Lighting in the backyard. How to organize lighting in a private yard? Requirements for the organization of courtyard lighting

When it gets dark outside, there is a feeling of discomfort. Unlit places are dangerous. You can stumble, stumble on an obstacle or get injured. Darkness increases the risk of being attacked or stolen. Therefore, there is a need for street lighting at night. But often we are faced with the fact that in the yard or on the street the lights do not burn or are completely absent. This especially often happens in areas of new buildings or residential complexes, multi-apartment buildings in sleeping areas.

Street lighting on poles - who serves? What to do if there is no lighting near residential buildings? Where to contact or whom to call in this case? Let's try to understand these issues.

Field of activity of the outdoor lighting service

The street lighting service performs maintenance, maintenance and repair of structures, namely:

• prevention and maintenance of structures;
• changing lamps, monitoring the health of equipment and electrical networks;
• inspection of switchgears and regular cleaning;
• inspection of telemechanical control devices, street lighting installations with a check of all structural elements;
• cleaning reflectors, reflectors. Minor repair of contact connections and fasteners;
• painting of metal surfaces of devices, taking into account the fact that it is necessary to restore coatings once every 3 years;
• current repair with a set of measures;
• major renovation work.

In the case of manual control of the lighting system, schedules are drawn up for turning on and off devices.

Procedure for solving street lighting problems

Street lighting is controlled by state and municipal executive authorities. They are authorized to conclude contracts with organizations servicing street lighting devices. First you need to contact your local government to find out the main points:

• information about the customer who has concluded a lighting maintenance contract;
• a specific lighting service area is under federal or municipal jurisdiction;
• which organization is in charge of providing lighting for the street in question.

It is better to submit an appeal in writing indicating the area with no lighting and asking to fix the problem.

Having received the necessary information, you need to make two complaints: to the customer and the service organization. And only in the event that measures are not taken after the 30-day period, contact a higher authority. More information about the general principles of organizing local self-government in the Russian Federation and the city lighting system can be found in Art. 16 of the Federal Law of 06.10.2003 No. 131-FZ.

The permissible number of non-working street lamps, according to the rules of sanitary maintenance, is no more than 10% in the underground passage and 5% in the illumination of the local area.

If there is no light in the courtyard of the house, the management company is responsible for street lighting, its serviceability and availability. To begin with, it is necessary to draw up an act in which to state all known information about the fact of the lack of lighting: address, house number, date and signatures of neighbors or a senior in the house, indicating his phone number and other data. The act must be drawn up in two copies in order to receive a mark on the date and the responsible person who received the document on your copy.

If possible, supplement your claim to fix the problem with photographs of the area where the necessary lighting is missing or does not meet lighting standards. According to Art. 314 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, an authorized representative of the company within 7 working days will have to check the data set out in the application certificate, answer the question about eliminating the breakdown of the device or the possibility of replacing or installing, if there is none at all.

If the management company ignores your requirements, there will be grounds for recalculating the amount of payment for maintaining the house and filing a complaint with the administration of the municipality or the prosecutor's office. It is better if the appeal is collective, including the signatures of all adult residents of the house or houses located in an unlit area. If after 30 days the answer is not received, and no one will take care of the coverage, then you can file documents with the court.

Lighting in villages and rural settlements

In the conditions of rural life, the issue of illumination of the territory is almost always acute. Even if there are a sufficient number of devices, then, as a rule, they do not light up at night or turn on only for a few hours. SNiP 23-05-95 regulates the lighting standards for village squares, according to which at least 8/10 of the territory should be illuminated. The only exceptions are very small settlements, where the standard establishes the presence of two street lamps: at the entrance and exit.

Financing for rural areas is provided by the Federal Treasury. The money is distributed by the administration, which decides on the installation and operation of lighting. The local municipality, according to Law No. 131-FZ, is responsible for maintaining and providing lighting.

However, there is always a shortage of money, there is nothing to pay energy sales departments for repair or other technical work. Therefore, today the problem of lighting in rural areas is still not resolved, however, like many other issues of the development of villages and agriculture in general.

Street lighting standards

To ensure the proper level of illumination, there are SNiP standards that define the standards for streets, roads and other external territories, and instructions for designing outdoor lighting for settlements.

Conventionally, the territories of settlements are divided into 3 types:

• roads and streets of local importance;
• streets and roads of regional significance;
• high-speed roads.

