Benefits of Outdoor LED Lighting
LED lighting provides the best performance and aesthetics.
There was a time when various technologies were vying to become the new standard for outdoor lighting. It’s now clear that LED lighting provides the best performance and aesthetics. The lamps themselves cost nominally more than halogen, but LED lighting makes the most sense both financially and aesthetically.
- Highest efficiency outdoor lights
- Longest life span
- Attractive color
- Consistent brightness
- No overheating your garden or plants
- Less attractive to insects
- Wide range of options for size and brightness
- Available for spotlights, path lights, wash lights, patio lights, and more
Warm, Attractive Landscape Lighting
If you were turned off by LED lights years ago, it’s time to take a fresh look. You’ve probably been admiring homes lit by LED lights without knowing it. Manufacturers have drastically improved the light quality and range of colors that outdoor LEDs can produce!
Hyatt Landscaping consults with our clients to get the aesthetics right. Whether you prefer bright white or a softer yellow color, we’ll find the right products and design your outdoor lighting to produce exactly the effects you want.
We have been serving property owners in Matthews, NC, and nearby areas since 1980.
Eco-Friendly Lighting in Charlotte
LED landscape lighting is the green way to illuminate your greenery. Each light uses about 25% as many watts as a comparable halogen light, which reduces your energy consumption by the same rate.
Energy Consumption
Another benefit to LED lighting is energy consumption. LED lamps allow you to utilize much less wattage for the same light output as halogen lamps. A 35 watt halogen MR-16 may be replaced with a 5 or 6 watt LED MR-16. You could use 2 watt LED bi-pins to replace 10 watt halogen bi-pins. The lower the total wattage for your system, the fewer kilowatt hours it will use over the life of the system. As you can see, it’s not uncommon to use 5 times less energy, which means it cost 5 times less to run! Depending on the size of your system, that could add up quickly.
Wiring for LED Lighting
As with any outdoor lighting, you’ll need to add low-voltage wiring for your LED lights. Hyatt Landscaping takes care of this process with minimal disruption to your landscaping.
LED lights require less wiring than other types of outdoor lamps, meaning there isn’t an extensive network of buried cables throughout your landscape. If you currently have halogen lights, we can easily retrofit with LEDs and even add more lights without having to increase the amount of wiring.
Simplified Voltage Distribution
Without getting too complicated, let’s look as how a low voltage landscape lighting system works. First and foremost, you need a transformer. This transformer will reduce the amount of voltage being sent to the fixtures. Most systems are 12 Volt systems, which means when you plug the transformer into a 120 volt outlet, it has to reduce the voltage down to accommodate the system’s 12 volt requirement. Now, because the fixtures are not all right beside the transformer, wire has to be run from the transformer to each fixture. This distance, along with the number of watts on that run, are used in determining how much voltage loss you’ll have at the light itself. Most transformers have various taps that put out anywhere from 11 to 15 Volts to accommodate for this voltage drop. These calculations are very important in halogen systems in order to ensure maximum lamp life and equal brightness throughout the system. As stated above, higher voltage means less lamp life…but it also means a brighter lamp. The recommended voltage at each light for a halogen lamp is between 10.8 and 11.5. Where 12 Volts would theoretically give you 100% bulb life and 100% brightness, the recommended range allows for a much longer lamp life without loosing too much in the way of brightness. This range for LED lamps is MUCH greater. They can operate anywhere from 10 to 18 Volts without sacrificing bulb life or a noticeable difference in brightness. In addition, the lower wattage on that run means that you’re loosing much less voltage anyhow. This allows you to put more lights on a run, use smaller gauge wire, and in the future you’re less likely to negatively effect the system by adding more lights.
LED Lamps Are Cost-Effective
Replacing older halogen lamps with LED lamps will reduce your monthly expenses, ultimately paying you back for the cost of the new lamps. Adding new outdoor lighting from scratch? Long life spans and low maintenance make LED lighting less costly to maintain than halogen.
Lamp Life and Replacement Cost
Typically, LED lamps cost 5 to 10 times more than a basic halogen lamp. Although they do cost more, the lifespan is approximately 8 to 10 times longer than halogen lamps.
After you consider the cost of replacing halogen lamps yearly (or more), and the time spent to do so, LED lamps become a very cost effective solution. While halogen lamps may need to be replaced yearly, LED’s may only need to be replaced every 10 years or so.
Another benefit of LED lamps is that they have a higher window for recommended voltage. Since halogens have a small window for recommended voltage, it is not unusual to see them burn out more rapidly once others have begun to go out. This is caused by the voltage being pushed to the remaining lights that did not burn out. A higher voltage will mean a decrease in lamp life.
The moral of the story is, if you choose to go with a halogen system, keep replacement bulbs handy and check the system regularly!
Choose Hyatt Landscaping for LED Landscape Lighting in Charlotte, NC
Our design team will consult with you to learn about your goals and vision, then create an artistic arrangement of landscape lighting to suit your needs. For example, uplighting showcases the home and large trees while downlighting helps with lighting walkways, boulders, and small shrubs. A combination of both will spark interest and light the property evenly. What’s more, we back our landscape lighting installations with a 3-year warranty. Don’t wait any longer. Call us today at (704) 888-5390 to schedule our landscape lighting service!