Seeing the Light with Light-rails

by Kev
(UK)

How would you use a light rail? My concerns are- would you jockey extra lights along the length of the rail (my preference) or at right-angles to the rail (which is the kit light rail companies provide). It seems to me safer to put all that load under the central line of gravity, plus less bending as the load is spread under the rail itself.

Given light strengths of 400, 600 & 1000w , what would you light-rail lengths be? And what spacing would you have the extra lights/jockeys?

How long would you hold the light at each end of the run? How would you go about building a homemade light rail?

Cheers! Kev

Answer: Kev- here is a good example of how I would use a light rail: If I had a 4' x 8' garden to light, but I only had one 1000 watt light, I would use a light mover to periodically switch the light from one side of the garden to the other. The 1000 watt light by itself covers everything beneath it in a 4' x 4' pattern very well (when mounted in a stationary position). However, it is capable of effectively lighting a larger area.

For example, let's say 40 watts/sq.ft. is "effective" lighting for the garden. Simply divide the wattage of your light (1000) by the desired watts/sq.ft. (40) and you get the square footage of your garden (in this case, 25 sq.ft.). If you make the garden 4 feet wide and 6 feet long, you will have a garden of 24 square feet (just less than the maximum size we calculated). Your 1000 watt light will illuminate a 4' x 4' section of the garden nicely, but that leaves a 2' x 4' strip along the edge of the garden that is not lit as well.

Simply hang your light mover to move your light from the center of the RIGHT side of the garden to the center of the LEFT side of the garden. The movement may only be 20 or 24 inches back and forth, but the result is a garden more evenly lit by 41.7 watts/sq.ft.. The center of the garden will receive more light than the perimeter of the garden. To even things out, let the light pause at each end of the light mover for two or three minutes.

So you see, how long your light rail should be is determined by the size of your light(s), the square footage of the garden you are trying to light, and how strong you are trying to illuminate the garden. Likewise, how long you let the light pause is just a matter of understanding how the light is falling on your garden and trying to make the effect more even.

Whether you hang your lights along the length of your light rail or perpendicular to it, the main thing is DO NOT GO OVER the recommended weight limit for the light rail (and make sure it is properly installed into some solid wood). The second most important thing is that your lights are lighting everything evenly in the garden.

Focus on keeping your garden lit evenly at 40 watts/sq.ft. and the rest of your lighting design will fall into place!