lighting in the yard, it is necessary to take into account some features.

Lighting in the yard is divided into types

Yard lighting includes several separate lighting areas. Electrical circuits These sections are independent of each other and are included separately. To properly develop a yard lighting scheme, you need to decide in advance where the lamps will be located, and in what places it is best to place them, as well as determine the electrical supply diagram and methods for controlling the lighting system.

General lighting

First of all, it is necessary to think about general-purpose lighting. The name speaks for itself. This light is needed for a general overview of the area in the dark. For this purpose, high lanterns, wall lamps, and floodlights are used. They are installed near the house, on the outskirts of the site, in access and utility areas.

Marking lighting

This type of lighting is intended not so much to illuminate as to indicate zones. They are allocated different zones of the site and paths. To do this, use small lamps that can be located on the ground or mounted directly into paving slabs.

Another option are pillar lamps . They are not made too high, otherwise they will blind you when you pass by. And you will have difficulty seeing everything that is hidden behind them. Also, do not place them too close to each other.

When placing lamps on the site, you must remember that the distance between them should be from 7 to 10 meters with a height of 1-1.2 meters. If the lamps are lower, then you can install them more often. In any case, you need to ensure that the smooth curves and lines of the area are emphasized by lamps.

If there are lamps, it is very small size, they can be built anywhere, it depends on your imagination: in benches, in retaining walls, etc.

Some examples of marking lighting:

• Near the entrance to the gate Most often, several lamps are installed that work continuously throughout the night. For this type of lighting, several are installed. In this case, the light can be turned off while being near the gate or in the house.
• Access road lighting . Lights more than 1 meter high are installed from the garage to the gate. It depends on the light intensity. The areas of illuminated areas between adjacent lamps must overlap each other. This will provide more uniform lighting and safe access.
• Lighting of stairs and paths ensures safe night travel. To do this, install lights at a low height of about 50 cm or lower. The distance between such lanterns should be no more than the diameter of the illuminated circle with slight overlap.

Security Lighting

For this purpose, powerful spotlights are most often used, capable of illuminating important areas, the entrance to the house, utility rooms and the garage. Such lighting in the yard is usually not turned on for continuous operation. In important areas, they are installed, which are triggered when any movement occurs in the sensor sensitivity zone.

If intruders enter this area, the sensors will go off and turn on the security lighting. It should also be possible to turn on this system from inside the house in case of sensor malfunction. An important point is to adjust the sensitivity of the light sensors. They can work on birds, dogs or cats. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust their sensitivity so that the light turns on only when a person appears.

Decorative (architectural) lighting in the yard

Of course, first of all, it is necessary to ensure the safety and security of the territory at night, as well as lighting for moving along dark paths. But lighting in the yard can also provide an attractive appearance to the local area, and advantageously highlight beautiful objects in the yard. When choosing night lights and their location, it is necessary to ensure the creation of the best decorative effect.

It is advisable to illuminate places such as bushes, pools, gazebos, and some parts of the house building. This is a directional light that helps to place accents. This is what is often called the most effective landscaping technique. Special attention deserves decorative lighting of water objects: ponds, pools, fountains. The following rule applies here: either the surface of the water or a separate element of its design must be illuminated. There is no need to illuminate the entire object. When one element is highlighted, everything else mysteriously hides in the twilight.

The color of the lighting also affects the decorativeness of the lighting. Warm light adds comfort and coziness, and also visually reduces the volume of space. Cold light visually increases the space of the area.

Features of yard lighting

The lighting cable to the lamp is laid at a depth of 70 cm in a protective pipe, which protects it from possible damage. Usually used plastic pipe. It is elastic and bends well. However, such a pipe is easy to damage, for example, with a shovel. If you use a metal-plastic pipe, it will serve long time, and will protect the cable from mechanical damage.

All lighting must be thought out in advance, during the planning of the site and construction of the house. At this time, lighting and electrical diagrams are drawn up, taking into account cable routing and insulation. Electrical networks must be laid before tree planting. In a yard with planted trees, you can use it for lighting. It is fire and electrical safe, since the cable transmits not electricity, but light. Myself fiber optic cable there is no need to lay it in the ground, but simply decorate it with plants or other elements.

Recently, lighting in the yard is more often done using. They are ideal for contour lighting of the house, paths, small architectural forms, reservoirs, and can operate for more than 10 years from autonomous power sources.

You can make lighting in your yard independent of electricity using. Such autonomous lamps can be easily moved to different places. However, the lighting efficiency of such lamps is very low, so they are most often used as additional lighting to the main electric lighting of the yard.

Each lamp has its own level of protection from external factors, that is. This parameter characterizes the resistance of the lamp to the penetration of dust, moisture and dirt. To illuminate the yard, it is necessary to use lamps with good protection from the external environment.

The yard lighting system is quite complex, so organizing street lighting yourself is a difficult task. Knowing how to correctly combine these types, you can create a harmonious and complete lighting ensemble in your garden.

Ways to control yard lighting

We must not forget about the convenience of controlling yard lighting. Let's look at the main popular ways to control courtyard lighting.

Manual control

The most popular option is manual control. It is better to place switches as close to the house as possible for convenient control. Such a system is more reliable and does not require large financial costs, except for the purchase of switches or circuit breakers. The light turns off and on as you wish. However, this type of lighting control is convenient only when the owners are constantly in the house.

Automatic system

If you sometimes have to leave the house unattended, or return home late, then manual method lighting control is not suitable. This problem is solved by using an automatic system.

Lighting in the yard can work automatically using:

• (light sensitive element).

Such sensitive elements are connected in a series circuit. In the normal state, the contacts of these elements are open, and no voltage is supplied to the lighting. When triggered, the contacts close and power is supplied to the lighting devices.

Sensing elements are installed in places depending on their principle of operation. For example, it is better to install a time relay inside the house, and motion and light sensors should be placed outside, preferably closer to the lamp.

It is advisable to install light and motion sensors on the driveway. Illumination of stairs and paths can work with the same sensors, however, this option is inconvenient due to periodic adjustments when the season changes.

Technical requirements to organize yard lighting

• For lighting the yard, a separate power line is allocated with protective devices, and division into sections.
• Cables are laid in the ground or in the air. Air laying is simpler, but does not have protection against wire theft. Earth laying is more expensive, but more reliable. The depth of the soil laying must be at least 70 cm.
• Courtyard lighting cables with air seal It is recommended to use it with double rubber insulation, and in the ground - armored.
• The insulation of the cable connections must be very reliable, or preferably double, using.