Low voltage outdoor lighting is a secure, affordable and easy way to implement an outdoor lighting option. Most homeowners can light up their yard with a low voltage outdoor lighting doing it themselves, without even having to pay for an electrician.

Low voltage outdoor lighting uses a current, which is 10 times less potent than regular electric current. This low voltage lighting uses a 12 V current when regular current is 120 V. This naturally renders this type of lighting 10 times safer. Electric runs through a specific water proof cable, which creates a loop around the transformer, lighting up the garden.

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

1. It is very easy to set up your own low voltage outdoor lighting. The system usually comes in kits, which include everything needed to assemble the lighting (the transformer, cables and fixtures). You would just have to buy the bulbs with a preferred wattage.

2. Low voltage outdoor lighting helps you to save money on the electric. The bulbs used for the lighting may be 4 W light bulbs. There are also available fluorescent lamps and fluorescent lamps, the latter being currently the most cost-efficient.

3. Most of the low voltage outdoor lighting kits also come with a built-in timer allowing the owner to set it to come on and off every 4, 6, or 8 hours etc., as well as many kits come with a built-in photocell, capable of turning the lighting on and off according to whether there is sun or there isn’t.

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. It is extremely easy to relocate your low voltage outdoor lighting system since its wires have to be just slightly immersed under the ground, instead of being buried deeply and permanently.

6. It is usually recommended to purchase a transformer for your low voltage outdoor lighting setup, which somewhat exceeds the current needs of your lighting system. This will allow you to expand your system in the future as well as to start using lamps with more wattage.

7. When picking the low voltage outdoor lighting cable, keep in mind the wattage required for the system to operate. Most popular sizes of the cables for the low voltage outdoor lighting include 12, 14 and 16 ga. cables. These cables, respectively, carry 300 W, 200 W and 150 W. The most common size of the cable is 12 ga.

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 most affordable low voltage outdoor lighting systems may cost as little as $15. However, better quality systems may cost up to $300.

10. In order to find out how many lamps can be used with any given transformer, you would simply have to multiply the total number of light bulbs in your low voltage outdoor lighting system by the total wattage. For instance, if your transformer is 150 W, you can use 30 lights by 5 W each in your setup.

Before starting to bring about your low voltage outdoor lighting set up, please consider the following:

1. Always remember to plug the transformer directly into the outlet, and not through an extension cord.

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. The extra wattage of the transformer should not exceed one-third of the total needs of the system.

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.