Tips For Installation Of Your Outdoor Landscaping Lighting
Outdoor lighting on your home adds a big improvement to your home's appearance as well as extra security. Before you add an exterior lighting system, be sure to research all the various types of lighting and recommendations for great installation. Here are some tips to help you select and install the proper lighting for your outdoor lighting project.
Choose the Lighting Styles
There are many types and styles of outdoor lighting that you can add to your home's exterior and landscaping. Each type of lighting style will accentuate your home or the nearby vegetation in a different manner. For example, you can choose garden lights that sit just above your ground vegetation and illuminate the area. Or you can install well or down lighting that will sit at the base of a tree and shine upward or sit upon the top of the tree and shine downward, respectively. Also consider lighting that will illuminate the exterior of your home in flood lighting, bullet, or wash lights.
Set Up Your Lighting Foundation
When you are planning to install outdoor lighting in your landscaping, you need to set up an electrical system that connects to your home's electricity supply. And to do this, you will need to install an exterior transformer to feed your outdoor lighting supply a lower wattage supply. Your outdoor transformer should provide a specific watt supply for your outdoor lights, such as 12 watts. You don't need to supply your outdoor lighting the full 120 volts that your home interior has because the outdoor lights don't need the full amount and it can cause overload to your lighting system. Be sure to calculate this need based on the number and types of lights you will add to your outdoor lighting.
You can also install an outdoor electrical receptacle to plug your outdoor lighting or your transformer into. Make sure the outlet is GFCI-protected and properly wired into your home. It is a good idea to hire an electrician to complete this part of the installation to make sure it is connected properly and to code. If you want to complete some of the project yourself, you can dig the trenches for your underground conduit cable for the electrical lines to the connected GFCI-protected outlet and install the wiring.
Another detail to decide on is the type of controller for your outdoor light. Many homeowners will connect their lighting to a programmable timer, which will switch the lights on in the evening and off again before sunrise. Just be sure to adjust the lighting changes to the seasons and time change in the spring and fall. You may want to add smart lighting that you can control from your smartphone or device. Using a smart control can allow you to manage your lighting when you are away from home.
Contact a company that offers garden lighting solutions to learn more.
