Is your home is looking a little darker than you’d like after the sun goes down? Professional landscape lighting adds beauty, character and safety to your home. All the options available can enhance the uniqueness of your home, not to mention the functionality and peace of mind of having a well-lit outdoor space. Your home will look great and with all the different options available.

Landscape Lighting Options

There are two types of landscape lighting to consider and they both have pros and cons associated with them.
Line Voltage Landscape Lighting– This type of landscape lighting used the same voltage as the standard outlets in your home. This lighting is used most often commercially as it improves nighttime visibility and adds security. The benefits to this lighting is that it costs less than low-voltage lighting and they have less expensive dimmers. The drawbacks include more expensive usage costs if it’s installed in high-use areas. This lighting needs to be placed in 18” trenches and needs to be installed by professionals.
Low Voltage Landscape Lighting– This type of lighting uses 120-volts of electricity, reducing it down to 12-volts because it uses a transformer. The benefits are with the reduced voltage makes it safe to use in moist and wet landscaping and lines don’t need to be placed so deeply, usually only a few inches below the soil to avoid a tripping hazard, mowing mishaps and for aesthetics. Situations where this lighting will be used frequently won’t cost as much as with line-voltage lighting and even lower when a dimmer is installed. The light bulbs used also last longer and are more resistant to shocks and vibrations. MR16 bulbs can last up to 6,000 hours. The lighting created is clean, warm and sharp but with a natural tone. There is also greater optical control with the smaller filament used and can reduce the number of fixtures needed. You won’t get as much light out of low-voltage as you can with line-voltage and wires can be damaged from pests and gardening tools because they aren’t buried as deeply. The bulbs and dimmers are a little more expensive because they need a transformer.

Line VS Low Voltage Landscape Lighting

How do you know which one is right for your landscaping? Low voltage lighting is a safe way to go for wet outdoor environments and are less expensive to operate over the long run. Low voltage lighting is a good one to go with for homeowners because it’s a relatively straightforward DIY project. There are also more styles available. Options available include track and rail lighting, recessed lighting and suspended or pendant lighting. There are more options with the actual bulbs, beams and lenses as well.

Landscape Lighting & More in Laguna Woods, Santa Ana, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, Aliso Viejo, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Irvine, Lake Forest & Orange County, California

Landscape lighting makes the best of what you have and highlights the things you love about your home and landscaping. If you’re ready to update your home and/or landscaping and you’re not sure which type of landscape lighting you should go with, give Peterkin Electric a call to make it easy!