A lot of people turn to landscape lighting to improve the aesthetic appeal of their outside spaces. Well the good news is that most garden lighting is quite effortless to install and very secure. Even if you’re new to setting up lighting fixtures you should be able to put in most landscape lighting without much effort. In the following article I will show you some simple steps you can take to install your new lights.

There are three main elements to landscape lighting: the light fixtures, a transformer, and some low-voltage electric cable. Each is important and you can buy most at a hardware store. Before you do anything, you must verify the areas that you wish to illuminate and the result you would like to achieve. For all intents and purposes, we will assume you have done The preparation, shopped for Your light fixtures, and purchased the right size transformer to handle the cumulative electrical power of those fixtures.

The first thing you have to do is to lay out all your components. Arrange the path lights along the walkway you are lighting. Go around any tree or shrubs that are in the way when you string out the wire up to the transformer.Use fourteen guage cable for jobs totaling less than 200 watts, and twelve guage cable for systems that surpass two hundred watts. The lights are typically around 6-10 feet apart and your first light should be at least 10 feet from your transformer.

The second step is to dig your trench. Move the outdoor light fixtures away and, using a shovel, fold back a part of grass all along the path about twelve ins wide. Use the edge of the shovel to make a ditch about 3 ins deep where the wiring will rest. You may need to set anything heavy on the turf to keep it from moving back into the trench you are trying to make.

Sinking the cable is the 3rd step to putting in landscape lighting. You have to use the correct gauge of low voltage wire in order to ensure proper use. Always leave some slack in the wire before you place it into your freshly dug ditch.

The fourth step is to make holes for the fixtures. Set the outdoor lights in the grass in their right position, checking to make sure they are equally spaced. Also check to make sure that the head of the light fixture doesnt extend into the path so that they do not get disturbed when people are walking. Using a long steel punch or a screw driver, make a hole in the ground to accommodate the fixtures stake.

Wiring the lights in is the final step. All light fixtures are different but with most you just take the connector at the base of each light and slip it around the electrical wire until you hear a click. There are other ways to do this of course so check your light’s manual if you’re not sure.

And finally it’s time to enjoy the hard work. Anyone can enhance their night-time curb appeal with attractive, functional landscape lighting with a little hard work and advance preparation. low voltage lighting requires very little maintenance. Just remember to change the light bulbs shortly after they go out or you will shorten the life of the remainder of bulbs.