Line voltage LED landscape lighting vs. low voltage LED landscape lighting – Which is better and why?
Comparing 120VAC LED light bulbs to low voltage LED lamps used to be a lot more difficult than it is today. One of the major issues used to be that line voltage LED light bulbs were not dimmable and were not available in a wide range of colour temperatures. That isn’t so today. Now we can look at our LED lamp choices the same way we did incandescent light sources. Consider the physical size of the lamp, available wattages, lumen output, beam spread, lamp life, as well as the installation and wiring methods and requirements. Shown from left to right at the top of the page are: Left: Low voltage MR16 LED lamp. Input voltage is 12VDC. Light output is the equivalent of about a 50-watt halogen with the expenditure of only 7 watts. Colour temperatures available are 2700K warm white or 5500K cool white. The beam spread is 40 degrees which make this lamp suitable for general lighting needs. This lamp cannot be used outdoors in a bare fixture. It is OK, however, in a fixture sheltered from the elements, although not a totally enclosed fixture with no ‘breathing room’. Right: Line voltage GU10 lamp. Input voltage is 120VAC. Specs are pretty much the same as the MR16. The difference is the operating voltage. You can easily see the difference in the pins. The MR16 has straight pins. The GU10 has ‘twist lock” type pins that are rounded at the bottom. Center: Now extremely affordable and available in a wide variety of colour temperatures and view angles, our outdoor LED PAR lamps come in PAR20, PAR30 and PAR38 sizes. They are fully dimmable and are ideal for outdoor use, even exposed in a bare lamp holder. When there is enough ground cover or shrubbery, you can even install these using an outdoor cord with a ground stake. When considering your lamp choices, keep in mind that low voltage lights need transformers to provide the proper operating voltage. This requires a more thorough plan from the designer and also requires that the installer knows how to size the wiring to avoid voltage drop. Voltage drop is basically when lights at the end of a string of lights are dimmer than the ones closer to the power source. We can help your installer determine how to avoid and/or control that. As a general rule, when a project involves new construction, your options are wide open. You’re working with a blank slate. However, in renovations, especially when the site has well-established plants, low voltage wiring is preferable because it can be installed without significant damage to the planting. One thing that can be said with certainty in the lighting field is that lamp technology and development drive the market and therefore lighting design. There are constant change and development of new light sources and improvements in existing sources. For designers to serve their clients well, they need to keep current with what lamps are available and their characteristics as well as new technologies being developed. Design professionals and landscape contractors, please contact us to make sure you have the most current information at least once a year. It is best if you can visit our showroom so you can actually see new products. You will want to see the colour of the light, observe it’s dimming qualities and light distribution patterns. We’re here to help!
By: Mary Wecker
