What you need to know

Designing and installing a low voltage landscape lighting system looks easy… buy some fixtures, some wire, a transformer and hook them up.  Unfortunately this is a recipe for frustration – you probably won’t be happy with the performance of the system. In addition, a poorly installed system will suffer the ravages of the Florida soil and climate resulting in whole strings of lights failing.  This information brochure will tell you what you need to know about landscape lighting so you can be sure your system will work properly and last 10 to 20 years.

Start with a well designed System

The design of a landscape lighting system is part art and part science.  It’s about understanding how much light is needed and determining where the focal points are. The choice of fixture, brightness, beam spread, placement position and angle for each and every light source are a critical foundation for any successful system. The correct location of the transformers, voltage taps used and wiring routes are vital to ensure every fixture operates properly.

Install it with close attention to detail

To create a lighting system that will remain trouble free for ten to twenty years requires good quality components and close attention to detail during the installation.  Nightscapers uses computer aided planning and installation techniques that go beyond typical industry practices to ensure your system operates perfectly night after night.  An example is the use of soldered joints for the main tee and branch connections.  Nightscapers takes this extra step tp completely eliminate one of the most troublesome problems of the system.  

Use components that are built to last

There is currently is a wide variety of landscape lighting components available to consumers.  The materials used and levels of quality vary considerably and the differences can significantly affect your systems long term operation and viability.  Be sure you choose components that are built to last, not those that are built to a price.

Construction materials

Landscape lighting fixtures today are made from a wide variety of materials including plastic, aluminum, copper, stainless steel or brass.  While plastic is used in the lowest cost multi-pack systems, aluminum is the most popular material today. 

Assuming all fixtures made from aluminum are created equal would be an error.  Lower cost fixtures are made from aluminum alloys that contain other metal to keep the cost of the material down.  This, however, makes it more difficult for the paint to stick to the surface of the fixture resulting in premature paint peeling and chipping, which then allows the soil to corrode the unprotected aluminum itself. 

Better quality aluminum fixtures are made from a higher grade/purer (also called marine-grade) aluminum to eliminate the paint adhesion problem.  Higher quality fixtures are generally made from brass, copper or occasionally stainless steel.  Nightscapers recommends brass fixtures for all installations.

Paint

The paint on lower cost fixtures is simply sprayed onto the fixture and can easily be chipped or scratched.  Higher quality fixtures use an electrostatic powder-coating process which is then baked onto the fixture in an oven.  This process produces a significantly more durable finish that is practically chip and scratch proof. Brass fixtures are not painted so there is no peeling possible.  They also generally have been pretreated with a bronze coating to eliminate the patina stage.

Trapping water

When light fixtures are pointed upwards to illuminate trees they are prone to water buildup on the lens.  When the water comes from a well or lake fed sprinkler system, the water can contain minerals that will deposit on the lens when the water evaporates in the heat of the day.  One popular low cost fixture allows up to ½” of water to become trapped on the lens; in less than two weeks the lens becomes opaque with mineral deposits.  It is therefore important to choose fixtures that do not allow any water to become trapped on the lens.

Lens

The lens on low cost fixtures is typically window glass.  High quality fixtures will employ soda-lime glass which is used in industrial applications for sight-glasses where a clear unobstructed view is required. 

Soda-lime glass is much smoother that window glass so it helps prevent deposit build-up.  It is also much easier to clean the soda-glass glass lens. Mineral deposits on window glass are very difficult to remove without scrubbing and thereby scratching the glass.

Transformers

The transformer is the heart of a low voltage lighting system.  It converts the 120V house current into the safe low voltage to power the lighting fixtures. There is a wide choice of transformers available but some are more set-it-and-forget-it than others.  Time clocks without battery backup need to be avoided since they will need adjusting after power outages.

Photocells will turn on at dark and off at light. Additionally, there are now many options permitting control of the system from your phone. 

It is very important is to use a multi-tap or multi-voltage transformer for your system.  This allows the designer and installer to ensure that each and every fixture gets the proper volts needed for the long life of the system bulbs.  A lower cost single tap transformer (that only puts out 12V) will almost certainly not allow the correct working voltage for every fixture.

Connections — The single most important installation detail

The cause of most system failures is a connection problem. The corrosive south Florida soil/moisture works its way into lower quality connections and starts to corrode the copper wiring. The repair task can be difficult since the connections are buried underground, so finding the problem can be time consuming and disruptive to your landscaping. Alligator clamp on connections are the worst type of connection since there is no moisture protection – they are not impregnated with a sealer so they offer no protection from the soil, and hence they should be avoided at all costs.

Nightscapers solders all tee and branch connections for durability.  The solder protects the wire from the corrosion and ensures the electrical connection remains strong.  The joint is then sealed to keep the water out.  This process takes considerably longer than using other methods, but ensures your system will be trouble free for many years.

Low (12V) Voltage Systems vs. High (120V) Voltage Systems

Low-voltage landscape lighting systems using modern technology are displacing the traditional high-voltage landscape lighting systems in most residential and commercial applications.  The primary reasons for this change are:

1.  Low-voltage systems provide superior light control through a wider variety of fixture options, brightness levels and beam spreads

2.  Low-voltage systems offer significantly lower operating costs as less light is wasted on the sky.

3.  Low-voltage systems do not suffer from moisture ingress problems that can plague high-voltage systems causing shutdowns.

4.  Low-voltage systems are inherently safer requiring a much less invasive installation which also results in substantial savings in cost.

There are no situations that a low-voltage system cannot handle.  They do have the necessary power to successfully compete with high-voltage systems and typically accomplish the task using 1/3rd less electricity and at a much lower installation cost.  LED lighting systems use 75% less energy.