Landscape lighting, once expensive and rare, is surging in popularity thanks to LED technology, writes Tracy M. Rogers in Saturday’s HomeStyle section.
Larry Ward of Lights Plus Electric in Little Rock says when he began installing lights outside residents’ homes in the 1980s, the 120-volt line voltage wires used to supply power to yard fixtures could only be installed by electricians, and the lights were primarily used around large houses. But safety concerns made landscape lighting essential around pathways and steps.
Now with the invention of LED lighting, another shift has taken place, Ward says.
“Recently, in the last five or six years since LED technology has come along, it’s picked up again,” Ward says. “LED is so much better than anything we’ve ever had.”
Customers get 30,000 to 50,000 hours per LED bulb in comparison with 2,000 to 5,000 hours for a conventional halogen bulb. Add to that low voltage bulbs and fixtures that run on 12 volts that can be installed by laymen with some basic wiring knowledge, and the result is landscape lighting for the masses.
Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for more.