Garden Lighting

Garden lighting really is one of the great inventions of recent times. Apart from adding charm and magic to the garden it means that you can enjoy the garden at night as well as during the day, especially during the warmer months. Garden lighting can also enhance the view of the garden from the house at any time of the year.

Outdoor lighting specialists can achieve wonderful effects in the garden but the average cost for a back garden could run into $2000-$3000. Hardwares and chain stores now carry a range of DIY garden lighting kits which vary in price from $60 to $300 and Burke's Backyard took a look at four brands to see how they are assembled and the lighting effect they achieve. The brands looked at were: Arlec, Ring Grip, Landia and HPM.

Components

Transformer

All do it yourself lighting runs on 12 volts for safety reasons so a transformer is necessary. Some of the transformers have "weatherproof " coverings but they all should be placed in areas that aren't reached by rain or sprinklers eg a covered porch or in the garage or laundry. They are all designed to be hung on hooks. The power of the transformer for most kits is between 24 watts and 60 watts (96 watts for the HPM) . A 24 watt transformer can run 6 x 4 watt lights. If you exceed this the lights are very dim.

Switches

All of the kits had either a light sensor and/or timer to turn the lights on at dusk and to switch them off after a specified time. This is a useful feature. The basic kits (four light kits) don't have switches so you have to do it manually.

Cabling

Kits supply 10-15 metres of twin cable. The thicker the cable the less voltage drop which, for low voltage lights is quite important. Arlec and Ring Grip both supplied the heaviest cable. HPM does not have cable available at present but Arlec cable would be suitable ($18 for 10m).

Light Fittings

The light fittings of most of the popular brands are made from UVstabilised plastic and are pushed into the ground by means of a plastic stake. The Arlec and Ring Grip were taller than the Landia. The HPM fittings are made from rust-proof metal with a powder coated finish.

Tier lights, which throw a subtle diffuse light suitable for paths or steps are the most popular light fitting. Some kits offer spotlights which can be used to highlight a plant, statue or wall fitting. The Landia kit comprised four tier lights and two spotlights. The HPM range includes spotlights, mushroom lights, bollards and uplights.

Light bulbs

The Landia and Arlec have lights which use low wattage (4 watts) incandescent globes. Ring Grip use automotive halogen globes (8 watts) and HPM use three types of lights depending on the fitting (18 watt incandescent, 10 watt automotive halogen and 10 or 20 watt halogens with a built-in reflector). Halogen globes are generally longer lasting than incandescent and can emit more light per unit of power consumed.

Cost of running

The annual cost of running a 6 light Ring Grip set for 5 hours each night is $12-$15.

Prices

Arlec Deluxe 6 piece Tier Light Setting:$90 - available at most hardwares. The Twighlight (Target house brand) looks to be the same as the Arlec. Spare light bulbs cost $3.95 for four.

Ring Grip 6 piece Tier Light Setting: $94.95 including sensor. Available at BBC, Hardwarehouse and Bunnings. Spare bulbs cost $4.95 for four.

Landia 6 piece Tier and Floodlight Setting: $69.95. Available only at BBC and Hardwarehouse. The Gardener's Choice ( KMart house brand) looks to be the same as Landia. Spare light bulbs cost $3.95 for four.

HPM is purchased as individual components from hardwares and electrical outlets.

• Mushroom light $33-$40
• Deco Uplight $17-$20
• Bollard Walklight $28-$35
• Spotlight $30-$38
• 96 watt transformer $100
• 10m cable (Arlec brand) $18

Road Test

Assembling

The HPM were the easiest lights to assemble. The Arlec, Ring Grip and Landia Tier lights were all fiddly to put together, especially fitting the black shades to the light assembly. Softening them in hot water assisted this process but was only suggested by one of the manufacturers.

The wingnuts on the Landia spotlights were poorly designed and difficult to tighten.

In all brands, contact with the low voltage electric cable was achieved by means of tiny brass spikes puncturing the cable. In the Arlec, Landia and Ring Grip these spikes were located just below the light bulb and so were well away from the soil and potential corrosion. Attaching the cabling to the lights was particularly difficult with the Landia and required a lot of pressure. Even then the contact with the power was feeble and a slight movement of the light often lost power contact. This could be very frustrating if you had to fiddle with the lights each time you moved them slightly. The Ring Grip and Arlec were slightly better in this regard. One of the bulbs of the Ring Grip fused on the first test and there were no replacement bulbs in the kit.

Each HPM light had a separate cable which was connected by means of a clip. This clip was exposed to the soil and in the long term corrosion could be a problem.

The bottom line....

The Arlec and the Ring Grip cast acceptable levels of light to illuminate a pathway or highlight parts of the garden and represented reasonable value at around $95 for the kit. There didn't appear to be much difference in light output between the incandescent bulbs of the Arlec and the halogen bulbs of the Ring Grip.

The light output of the Landia was very disappointing and could not be recommended.

The HPM cast good light, especially from the Mushroom fitting and the spotlight but with a complete kit (including 6 lights) costing around $300 it represents poor value for lighting only a small part of the garden

If you are serious about creating a good lighting design in your garden and can afford $2000-$3000 you would be better to employ a company that specialises in outdoor lighting. If your budget doesn't stretch to this settle for the Arlec or Ring Grip but be prepared for "fiddling" and remember that these plastic sets may only last a few years outside in the weather.

Copyright CTC Productions 2006