There are two voltage choices for outdoor lighting: 12v and 120v.
Low Voltage (12V) Landscape Lighting
Low voltage landscape lighting is the most common option for residential outdoor lighting. You do not need to be a licensed electrician to work with 12V landscape lighting, which is easier to install, less expensive and safer than line voltage. Low voltage landscape lighting lowers the risk of shock and the cable can be buried in shallow trenches, generally without conduit. Additionally, there are far more choices of low voltage landscape lighting fixtures, bulbs, wattages and designs.
Low voltage landscape lighting:
- Operates safely in wet locations
- Safe and less disruptive to install
- Safe for use where children and pets play, dig, and chew
- Cable does not need to be in conduit
- Gives more variety in lighting fixtures and bulbs
- Easy relocation of fixtures, when rearranging landscaping or making home improvements
- More elegant designs and options available
- Less expensive
Line Voltage (120V) Landscape Lighting
Line voltage (120V) outdoor lighting is most often used in commercial, security and municipal applications. Line voltage outdoor lighting is labor-intensive and requires an electrician for installation. The 120V outdoor lighting cable must be buried 18″ underground, placed in conduit and have sealed junction boxes at connection points. Outdoor lighting at 120V is mainly used for lighting large areas, using fewer but brighter fixtures, or in residential applications where there is extensive up-lighting on a large canopy of big trees (although modern low voltage LED fixtures have enough power for this application now too). Line voltage outdoor lighting fixtures tend to be very big and output a lot of light. Historically, the voltage drop on a long run of lights has been an argument for using line voltage. But with modern LED technology and multi-tap transformers, this is usually not an issue for low voltage systems unless the runs are extremely long (as may be the case on commercial properties, parking lots, etc.).
Line voltage outdoor lighting:
- Requires an electrician for installation
- Connections must be waterproof – shock hazard
- Cable must be buried 18″ deep or inside conduit – requires trenching
- Line voltage fixtures are large. There are fewer fixture and lighting options
- More expensive
- Brighter fixtures – good for commercial, security and public use applications.
