Starry Night Lighting FAQ

Why low voltage for landscape lighting?

Imagine lighting the front of your home including the walkway and some of the landscaping with a power cost less than one 60-watt bulb inside your home! This is what we do by combining low-voltage and LED lamps. Low power but not dim. Installation of a low-voltage system is less expensive than the same system in 110 volt. Low-voltage lighting is safe for pets and children with no dangerous shock potential even if they are exposed to a broken wire or fixture.

Do you use LEDs and what are the advantages?

In our many years of lighting, we have always used LEDs. You will hear us refer to LED lamps because they are not bulbs as such. The traditional light bulbs in homes are glass-enclosures holding a vacuum or inert gas and the filament. LEDs consist of a wafer covered by phosphors. The emitted light is produced when electrical current is applied to the wafer.

LED lamps are more efficient and longer lasting than incandescent bulbs. The LEDs we will use in your lighting system:

• Use 80% less power than traditional bulbs. Our typical LED uses only about 3 watts of power.
• Have longer life. Our LEDs will maintain their initial brightness for 50,000 hours of use.
• Provide us, as designers, with a wide choice of beam spread, intensity, and color temperature.

But, what if I don’t like the bluish light of LEDs?

During the early days of LED development, the cooler, bluish light was a result of engineers attempting to make LEDs brighter. Since then, LEDs have been improved with greater intensity while enabling a warmer color. LEDs are produced with a particular color temperature which is rated on the Kelvin Scale. Lower numbers on the scale are warmer. Higher numbers are cooler.

This range allows me, as a designer, to choose the light which best reflects from various surfaces. Warm-white 2700K is the temperature I use the most. There are times when I might use 4000K which brings out the colors of an American flag or the blue of spruce trees. I have also used 2200K, termed candlelight, in lights above bistro tables on a patio.

Will you maintain our landscape lighting?

Of course we will! When I am called to a home to evaluate an older lighting system, I am surprised to hear the original installer has never returned. The lighting we install is made to last. But harsh weather conditions in Ohio coupled with mere passage of time, suggests the need for periodic preventive maintenance. Most of our clients have us return to do inspection and maintenance once each year. This care insures your lighting will continue to perform as it was installed.

Here is a short list of our landscape lighting maintenance services:

• Check voltage at transformer and random fixtures.
• Check amperage in each wire run. (safety-related)
• Reset current time and replace batteries in timer.
• Lubricate fixture seals.
• Clean fixtures and lenses.
• Straighten and re-aim fixtures as needed.
• Trim plant foliage if interfering with light beam.

Will installation result in damage to my yard or plants?

Other than having beautiful lighting, you won’t even notice that we’ve done anything. The industry standard for burying low-voltage wire is a 6-inch depth. It is buried by spading a slit in the ground. Also, with our background in landscaping, we are sensitive to avoid any damage to your plants.