Introducing the Snoot: A Precision Tool for Lighting Designers

By Patrick Harders, LC

When I first started designing outdoor lighting projects, one of the most valuable lessons I learned was the importance of controlling light accurately. You can see this clearly when working up in the trees with a well-placed down light.

The higher you mount the luminaire, the more critical it becomes to control glare and direct the beam exactly where you want it. That’s why I love Sterling Lighting’s new SL23-SL33 snoot accessories. If you’ve ever struggled with unwanted light spill or noticed your design loses impact because the source is too visible, you'll appreciate what these can do.

Down Lighting: The Secret to Tying Your Design Together  

Any experienced designer will tell you that uplighting on its own can make a tree look like it’s floating in space. It may give that beautiful texture on the bark, but the base of the tree often disappears. Adding a down light completely changes the picture by filling in the shadows, grounding the subject, and tying the whole scene together.

This is challenging, though. When you’re placing lights 20, 30, even 50 feet high in a tree or off a structure, that beam becomes hard to control. Even a little bit of glare can ruin the magic. On top of that, if your client can see the light source instead of the lighting effect, the illusion is broken again.

The Shroud vs. The Snoot: What’s the Real Difference?  

At Sterling, we’ve always believed that a good luminaire should highlight a space, not itself. That’s why we originally developed our traditional shroud, which I designed collaboratively with top designers at an ILLI conference. We refined every detail, from the beveled edge to the overall length, to limit glare and protect the beam integrity from every angle.

Through working with European designers, we began diving into a new concept: the snoot. Many American designers were unsure about it at first, but once we tested it in real-world applications, the results were clear.

The snoot actually improves lumen output. Unlike a traditional shroud that can trap or block some of the light, the snoot creates a funneling effect, projecting more usable light onto the target.

It also gives better beam control. That means tighter light patterns, cleaner edges, and no visible light source from the ground.

Finally, it conceals the luminaire almost completely, which is ideal when designing high-end landscapes.

Available Now! 

If you’re serious about down lighting and want to create immersive, elegant scenes that look clean even down to the smallest detail and luminaire placement, the snoot is just what you need.

Pair it with the SL23 or SL33 and you'll see a difference immediately.

Watch the video below for the full breakdown.