Home Removal Services Blog

Just a few years ago it seemed quite rare to find people lighting their garden in the evening, which may have been due to the limited lighting options available then. Now though there is a huge choice of outdoor lighting available to satisfy most projects and budgets, with outdoor LED lighting emerging as a dominant player in this field.

And it’s easy to see why, since LED garden lighting enables attractive and hitherto unachievable effects that are at the same time simple to install and inexpensive to both purchase and operate. They are also quite safe around delicate plants, animals and children thanks to their very low power consumption and corresponding absence of heat.

LED garden lighting is typically powered the same way as conventional garden lighting, with individual light fittings connected to a 12v DC low voltage power supply cable, fed by a transformer connected to the mains (located indoors). However LED garden lights use only ten percent as much electricity as traditional systems using incandescent bulbs (including halogen lamps).

Traditional incandescent light bulbs operate by burning a filament that turns electricity into mostly heat (about 90%) and some light (up to 10%) whereas LED light bulbs electronically excite electrons which as a result cause photons (visible light) to be emitted. The nice part about such Light Emitting Diodes is that the heat to light ratio is the exact reverse with 90% of the input electricity now converted to light.

What this all means is that LED lights have two important characteristics. Firstly since most of the energy is converted to light not heat they run comparatively cool (you can certainly touch them). Secondly they need ten times less electricity to create the same light levels (a 5w LED will match a 50w incandescent) and accordingly cost ten times less to run. LED lights also have life spans twenty or more times longer thus reducing maintenance overheads.

On the issue of the quality of white light produced by LED lights, the Colour Rendering Index which assesses how faithfully an object is depicted using artificial light rates them highly. The basic color choice for most LED garden lights is white but they also come in a wide selection of other stunningly rich colours too.

The light that is emitted by an LED is a pure color, meaning that it represents just one part of the spectrum rather than being a blend of colors. This tends to give them a somewhat metallic, gem like appearance – think sapphire blue, emerald green, diamond white and ruby red. LED lights are also by nature very directional which makes them ideal for spot lighting, though other effects are easy to create using diffusers and filters.

Nowadays of course you can find LED outdoor lights in all manner of different types: rock lights; floodlights; patio and deck lights; wall wash effects; lanterns; spikes; integrated in garden ornaments; submerged in ponds; pagodas, and bollards. Yet the most enduring style still seems to be the LED spot light.

Finally, a simple checklist of points to consider when buying LED garden lights.

First be aware of the low power needs – even a tiny 1w LED will seem remarkably bright in a dark garden.

Second check how widely spread out narrowly focused the beam angle is and whether that suits your intended purpose.

Third, the electronic circuitry in most LED lights is easily ruined if the outer casing is not robust enough to keep out moisture.

Finally, where LED lights are concerned cost and quality go hand in hand and you will tend to get what you pay for.

Low voltage outdoor lighting represents a safe and cost-efficient lighting solution. It is quite easy to assemble and install your own low voltage outdoor lighting system, without having to use the services of a professional electrician.

Dangerous regular 120 watt electric current is stepped down to merely 12 V in the low voltage outdoor lighting systems, making it so much safer. Electric in such systems runs through a loop from one end of the transformer to another.

Low voltage outdoor lighting benefits include:

1. A homeowner can set up his/her own low voltage outdoor lighting system hassle free, with the use of a special kit. Such kit usually includes all of the needed components, such as the cable, a transformer and the fixtures. The only needed component that is not included in the kit is the bulbs. However, it would not be prudent to include the bulbs in the kits, since every bulb may have a different wattage.

2. Low voltage outdoor lighting is a very low cost solution, since it can use light bulbs, starting at nearly 4 W. In addition to regular lamps, home owners may choose to use halogen or fluorescent lamps.

3. Most of the low voltage outdoor lighting kits also come with a built-in timer allowing the owner to set it to come on and off every 4, 6, or 8 hours etc., as well as many kits come with a built-in photocell, capable of turning the lighting on and off according to whether there is sun or there isn’t.

4. Low voltage outdoor lighting is very important for security. Many systems come with heat motion sensors, which would notify you about any intruders after dark.

5. Low voltage outdoor lighting is very easy to relocate, since the wires do not have to be buried deeply and permanently in the ground. The wires can be just slightly buried.

6. A transformer for low voltage outdoor lighting can range anywhere from 150 W and up to 900 W. It would probably be a good idea to purchase a transformer with a little more muscle, so that you can expand your lighting system if you decide to start using the bulbs with more watts.

7. In order to pick the correct cable for your low voltage outdoor lighting system, you would need to know the amount of watts that your system will require. The most common size wire is 12ga, which is capable of carrying 300 W. There also are 14 ga. and 16 ga. cables, which respectively can carry 200 W and 150 W.

8. There is a wide variety of schemes based on which you can build your low voltage outdoor lighting system, including in-ground fixtures, spotlights and deck lights for an ultimate convenience while walking in your garden at night.

9. The price of the low voltage outdoor lighting kits varies dramatically, starting from $15 and up to $300. The systems for $300, however, usually have a much higher quality and are much more environment-friendly.

10. In order to find out how many lamps can be used with any given transformer, you would simply have to multiply the total number of light bulbs in your low voltage outdoor lighting system by the total wattage. For instance, if your transformer is 150 W, you can use 30 lights by 5 W each in your setup.

It is important to consider several things before starting to set up your low voltage outdoor lighting:

1. Make sure not to use an extension cord for the transformer. Instead plug it directly in the outlet.

2. The wires of the low voltage outdoor lighting system are more prone to damages if they’re not buried deeply in the ground.

3. When choosing a transformer for your system, try to make sure that the wattage of your transformer is not over one third of your system’s current wattage.

Low voltage outdoor lighting is easy to implement, low cost and a safe way to light up your landscaping. Low voltage outdoor lighting will make any garden safer, and extend the life of the garden into the night.