Renovating an outdated landscape lighting systems

Perhaps you recently inherited an outdated landscape lighting system with the purchase of your house or you notice that the lighting system you had installed several years ago is not working as it should. Regardless of the situation, if you are considering options for updating your existing lighting system then this article is for you. Let's take a look at some of the reasons why you should incorporate some of the more elegant and state of the art lighting technologies availabe in the current landscape lighting market.

Out with the old, in with the new

Older lighting systems installed 15 years ago typically utilize outdated incandescent or halogen lights that are less energy efficient and have limited life spans. Older systems also incorporate analog timers that drift requiring constant adjustment, transformers that utilize old fuses that need replacing when a circuit is broken and wire connection methods such as wire nuts that often allow moisture into wiring connections resulting in short circuits. In summary, the older systems are often inefficient and less reliable and require more maintenance as they age.

Landscape lighting upgrade considerations

Just recently, we worked with a homeowner who had recently purchased a house with a 20 plus year old lighting system. An on-site review revealed that several of the lighting fixtures were inoperable because of burnt out bulbs, broken wiring and damage from lawn equipment. Our strategy to bring the lighting system up to current technology included, upgrading several of the cast bronze fixtures with customized led bulbs, repositioning several of lighting fixtures to better uplight architecture, replacing damaged ground lights with tree mounted variable lumen lights for improved uplighting of large trees and eliminate damage from lawn equipment and adding wifi timer technology to existing transformers to facilitate homeowner control of entire system.

By replacing the old, obsolete halogen bulbs with led bulbs, we can increase light output with higher lumen levels and customized beam angles while maintaining the warm ambient glow of traditional incandescent bulbs with 2700k color temperature bulbs. The beauty of this simple upgrade is we end up with better quality lighting while drastically reducing energy costs and increasing bulb life by years.

Our on site reviews of systems installed by inexperienced landscape companies or by homeowners often reveal improperly placed lighting fixtures that  become damaged by lawn equipment or are placed in an obtrusive manner not aesthetically pleasing with the overall landscape design.  We often find older well lights mostly buried in planting beds with the lights completely covered by mulch and debris.  This is partly a maintenance issue but can be remedied with a better choice in light fixtures that are not repositories for leaves, mulch, etc.  Some tree lights even become favorite perches for squirrels and become squirrel nut repositories in need of the occasional cleanup.

Additional landscape lighting upgrade considerations

When considering a landscape lighting upgrade or the consideration of a seasonal maintenance program for an existing lighting system, it is important to understand the current condition of your system with a thorough on site review.  Often, in-ground wiring, transformers and even light fixtures can be re-purposed if they are in good working order.

Trenching wires

Trenching refers to the process of laying low voltage electrical wire in the ground.  Often it may require trenching under walkways, around architecture, in planting beds and in lawn areas.  Several obstacles and even hazards must be considered when trenching wire.  These include existing low and regular voltage conduit and direct burial wire, irrigation systems, tree roots, gas lines, cable lines, hidden boulders, etc.  While code requires dangerous elements such as regular voltage wire and gas lines to be placed 18" in the earth with protective conduit, we find that is not always the case and great care must be taken when working around these hazards.  While cutting through a small tree root will not damage a tree's health, cutting through a main root may.  When trenching, we err on the side of minimizing tree damage even if that means we need to change the placement of a buried line.

Trench depths and methods

Our goal when laying direct burial wire is to keep the wire hidden out of site, protected from damage but accessible for future upgrades.  In planting beds we typically bury the wire just under the mulch or compost layer so that those tending the garden can quickly see wire placement when replanting perennials and prevent shovel damage.  In lawn areas we typically bury wire 4-6 inches deep to protect it from lawn aerators.  Ground conditions will determine depths as well.  

Most of our trenching is done by hand as this methodical process allows us to "feel" underground obstacles like irrigation lines, tree roots and boulders.  When burying long stretches of line in a large yard, we may employ a mechanical trenching machine that efficiently cuts a specific depth trench for wire.  This is quick work but may require repair to irrigation lines afterward.  Each scenario has its pros and cons and must be determined.

Smart transformers and timers

Transformers play a crucial role in landscape lighting systems.  Transformers take 120 voltage and step it down to a safe 12 volt system or low voltage.  Low voltage based direct burial line and lighting fixtures are efficient and safe.  Should a pet or rodent chew through a wire (more common than you might imagine), the system will trip a breaker and stop working but the amount of voltage will not harm the animal.  Transformers allow this measure of safety but also allow for the efficient powering of complex lighting systems throughout your property.  Some transformers are very high tech allowing the grouping of certain light, dimmability of lights, and color changing of lights though customizable phone apps.  Modern transformers have replaced the old replaceable fuses with simple circuit breaker technology.  

Some transformers have integral timers while others allow for the quick plug in digital or wifi timers.  Upgrading older transformers with wifi timers is a simple and cost effective way to program your lighting on/off system.  These wifi timers allow customers to pre-program their own schedule power on/off times with the aid of a downloaded smartphone app. 

Ultimately, we can bring an old existing lighting system up to current standards with technologies that add beauty, improve efficiencies and extend the life of your lighting system while saving energy costs.

To better understand what Boston Lightscaping can do for your outdated landscape lighting system, contact us for an on site consultation at 978 828-5962.