Indicators of the average level of illumination depend on the intensity of traffic:

• adjoining territories should have illumination from 4 lux;
• squares, roads, streets with a traffic of up to 500 people per hour - the illumination rate is 6 lux;
• from 500 - 8 suites;
• from 550 to 1000 - at least 10 lux;
• district streets and highways with a traffic intensity of 1000 people or more require 15 lux;
• when passing 3000 people or more, a luminous flux of 20 lux must be provided;
• bridges, junctions, road overpasses and city squares, according to the standards, require an illumination level of 20 or 25 lux.

Types of poles and rules for their installation

To provide a sufficient level of light to the maximum area, it is necessary to install fixtures at a certain height. For this, special supports are used - poles, which are made of various materials:

• Wood. Pine wood is used for lighting fixtures. These poles are inexpensive, light weight and easy to install. In addition, they are quite safe in emergency situations. The disadvantages include their fragility, they require special treatment against decay and do not have a good appearance.

• Concrete. Supports are low cost. They are easy to use and quite durable. The disadvantages of the structures are the rough appearance and the fear of the proximity of the passage of groundwater.
• Reinforced concrete. Poles of this type are durable, not sensitive to corrosion, and inexpensive. Disadvantages: high cost of installation and maintenance during operation. The appearance is the same as that of concrete supports.
• Metal (steel or aluminum). Such supports are durable, strong, stable and quite decorative. The disadvantages include the high cost and the need for periodic painting.

When installing poles for lighting fixtures, due attention must be paid to the foundation . With a lawn installation, the depth must be at least 80 cm. For other types of installation of poles, immersion in the ground must be carried out to a depth of 160 cm.

Other requirements include the following:

• the distance between the supports is not less than 60 cm;
• alignment of pillars in one row;
• lining up in two rows with a rectangular or checkerboard pattern.

The distance of the devices from the curb of the road depends on the traffic intensity:

• roads on which freight transport does not travel - 0.3 m;
• minor roads - 0.6 m;
• highways - 1 m.

Types of outdoor lighting lamps and advantages of LED lamps

Various lamps are used in street lighting:

• mercury;
• sodium;
• metal halide lamps;
• LED.

In recent years, more and more city streets are filled with LED lights. A number of undeniable advantages of lamps of this type allows you to close the eyes of diligent and wise officials at a fairly high cost. Distinctive features of LED outdoor devices are:

• durability;
• strength;
• high resistance to vibration, humidity, temperature changes, dust;
• profitability;
• emitting even and bright light that does not dazzle drivers and pedestrians.

The importance and necessity of street lighting on poles is undeniable: for traffic safety, for the convenience of pedestrians, for a sense of security and comfort in the dark.

In order to find out exactly who cares about the performance of courtyard lights, you will have to turn to Federal Law No131.

It clearly states that all streets, roads, and alleys are under the auspices of local governments, just like courtyards.

The organization of lighting the courtyard of an apartment building at night, in the evening, and also early in the morning is a matter of local importance. Thus, the district administration is responsible for this.

But despite this, the direct responsibility of maintaining lighting fixtures in working order falls on the shoulders of the residents themselves.

It is the citizens who are interested in lighting that must necessarily conclude an agreement with the administration or other organizations that are able to organize electricity to power the lanterns.

As for the repair, operation and maintenance of power lines, these issues are dealt with by the same companies that specialize in this. They will regularly perform their duties if a contract is concluded with them on time.

However, the yards in question are not common areas. They fall into the category of the local area, and this is a slightly different concept.

If you believe article 162 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, then the tenants of the house conclude an agreement with a certain organization role, which can be played by the governing bodies of a housing or consumer type cooperative, the developer.

The latter case is regulated by article 161 of the LC RF.

In such an agreement, the obligations of the organization are prescribed, which are various services and actions for the proper care and maintenance of property belonging to the house. Utilities may also be included.

All these services are provided for a reason. Tenants must pay monthly. This is also regulated by the LC RF, namely article 154.

Thus, the payment for the maintenance of street lamps is included in the receipts that come to residents every month.

Lighting standards

The standards for lighting the adjacent territory of an apartment building are set in accordance with, namely:

• at the entrance to the building, there must be at least 6 suites;
• on the pedestrian type path that leads to the building, there must be at least 4 suites;
• the main passages running in microdistricts should be illuminated by 4 lux;
• minor driveways, as well as courtyards and various utility sites should be illuminated within 2 lux.

In addition, there are pre-designed lighting options. They provide for a certain placement of lighting devices and their corresponding type. The options are as follows:

When tenants are faced with the task of designing lighting for their yard, in addition to the financial component, they must take into account such factors as the resistance of lanterns to hooligans and protection from falling icicles in winter.

Whatever option is chosen by the citizens living in the house, they must first of all be guided by the lighting standards that are adopted in Russia.

