73% of Visitors Found the Low Voltage Transformer They Wanted Here

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In a nutshell, a low voltage transformer turns the light from the standard 120v current that runs into your house into a safe, shock-free 12 or 24 volt current.  This makes it easy to install lights anywhere around you home.  You won’t have to hire an electrician, dig big trenches beneath your lawn, or do anything else that you may have heard await outdoor lighting installation.  Best of all, low voltage lighting transformers are cheap, so you won’t break the bank installing them either!  For more information, check out a few of the most popular models to the left or read on about where and how to install them.

Where is it Safe to Use A Low Voltage Transformer?

Essentially, you can use a low voltage transformer anywhere inside or outside your home if you want hook up a low voltage lighting system.  These lights can be used for anything from outdoor accent lighting to security lighting.  You can even use them around pools and ponds and they will still be shock free because the electricity running through the wires is low enough not cause any harm.  However, while the wires coming out of the transformer are shock free, the transformer itself still has a 120v wire running into it so make sure this is in a place where it’s not going to be in the way.

Some places that you can use low voltage lighting include:

• Walkways
• Steps
• Driveway Lights
• Decks or Patios
• Trees, flowerbeds, and shrubs
• Pools and ponds

Finding and Installing the Right Low Voltage Lighting Transformers

If you want to use low voltage lighting in your landscape, the first thing that you have to do is make sure that you find the right landscape lighting transformer.  This can seem a little tricky to the novice, is really quite simple once you catch on.  The first thing that you have to do is add up the wattage of all the lights you plan on lighting with the transformer.  Then, add 25 percent more to this number to account for voltage drop from the line and you should have the amount of wattage that you need your transformer to be.

As an example, assume you have five 12 watt lights that you want to connect to a low voltage landscape lighting transformer.  Add the wattage of the five lights together and you have sixty watts.  Add 25 percent more to this number (60*.25 = 15, then 15+60 = 75) and you have 75 total watts.  Once you have this number you know you need a transformer that can handle at least 75 watts.

Once you pick you transformer, you need to install it.  While these systems are usually shock-proof and easy to install there are a few common sense things that you need to do to make sure that you get the most out of your lights.  First, never place the transformer or powerpack somewhere where it will be sitting in standing water for lengthy periods of time.  These transformers are still have to sustain water damage if they spend too much time dunked, so try to place them up out of the ground, either on the side of your house or a post in a discrete location to hide them.

It’s also a good idea to still place the cables that you run under a small amount of soil.  This will help prevent them from weathering so you won’t have to replace them as soon and you will also remove a trip hazard.  The cables may be shock-proof, but a wayward step can still bring your transformer and all your lights tumbling down.

And finally, always remember that voltage drop in low voltage systems is much more noticeable than in standard voltage systems so try to make sure that you place the transformer as close to the lights you’re placing as you possibly can without putting it in a bad location.

Low voltage lighting transformers give you a great way to add some light and sophistication to your landscape without breaking the budget as long as you install them right.  Check out some of these bestsellers to get started with installing your own transformer.

One of the biggest hassles in installing low voltage garden lights is running the actual cords.  It lies somewhere between a science and an art as you try to run the cables with the right voltage from your transformer while at the same time trying to hide the cords and light install the light fixtures in the areas you want them.  There are many different ways to run these cords and most of the installation can be done on your own, however there are some parts of it, notably installing the high voltage cords that connect your transformer to the power grid that should not be done on your own.

The most important thing that you need to take into account when you are trying to figure out how to run cord for outdoor landscape lighting is the power of your transformer.  The power of your transformer will determine the length of the cord that you can run and how many bulbs you can place on the cord.  It’s important you work this out in any garden lighting plans you have before you buy and install the transformer.  For example, if you are installing four fifteen watt lights you’ll have a total of 100 watts on your line, and you’ll want a transformer that supplies more power than this.  Be careful not to buy too big of a transformer however.  You can run the risk of supplying too much power to your lights and over-volting them, which results in them burning out much, much earlier.

After you’ve figured out how much total wattage you need your transformer to be, you also need to place the transformer and figure out how long you are going to run your cables.  Generally, you should try to run the least amount of power cord to the lights as possible because you lose power along the line the longer your cable gets.  If your cord is too long it can even result in the last light on the cord being very dim because it’s not getting enough power.  The more lights you place on a certain line, the less distance you will be able to actually run the cord as well.

What this amounts to is that you need to install your low voltage transformer in a central location to your lights.  Luckily today most transformers come in waterproofed boxes that allow you to install them in many different locations outside.  Unfortunately, this also requires running high voltage cable from your house or power line out to the transformer.  For this you need to nearly always consult a professional as it is very dangerous and involves a large amount of electricity.  If not done right, the high voltage cable can be a serious shock hazard.

Finally, when you actually get to running your garden lights you should try to hide them as much as you can.  This is easy in many places because the cables can be hidden under mulch, earth, and other plants or trees.  Hiding the cables accomplishes several things.  It removes a trip hazard for people and also protects your lights from getting yanked from their fixtures if the person to trips yanks the cord hard enough.  It also makes your garden lights look better in general and removes a shock hazard, even if it is very small to start out with.  You also protect the cords from the elements, pets, other animals, and your lawnmower, which lengthens their life and makes sure you have to replace them less often.

