Landscape Lighting Guide

Define the Purpose for Landscape Lighting First

Before you tackle landscape lighting, you first need to decide on the purpose, as it will drive every decision you make onwards. Do you want a soft romantic mood during the evenings? Or maybe you want a dim garden corner that can be illuminated only for security reasons? Or maybe you want lighting that will illuminate the path to a garden? Lights have a purpose. Once you decide on what this purpose is, you will no longer make the mistake of just sticking lights even in places where they are unnecessary.

Decide on Your Level of Commitment

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to landscaping, and it applies to lighting as well. So you need to think long and hard on how much you are willing to commit to the project. Different lighting setups will cost differently, and will require different levels of expertise to install, for example:

• • • 120 volt lighting is difficult to install because they need to be buried deep and encased in conduit, so that they can be protected from water and moisture. In most cases you need a licensed electrician’s help.
    • Low voltage lights are much easier to install because they only need a transformer and an outdoor receptacle.
    • Solar lighting is the easiest to install and the most cost efficient, mainly because there are fewer electrical cords to hide. You only need to worry about optimal positioning. The downside to this is solar equipment usually costs more initially, but they pay off in the long term because they don’t consume any electricity from the grid.