Installing an outdoor garden light system by yourself is an exciting endeavor. It takes some work to get the whole process done, but your reward is a more beautiful, useful, and safer landscape around your home. If you’re thinking about installing a lighting system of your own, the first thing that you need to do, in addition to searching out some light fixtures you think might work in your yard, is to decide where you want to place them. However, most homeowners will make one or more mistakes that might leave them cursing themselves for installing the lights in the first place. Make sure that you get the most out of your garden lights and avoid these simple, yet common mistakes.
Mistake #1: Not Enough Sun
This mistake pertains exclusively to solar garden lighting, which has become increasingly popular in recent years. Many people install solar lights, and then sit back and wonder why even quality lights don’t work as well as they were advertised. Unfortunately, in most cases the fault completely lies with them.
Outdoor solar garden lights need direct sunlight for the majority of the day in order to work correctly. Even the highest quality lights won’t work well if they don’t get the lighting that they need. Most people will understand this and not place the lights in direct shade, however they won’t take into account that shadows move throughout the day. While the perfect spot for a solar spot light may be in direct sunlight in the morning, its entirely possible that in the afternoon, and the sun and shadows move it will be in the shade. The shade might even move as the seasons move, meaning the light fixture could be in the sun in the summer but not in direct sunlight during the winter. Make sure to keep this in mind when installing your lights.
#2: Can’t Mow the Lawn
One thing many people don’t keep in mind when they install their lights is how they’re going to mow their lawn once the lights are installed. Installing staked lights around the base of a tree may look impressive at night, but make sure that you’re ready to deal with them when you have to mow your lawn during the summer. If you don’t you’ll end up cursing while you either knock them over with your mower or have to break out a weedwacker every time you mow to get the grass around the fixtures.
Make sure you also keep where the wires you’re installing are when thinking about the mow-ability of your lawn as well. Don’t place the wires in areas where your mower can easily hit them or you’ll end up with an expensive replacement project.
Well Designed Garden Lighting
#3: Poor Power Source Placement
Another common reason for ineffectual do-it-yourself outdoor garden lighting is poor placement of the transformer low voltage lighting requires. For some homes, the transformer can be placed in an acceptable location, either under the deck or in a shed that’s close to the light fixtures. However, in other homes these locations are too far away from the lights. The major weakness of low voltage lighting is that because the voltage is so low, it drops very easily, meaning that the longer wires that you run, the weaker the lights will be at the end of the run. If you don’t rectify this, your lights are left dim and ineffectual.
Plan ahead for this by measuring out how long the wires are that you need to run to your light fixtures. If its too long, you have two options. Buy a transformer that’s capable of running a slightly higher voltage level or call a professional electrician to install a transformer closer to where your lights will be.
#4: All Tied Up
A problem that contributes to poor power source placement is placing light fixtures when planning your outdoor garden lights, but not planning where the wires will run. Will they be too long so that the lights are the end are going to be too dim? How many fixtures will be on one circuit and can your transformer handle the amount of stress being placed on it? Can you run the wires in a way that they’re not really seen and won’t be a trip hazard?
These are all questions that you need to ask yourself before you install a lighting system. Failure to answer them could mean that you have to redo all of your well laid-out lighting plans.
#5: Annoying Lights
Finally, always make sure that your lights aren’t going to be getting in the way of any activities. Your yard and garden shouldn’t just be a place to look at, you should also be able to use it for a wide variety of activities, especially if you have children. One major problem is that most people don’t consider this when the lay out their lighting patterns. This places lights in areas where they get in the way of kids playing, backyard volleyball games, or other activities.
Outdoor garden light is a great way to spruce up your lawn and landscape. If you make sure to avoid these five common mistakes, you’ll be installing a system that will have minimal upkeep and keep you happy for years to come.
