How to Wire for Landscape Lighting

Many people spend thousands of dollars creating beautifully landscaped garden areas around their homes that disappear when the sun goes down. You can extend the beauty and usefulness of your landscaping by providing proper lighting at night. By far the most popular method of lighting landscapes uses a low, 12-volt wire to deliver power to the lights on the property. With the proper plan, most people can light their landscapes in 1 or 2 days. The final results of lighting your landscape will impress the neighbors--and you don't have to tell them how easy it is!

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Shovel
• Screwdrivers
• Pliers
• Wire cutters
• Sharp knife
• Wire strippers
• Hammer
• Drill
• Saw
• Electrical tape
• Light fixtures
• 12-volt wire
• Power transformer(s)
• Measuring tape
• Notepad and pen
• Marked underground lines

1. Map out your landscape with measurements to figure out how much wire you will need. Draw your power line on the map and determine if you will run a single line, a dual line for more lights or a looped line (to light around an object such as a pool). The wattage requirements of the line determine how many lights can go on each line.
2. Purchase all of the light fixtures and slightly more wire than needed.
3. Turn off the power to your outside electrical sockets via the breaker panel.
4. Install the transformer(s) 12 inches above the ground with cable terminals pointing towards the ground. You can install the transformers on a wall, a post or other object near the electrical outlet.
5. Connect the low-voltage wire for the first section of the landscape lighting to the transformer.
6. Get out all of the lights for the first section, assemble the lights and place them in the proper location according to your diagram.
7. Run the cable along the top of the ground to the lights, allowing some slack in the line.
8. Attach the stakes and other mounting systems to the lights and place the lights in their proper positions. Hand-tighten the screws for the initial light setup.
9. Attach the power supply to the various lights. If you position a light in the wrong area and need to move it, wrap electrical tape around the wire where the light was connected.
10. Turn the power on to the electrical outlet and the transformer to make sure all of the lights are working properly.
11. Bury the cable under mulch, ground cover and/or by digging a channel for the power cable to lay under the grass.
12. Adjust the landscape lighting at dusk to fine-tune the positioning of the lights. Use the screwdriver to tighten position-holding screws in place.

Tips & Warnings

• Call 811 to inform the utility companies you will dig on your property so that they can mark important underground lines on your property. You may need to call as much as a week in advance of the project.
• Cable length impacts the effective delivery of power to your lights. Find the requirements in the paperwork with the transformer(s) you buy.
• Don't rush through the process. It is better to get the lights set up properly the first time than dig up the wire and make adjustments.

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