Wall Wash Lighting: Installation and Application

1. What is Wall Wash Lighting?

2. Types of Wall Washing Light Fixtures

3. How Wall Washers Work

4. How to Install Wall Wash Lighting

5. Where Should Wall Wash Lights Be Applied?

6. Hot Selling Wall Wash Lighting

7. Wall Washing Lighting Features

8. 3 Tips on How to Optimize the Use of LED Wall Washers

9. 3 Factors to Consider When Using Wall Washers

10. Wall Washing Lighting Cautions

11. LED Wall Wash Lighting Facade Illumination Projects

As we know, to achieve a successful overall facade lighting effect, there usually needs to apply various LED lights like a floodlight, spotlight, wall wash light, and underground light. From the perspective of lighting effect, the lighting effect of architecture can mainly be divided into wall washing lighting, wiping the wall lighting, and lighting through the internals. Among them, wall washing is the most widely used wall lighting method. So, this article will introduce the wall wash lighting in detail.

1. What is Wall Wash Lighting?

Before knowing how to choose and use the wall washer, it's critical to learn what is wall wash lighting. The "wall wash" means the light emited from the wall washer illuminates the wall evenly, like the water flowing over the wall. With wall washing, the hallways or narrow rooms become spacious in visual. 

2. Types of Wall Washing Light Fixtures

When you get the wall washers to installed, you may be confused about how to fix these lights, here are the common fixtures for you choose to.

① Track-Wall-Washers: It's a rectangular fixture attached to a track. With its installation, you can illuminate a wall, an artwork, or a displayed item on a showcase to attract more attention, which allows people to watch them clearly and even see the textures of a wall or item.

② Recessed-Wall-Washers: Generally, the Recessed-Wall-Washers are used for mounting them on ceilings. The application of this mounting method is similar to the regular track wall washers. But this recessed wall washer is more compact and it can be used for small and exquisite space lighting. 

Floodlights, downlights and track lights can all achieve the "wall washing" effect by adjusting their lighting angles.

3. How Wall Washers Work

You can install the wall wash lights to achieve the ideal effect by embedding them in the ceiling or fixed to the ceiling surface, and also putting the wall washers on the floor. The distance between the light to the wall is really matters since it decides the brightness and affects the final lighting effect. To bring out the best work result of the wall washers, we need to consider the height of the area to be illuminated and how far away from the light to the wall or items.

The best ratio between the distance from the LED light to the wall and the height of the wall to be illuminated is 1:3. For example, if you want to illuminate a 3m high wall, the wall wash light should be put at a 1m distance from the wall. If the lamp is placed too close to the wall, uneven illumination and local grazing will occur. If to light narrow corridors, the large beam angle wall washers should be used and do not place the lamp close to the sides of the corridors. Through evenly light on the two sides wall of the corridor, space on both sides seems to be extended and gives a sense of comfort. 

Here we need to remind you that the wall washing is mostly appropriate for smooth, clean, and uniform walls, and there will be shadows on uneven walls, resulting in terrible lighting effects. If used for artistic lighting, it is okay to create the effect of light and shadow with wall washers, but it needs to carefully design the lighting angle, light intensity, and distance of the light from the display object.

4. How to Install Wall Wash Lighting

Step 1: Loose lamp bracket screw and angle rotation. 

Take out the lamp and loosen the angle adjustment screw on the lamp bracket, then rotate the lamp body to the other side of the mounting hole to facilitate the installation of the lamp.

Step 2: Rotate the lamp body.

Loosen the angle adjustment screw and rotate the lamp after the lamp body (as shown), and wait for the subsequent installation work.

Step 3: Drill the holes on the carrier and install the expansion rubber plug. 

Mark the hole on the carrier according to the mounting hole of the lamp and drill it (a 6mm drill bit is recommended); in the drilling position, use a hammer to insert the rubber stopper into the bearing hole (Note: the rubber stopper must not come loose).

Step 4: Fixing the fixture.

Align the mounting holes of the lamp with the mounting hole of the mounting carrier, and lock the lamp with screws. The lamp bracket should not be loose.

Step 5: The lamp adjusts the angle as required.

After the lamp is installed and fixed, adjust the angle of the lamp to the best angle required by the project, and tighten the angle adjustment screw, the lamp body and the lamp should not be loose.

