Outdoor Lighting: Brighten the Night

Hardwire outdoor lighting is one of two ways to efficiently brighten the night; the other being solar lighting. Conventional outdoor lighting is more material and labor-intensive, and thus more costly, but it may be the only option for your residence or business location. If your home is sited such that the areas requiring illumination do not have sufficient (8-10 hours of direct sunlight each day) solar access, you're a prime candidate for hardwired lighting.

Look below the jump for some basic information on outdoor lighting.

Outdoor lighting will generally satisfy any basic security or aesthetic needs you may have. You may use either 110 volt ac or 12v dc power to run the lighting; more often than not, the ac power option is the way to go with commercial properties, but 12 dc is great for home use. The best part is that the low-voltage equipment is really easy to install, making it ideal for a homeowner. No need for a commercial contractor for this project. You can install the underground wiring with a shovel. Sweet.

For a low-voltage system you need, starting geographically from your home, an electrical outlet -- you probably have one of those -- a transformer to modify the house electrical power to 12 volt dc , the low-voltage wiring, and the lamps. You can buy these all separately or you can purchase a low voltage light kit, but keep in mind that a kit will not likely allow you to install a fair amount of lamps, as the included transformer doesn't have the necessary wattage.

The transformer -- generally available, for the residential market, in 300 or 600 watt sizes. Larger wattages are available but they are for installations that are not really DIY-friendly.

The direct bury wiring -- comes in various lengths, but you should look for at least a 100' roll for your home. You'd be surprised how quickly you eat up the wire, once you start laying out your lights. It is usually available in 10 to 16 gauge size -- remember, the smaller the number, the bigger the wire -- and the more lamps on a line, the bigger the wire size required.

The lights (or lamps) -- wow; a huge variety of sizes and shapes that are suitable for spotlighting, floodlighting, back lighting, or walkways. The usual size ranges from 20 to 30 watts, so for a 300 watt transformer and 20 watt lamps, you can install about 15 of the lights.

Those are the basics of a hardwired, low-voltage outdoor lighting system. The installation is very simple; do your research on wire sizes and lamps, and you can easily get started.