You know you need to improve your landscape lighting when you peek into the yard when it is dark and it causes everything to disappear. The beauty of your home’s exterior and greenery is truly improved with the right light as your landscape can have the right features highlighted. There are many diverse selections with advanced landscape lighting technology such as with setups, and style, where the lighting can make your landscaping a sight to behold. To help you better decide what options are best for your landscape, we at Peterkin Electric would like to share a few details today. With each having their own pros and cons, there two primary types of landscape lighting; low-voltage landscape lighting and line-voltage landscape lighting.

Pros & Cons of Line Voltage Landscape Lighting

The line-voltage landscape lighting, much like the standard outlets in your home, use 120-volts of electricity. In commercial applications, this option is frequently utilized as it improves nighttime visibility and enhances security.
Benefits: Line voltage lighting fixtures are more cost-effective than low-voltage landscape fixtures and bulbs in addition to the dimmers being less expensive.
Drawbacks: Unless line-voltage lines are installed in particularly low-use areas, the operating costs are higher for this style of landscape lighting. Line-voltage lighting requires professional installation since the wires are trenched 18” beneath the ground.

Benefits & Drawbacks of Low Voltage Landscape Lighting

Low voltage landscape lighting takes 120-volts of electricity as it steps down a mere 12-volts with the help of a transformer.
Benefits: The low-voltage of this landscape lighting medium is safer as it is especially safer to operate in any wet or moist environments. The lines only require minimal submersion beneath the soil in order to prevent any lawn mowing incidents, tripping and also for aesthetic purposes. The operating costs are significantly lower than line-voltage lighting, even more with the dimmer option use. With a longer standard run-time (6,000 hours on MR16 bulbs, the low-voltage bulb lasts and has far better shock/vibration resistance. The light clean, sharp, warm, and has natural tones. For low-voltage operation, it provides more focus, and greater optical control, the smaller filaments necessary. This can reduce the number of fixtures necessary for particulars lighting schemes.
Drawbacks: Line voltage landscape lighting is much brighter compared to low-voltage lighting capabilities. Due to a shallow burial, the wiring is left susceptible to damage from garden tools and pests. There is an increased expense for the bubs and dimers due to the transformer requirement.

Line VS Low Voltage Outdoor House Lighting

In a nutshell, the low voltage landscape lighting can be used in the same spaces, and for the same purposes, as line voltage lighting, however, it is safer for wet outdoor environments and less expensive, making this option a little more viable. Track and rail lighting, pendant lighting, recessed lighting, display lighting and suspended cable lighting options in addition to being available in a number of bulbs, beams and lenses as well as other wide range styles is an option with low-voltage landscape lighting.

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

Peterkin Electric is happy to oblige in your landscape lighting upgrades. Our specialists can assess which options is best for your home and help highlight and enhance the features and prize-plants in your landscape. Call us today to get started with your next project.