They were invented for a reason, and non-compliance with them can entail not only responsibility before the law, but also some human sacrifices.

What if there is no light?

If there is no light in the courtyard for any reason, residents of the house who are dissatisfied with this state of affairs can legally come with claims to the local administration.

Before making fiery statements about the employees of the aforementioned administrative body, you need to carefully read the Federal Law No. 131, which says that Local governments and no one else are obliged to organize street lighting.

Even in Russia, there is a special GOST, which fixes the requirements for the order in which lighting is organized.

Complaints in writing must be submitted to the administration that deals with the municipality. Oddly enough, it is they who should be involved in maintaining the illumination of the streets.

When drawing up a complaint, you must be guided by the Federal Law, which was mentioned above.

It clearly lists all the duties that are assigned to the bodies involved in local self-government.

It is among their responsibilities that the organization of energy supply to the entire population is included.

For greater persuasiveness, the written complaint must be accompanied by the signatures of all residents of the dissatisfied house. This will give it a collective order and within a month it will definitely be considered and measures taken.

If the administration refuses to take action, then the tenants can immediately apply to the court. In such a statement, it is necessary to indicate the very fact of the inaction of local governments.

You can also add that they refuse to fulfill their legal obligations. However, in such a situation, it should be remembered that no one needs a conflict with the administration blown up from scratch, especially if it promises to drag on for a long time.

But if the power supply magically disappeared, in general, then something should definitely be done with this and a statement to the court will be a completely adequate response from the residents.

The same should be done if the lighting equipment is completely out of order.

In the case when the question concerns several burnt out light bulbs, it will be enough just to contact the municipal committee under the Administration.

Most often, they react very quickly to a signal from residents and control that the yard is illuminated as the law requires.

Conclusion

From all that has been written above, we can conclude that organizing the lighting of the local area and maintaining the lamps in working condition is essentially a simple task.

However, there are also pitfalls here, and in order not to stumble upon them, you need to carefully study the lighting standards and the Federal laws that were discussed.

The installation of street lighting in a summer cottage or in the courtyard of a private house is a very important task that requires a comprehensive solution. Unlike an apartment in a multi-storey building, the situation outside of which is not entirely of interest to the owner, the owners of their own houses need to control the area around it. And it is much better to take a walk in the fresh air along the illuminated paths of your yard in the evening.

Installing a street lighting system for the yard of a house at first glance seems like a simple matter. However, for the normal operation of the entire complex of equipment, it must be properly selected and mounted. How to make lighting on a personal plot - further.

Types of courtyard lighting in a private house

Lighting in a summer cottage or personal plot performs three functions:

1. Technical. It consists in highlighting the site to ensure the safety of moving around the site in the dark. For this purpose, ordinary halogen or LED lights are bought. Place them along the paths.
2. Decorative. Such lighting is part of landscape design and serves to emphasize the beauty of the flora of the backyard with the help of light. Especially often, many owners highlight alpine slides, mini-pools, flower beds. For the arrangement of decorative lighting, colored lights of a wide palette are used. To make the picture pleasing to the eye, some decorative lighting systems are controlled by special computers that arrange real color shows. True, it is worth noting that they are quite expensive and only specialists should mount them.
3. Security feature. The illuminated personal plot does not attract petty thieves who are constantly trying to steal everything that “lies badly” from the yard. Even if the owners are not at home, the illuminated area will make the thieves think about whether it is worth climbing there. Sometimes lighting with motion sensors works better than burglar alarms.

Planning the lighting of a private courtyard

No lighting installation is possible without detailed planning. Ideally, a plan should be drawn up for the placement of light sources, indicating their type, connection features, types and sizes of wires, placement of poles, etc. Thanks to this planning, the installation of lighting in the backyard will be much easier.

The main place where the mandatory installation of lighting devices is necessary is the porch of the house and its gate (gate). At night, the owner of the estate must control everything that happens at his gate. As a rule, lamps that illuminate the area in front of the gate are equipped with motion sensors. In this case, the light will turn on when a person approaches the gate. This is very convenient and also saves a lot of energy. Typically, LED spotlights are used as a lighting device for such cases, which are distinguished by excellent light output at low power consumption. Another indisputable advantage of LED lamps is their long service life in comparison with other types of lighting devices.

If there are recreation areas on the site (barbecue area, playground, bathhouse with the adjacent territory), both it and the paths that lead to it are highlighted. For the convenience of parking at night, the parking lot should be illuminated.

