Installing Exterior Landscape Lighting

Low voltage landscape lighting is a simple improvement that can make a huge difference in how your home looks after dusk and in its safety and security as well.

Installing exterior landscape lighting.

Installed along walkways steps and driveways or pointing up at trees walls and fences the typical low voltage lighting system requires just three components. Low voltage light fixtures luminaires must be no closer than 5 feet away from the outside walls of pools spas or hot tubs. Exterior light fixtures do not require gfci protection. To install outdoor lighting first dig a trench about 3 inches deep along the route your electrical wires will follow from the transformer to the lights.

Before starting your landscape lighting installation first lay out your light fixtures and landscape lighting wire. A transformer low voltage electrical cable and the fixtures. Then place the light stakes into the softened ground. Low voltage lighting systems must be listed by an approved testing agency as an entire system or assembled from individual components that are listed.

Attach the end of the main line to the transformer. If you are laying your outdoor lighting cable under soil use a square edge shovel to dig a trench 2 3 inches deep then push the wire into the bottom of the trench and cover. Solar powered lighting is easy to install and has no wiring. Low voltage lighting systems are immensely popular for decorative outdoor applications.

Or the type we are installing today is low voltage lighting which plugs into any outdoor gcfi outlet and works great as a decorative touch or to illuminate a path. Do not force the lights into the ground as this might damage the light stake. We had a multi tap transformer so we had two main lines to attach. You don t want to accidentally sever any cable or phone lines as you do this so call your utility companies to have them identify any underground lines they may have put near your home.

The lights should install easily. If you don t have an outdoor box to tap in to consider installing one on your house. Use 10 gauge wire for the main lines from the transformer to where the lights begin then switch to 12 gauge wire between the lights. In our project we run a line from an existing outdoor outlet on the house to a light and receptacle at the edge of a garden path.

There are two ways to power your outdoor lighting. Low voltage setups are energy efficient flexible safe and very easy to install yourself. They are ideal for installing small lanterns along a garden path task lighting around a patio or accent lighting around a favorite landscaping feature. Use a level to check that each light is sitting straight and vertical.