Moonlighting; an effect that is achieved by placing lights high in the canopies of trees and pointing them to the ground through branches and leaves to create a dappled, moonlight effect on the ground below. This is a very beautiful lighting technique, but one which requires a degree of preventative maintenance to protect the integrity of the lighting equipment and the tree on which it sits. Trees actively grow at different rates through a season and some will add girth to the trunk and branches faster than others depending on the particular species and local growing conditions. Wire and fixtures that are mounted to these living specimens will require some adjustments seasonally to mitigate the process of growth expansion and the possibility of the tree overgrowing and swallowing the equipment. Some of the seasonal adjustments required are:
- Back out the screws slightly on cable ties that hold the power cable going up the tree to allow for another season of growth and to ensure the wire is not strained by the previous seasons tree growth.
- Back out the fixture mounting screws and bolts to allow for another season of growth so that the growing and expanding tree bark doesn’t force and break off the mount from the tree.
- Trimming back new tree limbs and plant growth that has grown out in front of the light and started to block the light output and effects. These new branches will also create “hot-spots” in the canopy of the trees due to their proximity to the source and must be eliminated.
- Inspecting for wire damage from squirrels or chipmunks who may have chewed on the wiring.
- Checking and adjusting the aim of the fixtures to ensure they are still performing as they were intended and haven’t been knocked out of alignment.
This is only a small segment of the Lighthouse 7-point preventative maintenance service program that we perform for our clients to keep their lighting systems looking and working like new. Do you have a lighting system in need of maintenance? Lighthouse also services and repairs the systems other companies have abandoned. Call us today to schedule a system evaluation and preventative maintenance tune-up.