How to Buy LED Landscape Lighting

Even though the first light emitting diode (LED) was created in Russia in the mid-1920s, the first visible light from an LED was not invented until 1962. In 1996, the development of the white LED led to much wider usage for these bright lights. Many people buy LED landscape lighting because it uses very little energy, is environmentally friendly, has long life and provides pure light. All of the solar-powered landscape lights available on the market use LED lights.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Paper and pen

1. Determine which kind of LED lights you want to use: solar-powered or 12-volt-powered lights. Solar lights have no cost of operation, but 12-volt lights can be more dependable.

2. Inspect the garden, walkways and other areas you plan to light and think about what kind of lighting effects you want to create. Stroll through your neighborhood or leaf through a landscape magazine for inspiration.

3. Use spotlights to draw attention to trees or flowers and to create silhouette effects that cast light behind the object. Choose "up lights" at the base of walls, trees and other objects for a dramatic lighting effect. Choose "down lights" to illuminate wide areas and walkways and to increase security.

4. Decide which theme or style of light fixture will complement each area of your landscape. The style of your home should influence your choice. For instance, a Craftsman home may look just right with Arts and Crafts-style lighting, whereas a Victorian-style home will look better with more ornate, antique-style lighting.

5. Look for areas where you may want to use colored LED lights to add a different feel to the landscaping.

6. Buy LED lights with one or two diodes for a light glow or more diodes for brighter lights.

Tips & Warnings

• If you buy LED landscape lighting that uses a 12-volt wire, you will need to map out where you will dig to place the line. Call 811 before you dig any lines to have the utility company mark important lines on your property.

• Write everything down as you plan your lighting effects so that you can keep track of how many LED lights you will need to buy.

• Prioritize the areas of your landscape you want to light first to purchase lighting in stages as you can afford it.

• Lights placed at the bottom of trees, walls and other objects can be in rather plain fixtures, as they will be essentially invisible to passersby.

• LED landscape lighting can last up to 25 years. The lights will fade after many years of use and then quit working altogether.

• Prepare to pay more to buy LED landscape lighting, but know that the savings over the lifetime of the LED lights will more than make up for the difference in cost.

• LED landscape lights are relatively new, so the number of different styles is somewhat limited.