How to Hook Up Low Voltage Outdoor Lighting

Low voltage lighting provides a do-it-yourself solution to outdoor lighting projects.

Outdoor lighting provides stunning landscaping accents and safety to otherwise poorly lit walkways. Low voltage lighting is an inexpensive and easy-to-install solution to your outdoor lighting needs. You can purchase low voltage lighting in kits or in individual components. Customize outdoor lighting to be dramatic by using it to light flowers and plants or make it functional by using it to light the way through your outdoor space.

Things You'll Need

• Drill
• Drill bits
• Screwdriver
• Shovel
• Wood screws
• Masonry anchors and screws (for brick or masonry sided homes)
• Low voltage lighting
• Low voltage cabling
• Transformer for low voltage lighting with enough power to run all of your lights
• Wire strippers
• Plastic outdoor outlet cover

Instructions

1. Find a location near an outdoor Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (CFGI) outlet to mount your transformer.

2. Assemble the lights. This usually consists of snapping the socket into place in the bottom of the lamp cover.

3. Place the lights in the general vicinity of where you would like them and lay the cable out from light to light starting with the farthest light out and making your back to where the transformer will be mounted.

4. Dig a 6-inch deep trench alongside the cable. You will run the cable in this trench and bury it when you have completed the installation.

5. Connect the lights to the cable by snapping the connector together over the cable.

6. Strip the cable's ends and wire it up to the transformer by screwing the bare copper ends to the terminal leads on the transformer.

7. Mount the transformer. Transformers typically have a mounting sling or mounting holes. Using a wood screw, attach the transformer to the siding near the power outlet. For brick or masonry siding, use a masonry bit and pre-drill holes in the masonry, put an anchor in the hole and secure the transformer with an anchor screw.

8. Plug the transformer in and check each light to make sure it is working. If the lights get significantly dim towards the end of the cable run, your transformer is underpowered and will need to be replaced with a more powerful one.

9. Once all the lights are working, bury the cable in the trench and install a plastic outdoor outlet cover on the outdoor outlet.

Resources

• The Home Depot: Installing Low-Voltage Lighting