Installing Outdoor Lighting

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Carol A. Crotta

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Low-voltage yard and garden lighting extends the beauty of your lawn and landscape for after-hours enjoyment.

Adding outdoor lighting to your yard and garden is more than just a beautiful finishing touch. In fact, it pays big dividends in increased safety, may add to your property value and allows you to enjoy your garden after the sun goes down. While you can put in lighting anytime the weather allows, the perfect time to add a new outdoor system is when you’re installing a new lawn – especially if you’re including an inground automatic irrigation system in your plans because you’ll already be digging trenches for that.

There are many different models and styles of 12-volt outdoor lighting fixtures available from home and garden centers and hardware stores. Pick one that complements your home’s architecture. Installing a low-voltage system is relatively simple and hazard-free. Just follow the easy steps shown in the pictures and captions for a successful project that will help highlight your beautiful yard and garden even when the sun goes down.

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Step 1:
Install low-voltage wiring for your lighting system at the same time you’re installing your irrigation system, or trench and lay wire from the controller transformer at a convenient, grounded, GFCI-protected outdoor receptacle to the lighting fixture.

Warnings

Before installing any outdoor lighting, ensure that your site has a conveniently located outlet that’s protected by a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI). If you don’t have one, hire an electrician to install one.

Tips

Check the placement of all lighting fixtures from every vantage point to be sure that you can see your plants or surrounding area in it’s best light, as opposed to being exposed to awkward bright or glaring edges from the fixtures.
Solar-powered lights are also available for gardens and walkways – some even have motion-detection circuits that turn the lights on when movement is detected. Solar lighting requires no external power source and can be installed nearly anywhere with direct sun exposure. They may require battery replacement, however, because too many charge cycles can cause the battery’s performance to degrade.

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We’d love to see how you’re transforming your yard. Share your accomplishments with our Learn2Grow community and post pictures in our forums.
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