How to Install Outdoor Landscape Lighting | Ask This Old House

In this video, master electrician, Heath Eastman demonstrates how to install landscape lighting along a garden path.

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Adding landscape lighting to a walkway or path can improve the look and experience of the area. Once Heath figures out what kind of landscape lighting he wants, the location, and where the power source is located, he can then make the connections.

Heath uses a low voltage wire and decides to replace the plastic connectors with brass connectors to make the connections last longer. He also installs a transformer so the homeowner can control when the lights power on and off.

Time: 5 - 10 hours
Cost: $5 - $200 per light
Skill Level: Difficult

Tools:
Flat blade shovel [https://amzn.to/2XjXN6J]
Wire stripper [https://amzn.to/38kPGNC]
Allen key [https://amzn.to/3pO7XJ0]
Level [https://amzn.to/3i0X18l]

Shopping List:
Landscape lights - pathway [http://bit.ly/3rXCuWC] / uplight [http://bit.ly/3ollwz7]
Low voltage cable [https://amzn.to/3pWWjvy]
Transformer - optional add-ons include photocell, timer, and built-in wifi component [http://bit.ly/2LmiFYd]
Brass barrel connector [https://amzn.to/2LuCVqt]

Step 1: Find your nearest power source
This will be your starting point.
Place lights in desired locations.
Step 2: Run a low voltage cable
Run a low voltage cable in the trench but do not bury. A low voltage cable is used as it is only 12v and if it accidentally gets cut, nobody will get hurt.
Step 3: Start making connections
Heath recommends a higher quality brass connector because the plastic ones that come free with the landscape wire are more susceptible to damage and corrosion.
Cut and strip the wire.
Make the connection with the brass barrel connectors with an allen key. Before securing the second side slip the shrink sleeves over the barrels,
Apply light heat to the sleeves
Step 4: Install the transformer at the receptacle
Take the low voltage cable and put one wire in the hot terminal and one wire in the common terminal of the transformer. The transformer converts the power to low voltage and can control when the lights power on and off.
Heath picked out a system that has a photocell that plugs into it. That way the lights come on at dusk and off at dawn. If you don’t want the lights on all night you can add a timer to the system.
Test the system.
Step 5: Dig a pathway for the cable
Use a flat shovel to dig a 6” trench along the pathway for the cable. This way it will be much easier to find if it ever needs to be dug up and keeping it on the edge should protect it from getting cut while gardening.
Bury the cable to the bottom of the 6” mark. Hands will work fine but if a tool is desired make sure it is blunt enough to not pierce or damage the wire.

Resources:
Heath installed two different types of landscape light fixtures that are both manufactured by Illumicare [https://www.illumicaregroup.com/]. The up lights used to highlight the shrubs and the brick archway are Jasper 12V Solid Red Brass LED Spot Lights [http://bit.ly/3ollwz7], and the path lights are Misty 12V Small Solid Red Brass LED Path Lights [http://bit.ly/3rXCuWC].

To coordinate the individual lights to turn on and off, Heath installed an Above Grade RXT Series Transformer [http://bit.ly/2LmiFYd], which is manufactured by Focus Industries [https://focusindustries.com/]. The transformer comes with optional add-ons, such as the photo-cell sensor, the timer, and the built-in wifi component.

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From the makers of This Old House, America’s first and most trusted home improvement show, Ask This Old House answers the steady stream of home improvement questions asked by viewers across the United States. Covering topics from landscaping to electrical to HVAC and plumbing to painting and more. Ask This Old House features the experts from This Old House, including general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, landscape contractor Jenn Nawada, master carpenter Norm Abram, and host Kevin O’Connor. Ask This Old House helps you protect and preserve your greatest investment—your home.

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How to Install Outdoor Landscape Lighting | Ask This Old House
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