My two cents on low voltage vs 110v outdoor lighting says that 110v is
appropriate for lamps attached to the house, garage, or on a rugged
gate, pole lamp, etc, not for stringing into the bushes or for lighting
upon garden walkways, for reasons of safety and energy usage.

For 110v, a 2ft trench, PVC conduit, and periodic splice boxes are
required. I put a line out to an irrigation pump and A/C outlet on the
dock at the waterfront, and will do same for the entrance gate to my
property. At the time I that I trenched the 100 feet between the house
and watefront, I also buried PVC irrigation pipe, and 3/4" conduits for
low voltage wire and for the sprinkler valve system. I put period
junction boxes to ease the pulling of wire, and to provide places where
I could tap into for the low voltage and irrigation valve system. The
110v is there also should I want to simplify connections for a pool
pump or other such outdoor higher voltage needs.

My 900w low voltage system has a variety of lamps that no doubt
would increase the resale value of my home because it looks good having
accent lights on bushes, in trees, and along walkways, stairs down to
the waterfront, and on the dock itself. At Home Depot there are two
grades of lighting fixtures (I forget the brandname). The cheaper one
has a plastic like decorative finish over aluminum, which quickly wears
off in the sun and rain, and then the aluminum oxidizes, and so the
fixture looks horribly ugly and soon won't work. The top of the line
fixtures, which is all that I will buy now, are still being tested for
durability of finish, but so far they look pretty good. The top of the
line copper fixtures that the architect would recommend would be a
dream to have, and certainly would increase a home resale value, but
cost a fortune relative to the best at Home Depot.

I should also note that I've tried the solar low voltage route before
with rather disappointing results. The quality of units I used may be
the main problem, but I just didn't like the overly dim light cast by
the solar powered lamps. The large low voltage system I have in total
uses the equivalent of a couple outdoor flood lamps.

One more thing for DIY low voltage installers, when I examined the
little penetrating clips used to get power from the low voltage wire to
the lamp, I decided that over time, this connection could go bad, so I
dipped the connection in Scotchkote electrical coating, the same stuff
I used to waterproof my 110V splices, and then covered it in a piece of
the plastic packaging that comes with the low voltage lamp so that dirt
wouldn't stick to the connection. Instructions say that the wiring can
be strung along the ground, but since plastic degrades in sunlight and
dogs/children might like to play with the wiring, I dug tiny trenches
to cover over the wiring or stuffed it out of sight into the bushes.

Good luck...


wrote:
today low voltage lampos which may require heavier conductors might
cost more given coppers skyrocketing price.......

heavy transformer too