The Basics of Low Voltage Lighting and Your Pond - Mike Garcia

If someone were to ask me “Do you like your garden better in the daytime or, at night?” I would have to think real hard for a fair answer. I would end up with an answer something like this…”I think I like my garden 49% in the daytime and 51% at night. The reason being that at night, I take advantage of the ambience that low voltage lights bring to the landscape and water garden. The contrasts of light and dark on the landscape can be stunning on the texture of plant materials and water itself. How many times have you noticed a water garden lit up from the bottom, under a waterfall, which creates a ripple effect of moving water on the wall behind the waterfall?

The history of outdoor landscape lighting began with ancient civilizations harnessing fire by means of torches made of resinous wood and oil for burning. In the early forth century A.D., Emperor Constantine illuminated the streets of ancient Rome with thousands of candles. The middle ages saw the advent of more candles and oil burning lanterns. Lanterns were used to illuminate gardens up to a century ago. The lighting of the night time garden underwent a huge change with the advent of natural gas to illuminate the streets of Europe. Natural gas was a huge success until the discovery of how to harness electricity was implemented in the 1880s. The very first electric garden lights were crude contraptions compared to our modern day low voltage systems.

Modern professionals prefer the low voltage lights for most landscape applications due to ease of installation and cost savings due to lower electric usage. Modern low voltage lighting systems for the garden emerged as an industry back in the late 1950s.

Lighting designers intend to create an environment that dazzles the senses and soothes the soul. They do this by shaping the night time features of an environment so that it touches the human eyes that gaze into the lit area. Patterns of light are used in order high light what the important elements of the landscape are.

Low voltage lighting systems contain many elements which require an installer to master in order to use the right technique in the right application. Such elements include items such as local electrical codes, not over loading the transformer (proper electrical load), fixture costs, available outlets and safety issues. You don’t have to be an electrician to install a low voltage lighting system. Just about anybody can install a simple Malibu lighting system. However, the old adage “you get what you pay for” holds true, especially in the low voltage lighting arena. A professional fixture can cost between $50.00-$500.00. Much depends on the materials used to make the light and the craftsmanship built into the light. More expensive lights tend to be made out of copper, brass or composite materials.

The lights are attached to the lighting system “brain” which is normally called a “Transformer” The attachment is made with a low voltage wire, generally called “12-2” wire. Transformers should have a built in ground fault interrupter (GFI), which will prevent possible shocks from faulty wiring or other misaligned items.

Although this barely scratches the surface in this new and exciting field, but I trust it will start to plant some seeds of good ideas and help you envision how you can use low voltage lighting to create a stunning night time atmosphere within your landscape.

By Mike Garcia of Enviroponds.com

Enviroscape founder Mike Garcia began his career in the horticultural field more than 25 years ago. Under his leadership, Enviroscape has won numerous landscape awards at the Local, State, National and International levels. Some of these include awards from the California Landscape Contractors Association (CLCA) as well as the National Association of Pond Professionals (NAPP) and the International Professional Pond Contractors Association (IPPCA). His work has been featured in numerous magazines , including The California Landscaper Magazine, Pondkeeper Magazine, Water Garden News, Ponds Magazine, The National Landscape Contractor Magazine, South Bay Homes and Gardens and has appeared on HGTV’s “Landscaper’s Challenge. Mike also holds a National Association of Pond Professionals (NAPP) certification in Pond Building, Which qualifies him at the national level. His most notable pond can be found inside the California Science Museum in downtown Los Angeles. Last fall, his company earned 5 first place finishes at the prestigious CLCA pond competition, held in Los Angeles, California. Mike has been involved extensively with many boards within the ponding industry and is currently serving on the Board of directors of the International Landscape Alliance (ILA), which exploded on the pond world scene in 2007 and has become the voice for the pond industry.