Low Voltage Outdoor Lighting – A Great Way to Highlight Your Landscaping
Low voltage outdoor lighting (12 volts) is a very popular landscaping option for good reasons. Low voltage outdoor lights are perfect for highlighting and accenting gardens, statues, and other landscape features. The lighting systems are pretty straight-forward and easy to install. You do not need to be an expert handyman and will be able to usually complete your project over one weekend. The lighting cables can be buried in a shallow trench, run through a conduit or buried completely underground. The choice is yours and depends on your landscaping needs. And it is easy to move fixtures to make room for new plant growth or if you to change your landscape’s lighting effects.
Your transformers reduce the standard voltage from 120 volts to a safe 12 volts, so there is no risk of electrical shock if the cable is accidentally cut.
How low voltage outdoor lighting works:
Installing your low voltage landscape lighting system is easy and safe. You don’t need to be an expert handyman to do it and you do not need to hire a contractor. The most important aspect of installing your own low voltage landscape lights is planning your landscape design before purchasing or installing your lighting system.
You can start by trying out your lighting ideas with a flashlight. Pick what you want to highlight in your landscape, and then hold the flashlight in various positions to achieve the desired effect. This will help you get a better perspective on how you want your light fixtures to be laid out. Then draw out a plan to scale to get a good visual on how everything will look. Don’t worry, your drawing does not need to be perfect. Just make sure that you are able to decipher it. Don’t forget to draw the location of your house’s exterior outlets, garden beds, paths, trees, deck or patio, and any architectural features that you want to be focal points or that you want to light for safety.
The experts highly recommend that you buy fixtures with more wattage capacity than you need, then increase wattage in the future by replacing smaller wattage lamps with higher-wattage one [within the capacity of the transformer] as the plants mature. You will also want to experiment with your design and mix in different fixture styles, lighting patterns, and fixture spacing. The sky is the limit in terms of how you want to lay out your low voltage outdoor lighting system
Advantages of low voltage lights:
Low voltage lighting systems have improved a lot over the years. The fixtures are high quality yet affordable with longer-lasting bulbs and easier installation techniques are available. There are variety applications for your new lighting system. You can illuminate walkway entrances, accent your garden and shrubs, outline driveways, decorate patios and decks, and highlight your property’s architectural features.
Your new low voltage landscape lighting system will enable you to enjoy your yard at night, whether your entertaining at night or viewing it from the comfort of your living room. Furthermore, your lights can also improve your home’s security by revealing intruders if you equip them with motion sensors.
Best of all, most installations can be fully installed by you over the weekend. For $300 to $500, you can install this basic system: six to eight path lights, a wall washer, a floodlight, a transformer, a 12-volt cable and wire connectors. So get started today. You’ll love your new landscape. But if you’re looking for an even more eco-conscious lighting option, you will also want to look into solar powered low voltage lighting.