There are some very practical reasons for outdoor lighting. A lot of entertaining happens in the evening and good lighting makes it a safer place to walk. But well placed outdoor lighting will also add a great atmospheric element to your garden so you can enjoy it long after the sun goes down.
A decent outdoor lighting set up doesn’t have to burn you in the pocket and you’ll be surprised how easy it is to put in. I’m going to show you how to plan and install lighting at your place.
Starting Off
Measure and draw your garden
Draw a plan to scale on graph paper. Include gardens, pathways, lawns, garden shed, pergolas, patios, driveways and any other structures you may have. Make sure you measure accurately as this will be how you work out the materials required.
Choose your lights
Pick the type of light that best suits your purpose.
Spotlights are used to feature objects in your garden.
Bollards are used along pathways or around patios.
Deck lights sit flush in decking or steps.
There are a number of styles also.
Once this is decided, add up the quantity of all the lights and note it down.
Choose your transformer
There are 3 types of transformer available. 22, 60 & 150 Watt. To calculate which one you need, add up the total wattage of all your lights.
For e.g. 2 x 20 Watt lights = 40 Watt
5 x 0.3 Watt lights = 1.5 Watt
40 + 1.5 = 41.5 Watt is the total wattage.
You’ll need a 60 Watt transformer.
Choose your cables
From your outdoor power supply, measure the distance of the cable you wish to run. Also note which areas require extensions and which require connectors. From your mains cable, you can also attach dividers which will split up the lines reducing the amount of lines you need to run. Your cables should never travel more than 35m from your transformer
Installation
Once you have purchased all your materials it’s time to start installing.
This first step is to ensure you have an exterior power point that has been installed by a registered electrician.
Plug your transformer into the exterior power point. Lay your cables out along the planned routes. Plug the lines into the transformer and then start installing your lights. Each light just plugs directly into the line. The lights also have 2m of cable in case you want to run them away from the main line. Once the lights are plugged in you can either burry the line approx. 4 inches or attach the line to a fence or wall using cable ties.
When installing deck lights, mark the position of where each light will be placed, use a hole saw with the diameter of your light to drill through the deck. Then pull the cable through the hole and push the light down flush into the deck. Then just plug into your main line as per the other lights.
Once everything is plugged in and buried, turn your power on and ensure everything is working correctly. Make any necessary adjustments and start enjoying your new outdoor lighting.