Find the best way to run cords for garden lights seems easy on paper, but the technical aspects present a larger problem.  In order to run your cords correctly, you need to estimate the wattage of the bulbs you want connected, buy the right transformer, place it in the right location, and run the cords in lower trafficked area.  It may be difficult, but the payoff you get when you garden is beautifully lit night after night is worth it.

If you live in Arizona, you can find Pheonix landscaping companies near you.

There are many advantages to installing low voltage lighting in your yard over installing solar lights. You will have access to a greater range of light fixtures because they don’t have to contain a solar panel. You will also be able to place these fixtures wherever you want because you won’t have to worry about the fixture getting direct sunlight. However, low-voltage systems also come with significant setup costs and part of this setup cost is installing a landscape lighting transformer. These transformers can be bought online for fairly cheap but make sure you’ve done all the proper research and know which one you want first.

Low Voltage Transformer Basics

The lighting transformer is going to be the single largest investment you make into your lighting system. You can expect the costs per light fixture to be about the same as those as if you were installing solar garden lights. On top of this you must budget around two hundred dollars for a transformer and the more money depending on the amount of wiring that you need to run.

The high cost is because the landscape lighting transformer plays a vital role in powering your garden lights. It steps down the power from the deadly 120 volts that comes in off of a normal power line into your house to a much safer 12 to 22 volts. This ensures that you don’t have to bury cables far underground and removes almost any shock hazard from the power chords if they have to be run out in the open.

Placing the Transformer

You are going to want to place your low voltage transformer in the most central location you can find in your yard. Make sure it is safe, out of the way, and has easy access to your home power. A shed that has already been hooked up with lights is ideal for this. With a normal transformer outputting 12 volts, you can run about fifteen feet of cable per wire from your transformer. If you need to run more cable than this, you should buy what is known as a multi-tap transformer. These let you increase the voltage up to 22 volts, giving you several hundred feet of cable that you can work with.

The transformer is the most important part of your low voltage lighting system. Make sure that you plan out your lighting design first so that you know which model you need to buy and how many volts you need it to output. Once you’ve done this and found a safe place to install the transformer, make sure to buy a quality model because it’s what the rest of your outdoor landscape lighting system depends on!

One of the necessary finishing touches to any well maintained property is the use of outdoor landscape lighting fixtures. Landscape lighting increases the visual appeal of your house and the functionality of much of your land and it brings your property value along for the ride as well. Designing lights that will take both you and your neighbor’s breath away on a nightly basis is not hard. You just need the proper planning and installation to get it done right.

Decide On Your Outdoor Landscape Lighting Theme and Fixtures

When it’s viewed at night without any lights, your landscape is almost like a blank canvas that you can draw anything on. The first thing you must figure out is what type of mood you would like to set with your outdoor landscape lighting. To do this, take a walk around your property and night and try to figure out what you could be doing after dark and what you would like you and other people around to feel like while they’re doing it. Maybe you want your deck to have an island theme for when you have cookouts or maybe you want to give some of the trees a spooky, almost surreal feel with long shadows. Let your imagination run wild with the possibilities.

While you’re doing this avoid the mistake many homeowners make and try to only choose one theme to light your house in. One theme will give everything a consistent feel that can be built on, but if you try to mash together too many themes in a tiny area, you will end up with no theme at all and just a lot of tacky lights. Pick something and stay with it. If you want to go to a different style, you can always change lights out later.

After you’ve decided what general theme you want to employ, its time to decide on the different outdoor landscape lights and lighting methods you would like to employ. Start first with how you would like to light the paths on your property; these can range from driveways to actual walking paths through your garden. These are the easiest lights to decide on and so should give you a great starting point. After you’ve decided on your path lighting style, try to decide how you would like the entrances to your house lit. After the entrances, move to deciding the lighting style for the large objects in your landscape, such as large trees, shrubs, pools, and facades. Finally, figure out the accent lighting for smaller areas and objects on your property. Start with the easiest and largest things to light and work your way down.

While you are doing this, it might help to either sketch out a picture of your landscape and draw in the lights, or if you’re really talented, take a picture use a computer program such as Photoshop to do much the same thing. This will help you get a better overall picture of how your landscape will end up looking once the lights are installed.

Things to Keep In Mind While Designing the Lights

While you’re trying to sketch out the lights you would like to use on your property, try to have a specific task in for each bulb you are trying to place. Are you place lights here for security or are they just to make sure people aren’t tripping over the stairs? Different tasks will need different bulbs and different features to accomplish what you hope them to.

If you are aiming for accent lighting your garden while placing your outdoor landscape lights, try to create some dramatic touches if possible. Do this by playing with the different shadows that object throw off. Try moving lights around and placing them at different heights to give you different looks.

Finally, one other very important thing to keep in mind when planning your landscape lighting scheme is how far away your lights will ultimately be from the transformer if you are planning on using low voltage landscape lighting. You transformer will turn the normal 120 volt current electricity into 12 to 22 volt power that will not shock people out in your lawn. However, the downside to this that the further away from the transformer you run power cords, the dimmer your lights will be. This needs to be taken into consideration as well.

By using these design tips and other creative landscape lighting ideas, you will be well on your way to creating the outdoor landscape lighting that will be the envy of the entire neighborhood. Just make sure to do your research and start planning today!