When planning the entire lighting system, it is necessary to clearly understand how they will be connected by an electrical cable. The cable can be laid through an overhead line between lighting poles or through an underground tunnel. Each of the methods has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Installation of an overhead line is much easier and cheaper. However, for this operation it is necessary to buy a special cable that will not be subject to stretching under the influence of wind. Also, for its suspension, it is necessary to use a special wire that will hold it to the canopy. In addition, during strong hurricanes, there is a high probability of cable breakage from strong winds.

With an underground location of the cable, it can last for several decades, because external forces do not act on it. True, the cable laid in the trench must be hidden in a metal hose, which adds costs to the overall estimate.

Installation of lighting poles in a private yard

If there are natural supports for the installation of lighting lamps, the task of installing the entire system is greatly simplified. The wall of any building or its roof, etc. can serve as a natural support. For objective reasons, it is undesirable to use tree trunks.

In the absence of supports, they must be built independently. Lighting poles are made of hollow steel pipes, and installed on a concrete foundation. For its arrangement, pits are dug 0.4x0.4 m in size and 0.5 m deep. A layer of sand or gravel is laid on its bottom, and formwork is installed. A hole is made in the formwork into which the corrugation is carried. It is brought up to lay the cable for connecting the lamp through it. Further, several pieces of reinforcement, or thick wire, are installed inside the formwork as a reinforcing belt. Then anchor bolts are installed inside the formwork, to which the post will be screwed. After that, the formwork is poured with concrete. Concrete is prepared on the basis of a cement-sand mixture in the ratio of 1 part of cement to 3 parts of sand. When the places for the installation of poles are ready, the poles are installed in a vertical position with the obligatory leveling. Correction is carried out using metal gaskets.

The wires are laid in a trench with a depth of at least 0.7 m. The distance from the power cable to the nearest building must be at least 0.5 m. The bottom of the trench is covered with sand or screenings. The cable is laid in a protective metal conduit. After the cable is laid, the entire system is connected. The wiring of the lamp is connected to the main cable using special terminals. Twisting wires in this case is unacceptable.

When installing a courtyard lighting system, special attention must be paid to the choice of power cable. It must have a margin of safety of at least 25% of the current consumed by all lighting fixtures. For example, if all the fixtures in the system operate at a current of 10A, that is, they consume approximately 2 kW, then the wiring should be rated for a current of 13-14A. If it is planned to additionally install light sources on the site, then it is better to lay the route with a margin. It is better to choose a cable in double insulation, so it will be better protected. For such work, an aluminum cable is quite suitable, it is much cheaper than copper counterparts.

The entire lighting system is assembled on one panel, on which machines are installed to turn off each branch. It is better to make lighting from several branches, as this will make it possible to turn off only one of them for repairs.

Choice of yard lighting fixtures

Currently, the choice of outdoor lighting devices is very high, which makes it possible to assemble a system to suit your requirements. All lamps are divided into several groups. Basically, the division occurs depending on the lamp that is used in it.

• Halogen lamps. The glow of halogen lamps occurs due to the passage of an electric current through a flask with vapors of substances - halogens, such as iodine, bromine, fluorine, etc. Such lamps are not too sensitive to voltage drops and harsh operating conditions. Therefore, the period of their use in comparison with incandescent lamps is much longer. They are also much more efficient than Ilyich's bulbs, since with the same light output they consume much less electricity. These lamps are not very expensive.
• Sodium. The principle of operation of such lamps is almost identical to halogen ones. In the flask of such a lamp, sodium vapor glows. Their glow has a warm, delicate hue, which allows them to be used to create various lighting effects. Another positive point in the operation of sodium lamps is their service life, which reaches 30 thousand hours.
• LED bulbs. The most modern types of lighting devices. They are characterized by low power consumption, long service life, low sensitivity to voltage drops. LED luminaires can be built on the basis of a single super-bright LED or a large number of parts of lower power. Since the LED lamp is a high-tech product that has a special voltage controller, the prices for these products are still quite high prices. However, it is worth noting that every year they are declining.

Autonomous lamps for lighting the courtyard of a private house

Many owners of sites where frequent blackouts occur prefer to assemble an external lighting system based on autonomous lamps. The principle of their operation is powered by a battery installed inside. The latter is charged during daylight hours from a solar cell.

Advantages of stand-alone luminaires:

1. Mobility. Since there is no need for wiring when installing stand-alone luminaires, they can be installed and dismantled in a short time. This allows you to remove the system from the summer cottage for the winter period, if the cottage is not used.
2. Small installation costs. Some lamps are simply stuck into the ground, and they will work at the right time. There is no need for electrical installation and earthworks.
3. Low power consumption. Most stand-alone lamps are built on the basis of LED lamps, which reduces energy consumption by several times.

Courtyard lighting: photo

Courtyard lighting: video