Step 6: The installation is completed.

Fix the fixtures and check that they are securely installed. Waiting for cable connecting. as the picture shows.

5. Where Should Wall Wash Lights Be Applied?

Wall wash lighting can be applied indoors and outdoor to brighten the building, a wall, an artwork or increase the brightness of a park, a garden, and a street at dark night. The lamp usually is placed on the ceiling or floor further from the lighting objects. When you want to highlight and pursue a uniform lighting effect, the wall wash light will be a great choice for you. If you just need to light the area, a monochrome color like white or warm white is enough. If a dynamic lighting effect is required, you can choose RGB or RGBW pixel light which can be programmed to achieve various effects.

6. Hot Selling Wall Wash Lighting

WA042 LED wall washer is a high-power SMD LED light bar product specially designed for outdoor landscape lighting. It adopts aviation grade 6063 extruded aluminum shell, flame retardant plastic PC end cover, and adopts high thermal conductivity and weather resistance PU glue to seal and seal. Can be used to outline buildings, brighten walls, brighten interior and exterior surfaces; the length of the wall washer can be customized. The installation method is flexible and simple.

It's compatible with the standard DMX512 control protocol, and fully encapsulated waterproof design with high thermal conductivity adhesive. The WA042 wall wash lamp adopts the original adjustable mounting bracket design, supports RGB/W current adjustable respectively (low light and high gray).

7. Wall Washing Lighting Features

Suntech wall wash lights use Osram and Cree LED brand chips, and provide 5 years warranty for all of the products. And here will introduce more features of our wall washer lights.

③ High quality waterproof connectors and wires. The male and female connectors are made of pure copper solid core gold-plated process, and the single pin can withstand a current of 12A, and there will be no poor contact and heat generation.

④ The wall washer has thick aluminum profile housing and the interface is completely sealed to prevent water vapor from entering. And the wire can be hidden behind the lamp, which makes it easy to install and beautiful in appearance.

Here is a video shows the lighting effect and details of of Suntech LED wall wash lights:

8. 3 Tips on How to Optimize the Use of LED Wall Washers

For achieving the best lighting effect, you need to take the following tips into account:

(1) Enlarge the space in visual and bring a sense of capaciousness, which brings a comfortable feeling.  

Apply the directional angle of light and do not use too bright light. We recommend you to use wide a beam angle of the lamp to create a soft and subtle illuminated effect.

(2) Install the wall wash lamp in the right place. 

It was mentioned earlier that the optimal ratio between the distance between the lamp and the wall and the height to be illuminated is 1:3. To get a smooth and soft lighting result, please keep the light fixture away from the wall and adjust the light angle so that the light is directed towards the wall, which can accentuate the texture on the wall.

(3) If for building wash lighting, please consider more about the view angle and brightness of light to fit the material of the architecture and achieve the ideal result. If for landscape wash lighting, please pay more attention to the details of a tree or a flower to make the scenery more attractive at night. 

9. 3 Factors to Consider When Using Wall Washers

① Choose a white or light-colored wall, preferably a matte color, to achieve the best light reflection effect. Dark walls will greatly reduce the reflection of light.

② Please notice the distance from the installed light to the wall surface. If put the LED wall wash lights too close to the wall, then there will be a grazing effect, which amplified the particular places of the wall but ignored the overall space lighting effect.

③ When choosing and installing the LED wall wash lights, please pay more attention to the light intensity, and the color and material of the wall. If the wall surface is too smooth and its color is bright, there will be a flare phenomenon.

10. Wall Washing Lighting Cautions

① Please do not install the wall wash lights beside the glass material surface like a window or mirror, since the glass material will reflect the emitted light to cause a wall grazing effect. 

② Compared to white or light matte walls, the dark color wall can only reflect a part of the light. If you have chosen the dark wall, please strengthen the light intensity and put more light on the wall being washed.

③ As mentioned before, there will be a grazing effect if install the lamps too close to the lighted item. If it is a regular, well-designed texture, such lighting can have an artistic effect. But if it is just an irregular uneven wall, it will make the lighting uneven and unclear. 

11. LED Wall Wash Lighting Facade Illumination Projects

Here are some facade projects including wall washing lighting:

For more facade lighting projects and solutions, please click here.

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