Advantages of Low Voltage Lighting

By DoItYourself.com Staff

Tired of blindly trying to find your way across your own front lawn in the pitch dark of night? Ever had guests accidentally trample exquisite flowers in your garden because they just “didn't see” them? Wish you could see your property better at night to ward off trespassers? Try low voltage landscape lighting.

A relatively new phenomenon, low voltage lighting uses a 12-volt current - the same power that small toy electric motors do - and is completely safe and easy to self-install. Low voltage landscape lighting has advantages over other kinds of lighting because it provides the owner with the ability to install additional lights while the others are still on, making positioning the lights much easier.

Low voltage lighting systems are easy to assemble – simply insert the light bulb into the base and attach the cover by clicking it on top. Some systems have lights already clamped onto the power cable, while others come with separate wires for this purpose. Either way, the metal teeth of the clamp should cut through the cable's insulation to wire the light. After any necessary power wires have been affixed to the lights, attach the stake, and thread these wires through its appropriate power channels.

Each low voltage lighting system comes with a transformer that you can use to schedule the times you desire your yard to be lit. Most transformers come with four, six and eight hour settings. Some transformers even sport a built-in photocell, which enables them to detect whether it is night or day, and turn themselves off when the sun comes up as well as on when it becomes dark. Low voltage lighting systems are available in both cable-powered and solar-powered packages, but the solar systems are slightly more expensive, and may not function as reliably as cable-powered systems, since they require eight hours of sunlight on average per day to work properly. Most kits come with at least 50 feet of cable, but if you need more than this, you can always buy additions or combine two or more kits.

Low voltage lighting systems are the perfect way to add security, visibility, and a touch of class to your landscaping.

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