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Installing Low Voltage Outdoor Lights Is A SnapBy Jim Sulski Summary: There are many beautiful outdoor lights on the market but who wants to hire an electrician? Luckily, many of the low voltage systems are easy for a homeowner to install. Jim gives you all the facts. Anyone who has ever installed a light fixture inside a home knows that it
can be a fairly complicated job, requiring comprehensive tools and usually the
expertise of an electrician. Outdoor lighting, particularly low-voltage and solar-power lights, is a different story. In some cases, installation of such systems is as simple as pushing a stake into the lawn. And usually, the systems are much less expensive to buy than a standard 120-volt system. And they also cost less to run. What makes low-voltage systems accessible to the do-it-yourselfer is the fact that 120 volt household current is diminished to just 12 volts of power. Such power is not only harmless, but faces no municipality code requirements. Hence, there is no need for an electrician and no concerns about electric shocks. In fact, these products are geared to be installed by the home improver. There is no need for the standard electrical components of conduit pipe or circuit breakers. Just some time and a few simple tools is all you need. Outdoor solar light systems are even simpler, and work much like a flashlight with sun-energized batteries powering the small lights. While both systems are easy to install and operate, they will not provide glaring illumination to a home's exterior. Low-voltage lights were never meant to be bright enough to play basketball by. But they do offer security and safety. You can use them to light up a walkway enough to prevent any mishaps. And they will also provide enough light in an area to discourage intruders. But keep in mind they are meant to offer mostly an aesthetic touch. Because of their simplicity and inexpensiveness, they're a great way to enhance a yard's landscaping. You can easily experiment with them to create all sorts of ambiance, from illuminating trees to creating dramatic effects on walls or decks. Both low-voltage and solar-powered outdoor light systems feature a number of types of light fixtures. For example, walkway lights will throw a small circle of light that can be widened or lessened by changing the height of the light. They are used for both ambiance and for safety and security reasons. Prismatic, mushroom and tier lights each offer a different type of walkway lighting effect. Floodlights illuminate a large section of outdoor space, similar to a car headlight. Again, they are used for both ambiance and safety reasons. Well lights are cylinders buried in the ground that illuminate upwards. They are used usually to light up trees or gardens and offer little illumination for safety. Globe lights offer diffused illumination and are good for around pools, ponds and other recreation areas. Hanging fixtures are usually used only for decorative purposes and cast ambient light on a home's exterior. There are also colored filters to produce different effects on a light system. High efficiency bulbs can also greatly increase the amount of light. For example, two different single-lamp wall-mounted low-voltage systems available at the Earth Day Store feature high-efficiency fluorescent and high-pressure sodium bulbs. The fluorescent system has a 27-watt bulb that puts out the same amount of
light that's found in a 100-watt incandescent bulb. The high-pressure sodium
bulb is a 50-watt bulb that produces illumination equivalent to a 250-watt incandescent
bulb. © by Jim Sulski. All rights reserved. February 14, 2005. NOTE: This column is distributed by Real Estate Matters Syndicate, PO Box 366, Glencoe, Illinois, 60022. This column may not be resold, reprinted, resyndicated or redistributed without written permission from the publisher. © 2005 by Ilyce R. Glink. Distributed by Real Estate Matters Syndicate. |
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