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Basics of Outdoor Landscape Lighting: The First Steps

If you spent good money on some killer landscaping for your yard, but the streetlight situation in your neighborhood leaves something to be desired, don’t fret. Outdoor landscape lighting is a wonderful way to brighten up your yard and enhance your property’s visual appeal long after the sun goes down.

However, before you dive in blindly and buy lighting fixtures, learn the ropes of outdoor lighting for your landscaping. The two basic types of landscape lighting are fixtures that rely on electricity and those that depend on the sun.

Low-Voltage Landscape Lighting

When you opt for outdoor landscape lighting that relies on electricity for its power, choose a low-voltage option. Low-voltage landscape lighting is safer than its powerful high-voltage counterparts and is much simpler to install. You will also enjoy a much lower power bill.

Low-voltage landscape lighting is a fantastic way to light up a hidden garden path or showcase trees and shrubs in your front yard at dusk. Check these LED Garden lighting for more inspiration. The dim lighting is a hauntingly beautiful way to display the best your lawn has to offer, and it provides enough light to create great ambiance for an outdoor party or cookout. You can also use the fixtures to light a sidewalk to “up” the safe navigation factor during the nighttime hours.

A system of low-voltage lighting requires a few inexpensive items for installation: a transformer to supply power for your lights, cords, and the light fixtures themselves. The transformer will protect against electric shock if something severs a wire. Typically, landscapers run the cords below ground for greater aesthetic appeal, and they hide the wires by covering them with rocks or other landscaping elements.

LED Landscape Lighting Options

LED is a newer technology that allows landscape lighting to burn much brighter at night than other battery-powered models, and many can hold a charge for up to ten hours each night. LED lights are great for use around your driveway and along walking paths. They not only light up your home beautifully, but they also add vital illumination that will help you park your car safely at night.

When placed strategically, LED lights can guide you to your porch without tripping, and enable you to unlock your front door without fumbling for your keys in the dark.

Once you choose your preferred lighting method, stand in front of your home and take careful inventory of your yard’s landscape. Decide where you would like to place your lights and install the fixtures. Once the sun sets, you’ll have a revamped abode that will light up the night.