Landscape Lighting Buyer's Guide

Because it covers such a wide array of options, landscape lighting can be a tricky thing to deal with if you’re not already familiar with the different types of lighting technology available. Here at eLightSpot.com, we have all the information you need to get the quality lighting you want at a price you can definitely afford.

 

Solar vs Low Voltage

While eavesdropping on the Joneses across the alley, you probably heard something about solar lighting and it’s main competitor, low voltage lighting but you don’t know what the hooplah’s all about? We’ll help you clear it up.

 

Solar Lighting

If you’re into energy conservation, solar landscape lighting is a great selection, especially if you need lights to illuminate the pathway through your backyard or the walkway leading up to your house. While slightly expensive, solar lighting is awesome because they harness the power of the sun—leaving your electric bill completely unscathed—and they tend to emit somewhat bright beams that make every step you take more secure.  With just a tab to pull from the battery pack, solar light installation is very quick and easy. Just pull the battery isolation tab and place the light where you want it. Just make sure the light is out of shade and free from debris—you want them to get as much sun as possible in order to charge the battery. And as easy as they may be to install, they’re just as easy to steal, leaving you in the dark with having paid for solar technology, so make sure they’re securely placed.

 

If you are looking for the quickest and easiest installation, look for the lights that stake directly into the ground like the Brinkmann Sierra Solar Light.  If you are looking for lights with a bit more character and that can even serve dual purposes as far as lighting a landscape or other areas, try looking at a hanging light like the Brinkmann Victorian Hanging Light.

 

Low Voltage

For those of you who are conscious of your electricity bill, but also want a very bright light, then you should be looking at low voltage landscape lights. Operating on less than 50 volts (depending on # of lights in a strand), low voltage lights emit a brighter light than solar lights, giving off that warm ambience many people are used to. Low voltage lights use a transformer to convert standard 120 v electricity into more energy efficient 12 v current.  Low voltage lights can be used all over a landscape providing there is reasonable access to an electrical outlet. Installation and maintenance is more involved than with solar lights.  The lights must be connected to a cable and the cable must be run in and around your landscape, which can make for tedious installation.  Once installed, low voltage lights must be turned on at night, where as solar lights automatically come on.  The good news is most low voltage lights either come wth or can be equipped with a timer that can be set to automatically turn the lights on and off.

 

The other part about low voltage lights that makes them a more popular choice over solar is the selection.  Low voltage lights come in a wider selection of styles and finishes which enable them to fit into most any landscape.  One of the most popular brands of low voltage landscape lights is Kichler. Kichler landscape lights come in a tremendous variety of styles from modern to traditional to whimsical.  They also carry virtually every type of finish whether it is black, white, copper, bronze or some variation of those. A popular choice is the Kichler Path and Spread Light in Bronze.

 

Low voltage lights are sold both individually and in kits.  Individual lights must either be added to existing low voltage kits are installed with a transformer and cable.  See our article on Sizing a Low Voltage System for help.

 

 

Bulb Talk - Incandescent, Halogen and LED

Incandescent probably sounds familiar while halogen and LED lights may lead to some confusion. Really, it all comes down to a few factors: brightness, bulb life and cost. We’ll get right to it.

 

Incandescent

These lights are famous for that warm, inviting feel. They accomplish this aura due to an infrared component built into the bulb. Also, they’re heat-driven and give off those emissions, so they really are WARM bulbs. They’re useful in path and deck lighting fixtures because of their warmth; plus, if they’re used for those applications, they’ll most likely be out of reach (mounted up on a deck or on the ground) so you won’t experience too much of a hazard. They’re really cheap (about as much as you would normally pay for a light bulb) but they generally have low efficiency and a short lifespan (250-2500 hours), so you’ll find yourself replacing them, unlike LEDs. Because of these reasons, incandescent lighting is slowly finding itself being replaced by the latest LED technology.  However, professional grade lights like the ones from Kichler still predominately use incandescent light bulbs as they are still the top choice for true landscape illumination. See an example of incandescent lighting used in the Kichler Accent Light in Architectural Bronze.

 

Halogen

The next step up in cost alone is halogen. Basically an incandescent light with a tungsten filament and a little bit of bromine or iodine gas, they can easily cost 5 times more than your everyday incandescent bulb. Halogen lighting more than pays for itself in value and features though because they boast a long life and carry a very bright light, making them a great choice for floodlight purposes. Due to the halogen cycle, they tend to get pretty warm while running and pose a bit of a hazard. And while they’re closely related to incandescent, halogens lack that warm glow that made the incandescent a household name. Halogen are also commonly used in security lighting due to the scope and brightness of the bulb

 

LED

The crème-de-la-crème of the lighting world, LED is now widely available technology. It completely blows the previous lights out of the yard by featuring long life spans (most LED lights last up to 10 years!) and low energy use. Out of the three, LED outdoor lighting is definitely the fastest growing light technology and now that they are becoming more and more available, you’re almost certain to find something in your price range. They boast bright lights without the heat emissions and they don’t rack up your electricity bill to maintain that brightness. LED bulbs virtually never burn out. Because they are so energy efficient they are often times the bulb of choice in solar lights. On top of that, because the technology and bulb brightness has improved, they can be used in a variety of lighting situations (lanterns, pathway lights, spotlights, etc.

 

What's Best for What?

Okay, so we’ve got spotlights, lanterns, garden lights, path lights, deck lights, pond lights…the list goes on. What you probably want to know is what application to use. As always, these things tend to vary case by case. Generally, pathways like the one leading to your front door should be lit by small points of semi-bright light. A series of LED path lights should do the trick. Just make sure they’re secure. Wouldn’t want one or two to come up missing. Want to bring attention to your beautiful garden that you’ve been working on all season? Shrubbery and flowerbeds can be easily be lit from below with spotlights or well lights. Ornamental lights also could be used, adding a touch of class to your garden. Got a bust of David you’ve been dying to show off or some other statue or fountain? Choose a nice adjustable spotlight or floodlight to accentuate your art. The key is to know what your focal point is or intended goal and then you can make the appropriate selection.

 

Styles and Finishes

Finally, you determined what type of light you need/ want, but now you have to decide which styles best match your décor. Taste is innate and no guide can tell you what looks best on your property. Selecting the proper style, whether modern or colonial, rests totally with you. The best approach is to evaluate your entire light needs so you can be sure that no matter the type of lights you need, you can select lights that have matching styles so your entire landscape can have a uniform look and you can avoid a lighting system with varying finishes and styles that may not mesh once they are all in place.