Install Landscape Lighting

A great landscape can add pleasant curb appeal to any home. But did you ever think about showing off your beautiful yard at night? With landscape lighting, you’ll give your yard a luminous glow and catch the attention of anyone passing by your home. And best of all, landscape lighting is easy to install and economical to operate.

Planning

01 Determine what types of lights you will use. Path lights illuminate walkways or driveways. Tier lights are commonly used liked path lights to illuminate walkways. Remove the tops to highlight hedges and shrubs.
Spotlights direct light upwards providing strong highlights on trees, statues and other large focal points.
Well lights lay nearly flush to the ground and direct light up and out to accent trees, shrubbery and buildings.
02 Test the placement of your lights. Have a friend shine a flashlight on objects that you think you will light. A flashlight that has spot and floodlight settings works best. Make note of what type of lighting looks best in each location, what angle accents the area well and if the light will shine through the neighbor's window.
03 Sketch your plan. Draw a bird's eye view of your yard including key features like trees, walls, driveways and gardens. Plot where each fixture will be positioned.
04 Choose solar, low-voltage or high-voltage lighting. Solar lighting is good for aesthetic purposes. These lights install almost instantly with no wiring because they run off their own power. Low-voltage lighting works great for safety and security. These lights are brighter than solar lights and they don't rely on sunlight for power. High-voltage lighting is used for commercial purposes and should only be installed by a professional. 05 Lighting kits vs. Custom systems Lighting kits are a simple way to get started on your landscape lighting project. They usually include several types of lights, cable, connectors and controls to support the system. All components are also available separately so you can customize your project to suit your yard. 06 Determine what size power pack to use for your system. Add up the total wattage of your lights. The total wattage should be 70-100% of the power pack rating. Ask a Lowe's associate which power pack will work best for your project.
Installation
01 Locate a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) outlet on the outside of your house. A GFCI outlet provides extra shock protection in areas of high moisture. Contact a licensed electrician if you don't have a GFCI outside your home.
02 Attach the power pack near the GFCI. A GFCI outlet provides extra shock protection in areas of high moisture. You can attach the power pack on a pole or on the house.
03 Assemble the lighting fixtures according to the manufacturer's instructions.
04 Place the lights at their final locations following your plan.
05 Lay out the cable.
06 Connect each light to the cable with a connector cap so that the cap punctures the cable and makes contact with the wire.
07 Beginning at the control box, cut a narrow trench about 3" deep along the cable path with a flat-blade shovel or edger.
08 Make a perpendicular slit from that path to where the lights will be positioned in the ground.
09 Push the cable in the trench.
10 Push each light fixture about halfway into the ground to temporarily mark its position.
11 Connect the cable to the power pack. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions if you need to strip any insulation off the cable.
12 Plug the power pack into the GFCI outlet.
13 Make sure all the lights are working properly. If any lights aren’t working, check the connections.
14 Adjust the focus of all the lights.
15 Finish pushing the fixtures into the ground.
16 Close the trenches.
17 Set the controls for automatic on and off times.

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