Low voltage outdoor lighting is an easy to implement, safe and a low-cost way to light up your yard. In order to set up the system, you won’t even have to pay for an electrician, since most likely you will be able to set up your low voltage outdoor lighting on your own.

Low voltage outdoor lighting runs on a 12-volt current, which is achieved with the aid of a transformer, rendering the dangerous 110/120-volt current to a relatively safe 12-volt current. The electricity is transmitted through a special weather-resistant low voltage cable, which begins and ends at the transformer (creating a looped run).

There are several important advantages of the low voltage outdoor lighting setups, when compared to regular lighting:

1. Special kits allow any homeowner to set up their own low voltage outdoor lighting. The kits come with everything necessary for the set up, including cables, fixtures and the transformer. The only thing that is not included in the system is the light bulbs, which have to be purchased independently.

2. Low voltage outdoor lighting is a very low cost solution, since it can use light bulbs, starting at nearly 4 W. In addition to regular lamps, home owners may choose to use halogen or fluorescent lamps.

3. Some kits also come with special timers, which allow the homeowner to set his/her low voltage outdoor lighting system to go on and off each 4, 6 or 8 hours.

4. Low voltage outdoor lighting is very important for security. Many systems come with heat motion sensors, which would notify you about any intruders after dark.

5. Low voltage outdoor lighting setups are generally very easy to move around the garden, given that the wires of such setups do not have to be buried permanently into the ground.

6. There are different transformers available for the low voltage outdoor lighting systems. Transformers can range anywhere between 150-900 W. Specialists usually advise to purchase a more powerful transformer than what you currently need, in order to provide you with the possibility to expand your outdoor lighting system in the future.

7. In order to pick the correct cable for your low voltage outdoor lighting system, you would need to know the amount of watts that your system will require. The most common size wire is 12ga, which is capable of carrying 300 W. There also are 14 ga. and 16 ga. cables, which respectively can carry 200 W and 150 W.

8. There is a wide variety of schemes based on which you can build your low voltage outdoor lighting system, including in-ground fixtures, spotlights and deck lights for an ultimate convenience while walking in your garden at night.

9. The price of the low voltage outdoor lighting kits varies dramatically, starting from $15 and up to $300. The systems for $300, however, usually have a much higher quality and are much more environment-friendly.

10. It is very easy to calculate how many lamps you can use with any given transformer. For example, if the transformer is 300-watt, then you can have up to 30 garden lights with 10-watt bulbs. Just multiply the number of bulbs in your system by the bulb wattage to find out how many lamps you can use with a given transformer.

It is important to consider several things before starting to set up your low voltage outdoor lighting:

1. Always plug the transformer of your lighting system directly into the power outlet, without using an extension cord between the electrical outlet and the transformer.

2. The wires of the low voltage outdoor lighting system are more prone to damages if they’re not buried deeply in the ground.

3. When choosing a transformer for your system, try to make sure that the wattage of your transformer is not over one third of your system’s current wattage.

Low voltage outdoor lighting is a very cost-efficient and easy to assemble lighting system. A low voltage outdoor lighting system will make your landscape come to life also after dark, letting you enjoy your gorgeous landscaping even twice more.

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