How to Install Low-Voltage Outdoor Lighting

Ron's mobile workshop heads down the Florida coast to St. Augustine, North America's oldest community settled by Europeans. In the cool, wooded suburbs Ron meets Louie Bartoletti, a golf course designer who spends much of his time creating some of America's most challenging fairways. Louie has asked Ron to help him with an outdoor lighting project. The two of them figure out what they will need for the project and then they get to work.

1. Survey of lighting needs:

• Ron encouraged Louie to think about safety as a priority in determining the necessary areas to light. There were a couple of small steps along the pathway leading to the back deck that were certainly potential trouble areas. It was important to incorporate these trouble spots into their overall plan for lighting the pathway.

• There were several impressive trees in the center of the deck that Louie also wanted to illuminate with a ground light shooting upward. Lighting trees is especially effective because it looks attractive and dramatic even from inside the house.

2. Drawing of area to be lighted:

• After the walk-about survey, Ron and Louie sat down to draw out the deck and pathway area. From this sketch they were able to determine how many fixtures and how much wiring was needed to complete the project.

• They took their drawing to the home improvement center and purchased everything they needed for the job.

• The fixtures Louie picked out to go along the pathway were aluminum, would never rust, and were very easy to assemble from just 3 pieces with everything held firmly in place with two set screws.

3. Positioning and installation of various fixtures:

• They began positioning the lights along the pathway, remembering that their first priority was to make the pathway and steps visible at night.

• With safety as a major concern, they tried to space the lights evenly while also providing illumination from the top of the walkway all the way down to the bottom.

• Next, Ron used 3-tiered pagoda style fixtures, which are perfect for placing along the edge of a hedge or on a small landing. The fins surrounding these fixtures cast the light downward into soft pools on the ground.

• Another type of lighting used for this project was the spotlight. These lights have a directional beam and they're designed to highlight things like trees, plants and architectural details. Ron used a 50-watt spotlight as well as a 20-watt version. Some styles come with stakes that can be driven right into the ground and some come with a mounting plate so that the light can be attached to just about any surface with screws. Ron used this style spotlight by concealing it underneath the deck and then attaching it to the joist from below.

• A third type of spotlight that Ron and Louie selected was called an underground up-light, which required a hole to be dug into the ground. They poured in about 4 inches of gravel to help with drainage, then inserted the light, making sure that it was aimed up at the trunk illuminating the canopy above. They filled in the hole, leaving only the wire connector exposed.

• The last type of fixture used on this project was a surface mounted deck light. Several of these were attached right on the railing of the deck itself. After arranging these lights to get a visual idea of where they should go, they were attached easily with just two wood screws.

• A weather resistant cable especially made for underground use carried the low voltage power for these lights. Each light fixture attached to the cable with a simple screw-on connector.

• Ron used a flat garden spade to bury the cable. They pushed the spade into the ground at a forty-five degree angle, then raised the spade handle until it was nearly vertical. This created a v-shaped trench into which the cable was then placed.

• After the lights and wires were all in position they were finally ready to connect to a source of power. Ron installed a transformer, which reduces the normal household voltage of 120 volts down to 12 volts. It is the transformer that makes this system so safe. The transformer also served as the control center for the outdoor lighting system. From there you could either turn the lights on and off manually, or set them to come on and off automatically.