We ripped out a bunch of landscaping at our house and have finally replanted some new shrubs and are looking to add some lighting. The main issue is the front of our house is dark and I think some landscape lighting would be a great way to lighten it up from the street. We normally come down the road from the right side of the pictures, and with the "L" shape of our house, the front right side is very dark with the only lights being the front porch and garage. I have a rough idea, but would love some input. I want to keep all the lights on the ground, no new soffit lights or anything, if possible. I'm thinking a kit of the G2 spotlights with some extra G2s would be perfect for this project. I have a outlet right behind the boxwoods on the right side, and I have expansion joints in the driveway to run wire to the left side of the house. A quick question on the kit, do the G2s come with the 25' hub cord since the kit comes with the hub, or do they have the 4' cords? I'm thinking about lights on the 2 Jap Maples, the Larch. Then I really need the lights on the front of the garage because that's the darkest area of the house. The 2 windows to the left are both bedrooms so I think a narrow beam on those to keep the light out of the windows as much as possible. Do I add another uplight in the left corner where the house jots back? Would a path/ground light right behind the Hydranga tree look ok? Should I do uplights on the front porch pillars since I would already have lights on the jap maples? Maybe some sort of inground light there to hide them a bit more? I keep the maples trimmed back, but they might be a bit too big and block the uplight onto the pillars.... Should I put some sort of path lights around the boxwoods to give that area some light? Maybe around the coralbells and/or around the Larch/Astilbe/lungwort?
Your plan looks great as is, aclark. If you wanted something lower key than lighting the larger areas of the facade, you could also simply focus on highlighting the brickwork at the corners of your house (see my diagram of your photo here). Now to your questions... Please don't quote me but I believe the 25' wire is standard on all the spotlights that are part of a kit. If you were to buy them a la carte, a 4ft option is also available. Your goal is to come up with an attractive and cohesive plan. Because your house is lightly colored and not very tall, I think you should find that either your existing plan or the alternative I suggested provide sufficient lighting. Bear in mind that you'll get lots of reflected/bounced lighting. That might be enough to sufficiently highlight areas behind your shrubs. When looking at the kit specs, I noticed that they now include the lamp with the 20/40/60 beam spread option. Hopefully that flexibility will give you some peace of mind as you're making your purchase. If you can effectively light the porch pillars, I'm sure they'd look great. But I also think lighting both of the maples would by itself look stunning in your entryway. You mention the other lights you have on the house and I definitely think you'll want to keep those in mind when deciding how much additional lighting you want to introduce to your landscape. HTH
Thanks Mesodude. I'm getting close to pulling the trigger, just waiting on the banker (wife) to give me the ok. A couple other questions. The kit has 14/2 wire included, should I scrape this and go with 12/2? The load initially wont be very large, but I do have plans to expand in the future. Will volt give any discounts on a "create your own" kit? Has anyone tried putting something like an Alexa smart plug in the transformer instead of the photocell/timer? This would make the lights controllable via WiFi, and since the transformer is waterproof I don't think there should be an issue with the elements.
The smart controller question comes up fairly routinely so you may want to search here for previous threads on the topic or wait for others to chime in. The concern I would have about smart plugs is less about moisture than temperature extremes (because a lot of these products are designed for indoor use). I haven’t found a need for that degree of control over my system. But I did recently upgrade to the dual circuit transformer VOLT offers and I love it. It’s essentially two 300w transformers in one and makes simple zoning a snap. As for wiring, I don’t know of any disadvantage to going with a thicker gauge but Evan or customer service reps will have more definitive answers. Not sure about discounts. I believe I got a decent deal when I bought my fixtures a few years ago but things might be different now, with the economy still on the mend.
"Just waiting on the banker" - too funny! 25' lead wire is indeed standard with our kits for convenience when using the included hubs as mentioned. And, we do not allow customization of these kits - with how many different options go into a system it would really defeat the purpose of a convenient one-click, add-to-cart landscape lighting system. As far as cable, 14/2 and 12/2 are the most common for most residential systems. Thicker gauges of cable will allow for longer runs in general - 12 gauge is rated for uses up to about 150', and 14' is rated for about 75-100' depending on the load (LEDs are quite flexible with the wider input operating ranges). Depending on which transformer model you use, many homeowners have integrated their smart timers within the internal timer socket. As long as the door can still fully shut to seal & protect the internals, this will not void any warranties. Some homeowners also bypass the internal timer, leave the transformer set to on, and use their own outdoor smart timer directly on the GFCI.
Last question (maybe). Is there any plan for other colors for the M16 adjustable beam angle lights? I see the 2700K but I was leaning more towards a 3000K+. If not I'll probably go with the adjustable bulbs, find the beam spread I like, and then eventually swap out for whiter lights once I'm settled if I determine its needed. Just hate to spend twice if I don't have to.
I couldn't say for certain if there are immediate plans for a 3000K version - 2700K is the most popular for residential applications given the warm, soft, inviting feel. This color temp also looks more natural on most landscaping. But, we're always innovating and expanding our offerings and open to suggestions from all and you do bring up an excellent point! I'll be sure to mention this to our development team!
While our LED products can in theory be dimmed, we wouldn't recommend it as we have not tested the effects of this regarding longevity on fixtures/bulbs not designated as dimmable. Doing so can void warranties as well.
