It’s that time of the year when most homeowners plan to give a face-lift to their landscape. They clean out the flower beds to plant new, beautiful flowers or maybe a few trees and bushes. It takes a lot of effort to maintain a splendid landscape. However, the efforts you’ve put in beautifying your lawn, pathways, flower beds, backyard, and other elements lurk in darkness after the sunset. And this is where installing a landscape lighting system becomes crucial.
A well-designed landscape lighting system can add a new dimension to your home’s exterior when it’s dark out. Strategically placed landscape lights highlight the best architectural features of your house, as well as the trees and flowering plants in the garden. Landscape lights are important but most homeowners find it confusing to pick the right one. So if you don’t already have lighting installed on your property, choosing low voltage landscape lighting can be the right decision.
Low Voltage Landscape Lighting
Low voltage lights make use of a transformer which reduces the 120 volt current to 12 volts. This lighting system helps in saving electricity without giving up the quality. As compared to line voltage lighting which uses 120 volts, low voltage lighting produces 12 volts of electricity. This system is less expensive to install, uses less energy, and is safer. These qualities make low voltage lighting a more practical choice than high voltage lighting. Now let’s explore some more benefits of installing a low voltage landscape lighting system.
- Cost-Effective
Installing a low voltage lighting system is not as expensive as the line voltage system. Although this system needs a transformer, the cables required for line voltage lighting are more expensive than those needed for low-voltage lighting. A low-voltage setup uses LED light fixtures which cost more than incandescent lights. However, these lights have a longer life span and consume much less power (2-10 watts) to save electricity costs. Lower electricity bills and longer life of LED lights make this system cost-effective.
- Energy Efficiency
The light fixtures used in this system are highly energy efficient. As compared to the incandescent halogen bulbs used in the high voltage system, LED lights emit a higher amount of light while using only 20 percent of the energy. This not only helps in saving energy costs but also helps in conserving our valuable energy resources. This system is environment-friendly and allows an improved thermal reduction.
- Safe & Easy to Install
The lower voltage lights are much safer to install and use. Unlike 120V lighting options, 12-volt led lighting systems don’t have any risk of getting electrocuted when exposed to snow or rain. It is also relatively easier to install low voltage landscape lights. Setting up a line voltage landscape lighting system is not only risky but also complicated. Only a professional can install the line voltage lighting system by burying the wires at least 18 feet deep and placing the wire connections via junction boxes. A low-voltage lighting system, on the other hand, can be installed on your own.