So last time we worked on our landscape lighting project, we were able to get the transformer installed and the four flood lights connected.  After a brief test with an extension cord, we still have some adjustments to make.  It’s always a good idea when doing a project like this to stop and see how the progress is coming along.  There were a couple problems we noticed the first time we turned the lights on:

1.  The four flood lights didn’t look bright enough and didn’t illuminate enough of the house.  There are a few ways to correct this and we’ll discuss that below.

2.  We could use a few more lights.  Too much of the house is under lit.  We’ll add a couple spot lights to correct this deficiency.

First we’ll show you our spot light install.  We purchased two inexpensive 20 Watt halogen spot lights from the local building supply store.  We positioned one on the corner of the house to uplight the Walking Stick and the other to light the front door.  We could probably use a few more, but we can always add them at a later time.  Adding lights to an existing system is as easy as splicing into an existing wire or simply running a new one to the transformer.    For our new spot lights, we ran one new wire for both lights.

Here’s the one…

Positioning the front door spot light

Here’s the other…

The spot light for the Walking Stick.

To provide some further clarification into how to remove the insulation and splice the wires, below are some photos and some quick instructions.  As always, make sure the power is off and unplugged to the transformer when you add any circuits or make any changes to the lighting.

1. After the lights are anchored into the ground in the locations we selected, I ran a wire from the front door spot light to the walking stick spot light. I then ran another wire from the walking stick spot light to the transformer.

2. Now we can prep the wires and splice at the first spot light location.

The wire is split with a pair of wire cutters and pulled apart.

Using a pair of Super Sevens to strip the wire leads.

The exposed leads. Notice the bottom wire has some stamped writing on it. That wire will be my "black" wire and the other my "white."

The wires from the front door spot light spliced into the wire running to the other spot light. These wire leads now get covered by an exterior quality wire nut

3.  Now this process can be repeated at the other spot light.  However, at that location, I have three wires to splice, because I also have my wire that runs to the transformer.

4.  Since the last time I worked on this project, I bought some Romex connectors to help secure the cables penetrating into the transformer.  We’ll remove and reinstall those wires to get the Romex connector in place.

This is what a Romex connector looks like. It goes by several names.

The wires come out and get run through the Romex connector. The Romex connector has a lock nut which goes on the inside of the transformer. The other side has a couple screws, which when tightened, hold the wires in place.

5. When I was reconnecting my wires into the transformer, I had the opportunity to make some changes. First, I have to land all my “white” wires on to the Com1 slot. I installed my new spot lights on to the lowest voltage setting, 12 volts, because both lights are fairly close to the transformer.  Then I installed my next closest lights in the 13 volt slot and the remaining circuit on the 14 volt slot. By increasing the voltage on those existing flood light circuits, I can be sure that if they aren’t lighting the house up enough, it’s not due to a lack of voltage.

6. At this point I’m ready to close up the transformer. The wires are carefully tucked inside and the water-tight door is shut. These boxes feature a side lock to keep it secure. I’ll be going back in this box soon enough to install an electronic timer, but that will have to wait until I install my exterior outlet.

The transformer with the door closed.

The wires are cleaned up a bit by using zip ties.

Now we can move onto correcting the problem with the flood lights.  We noticed during our first trial run that they didn’t seem to be lighting up enough of the house.  The first thing I tried besides playing with the angle of the light housing was the light filter.  The lights come from the factory with a cloudy glass filter installed.  This is supposed to soften the light out a little bit, but it can diminish the effective volume of the light as well.  So, we swapped ours out for a clear glass insert.  Luckily, it only takes a minute.

Flood light with the cloudy filter.

Clear filter installed.

Now that we got that squared away, the best solution to our under lighting problem seems to be moving the lights closer to the house.  This can also be done quickly and easily by just pulling on the light housing out of the ground or using a crow bar to pry on the stake.  The light can then be swiveled off the stake and the stake can be reset into a new location.

Before moving the flood lights closer.

After. Lights are now closer to the house. If only by a few inches.

So moving the lights closer, changing the glass insert and upping the voltage all seemed to work well.  The completed landscape lighting setup is pictured below, but there is still more work to do, although the bulk of the work is done.  It only took about 4 hours to get to this point.

Our house with landscape lights.

Next time we’ll be installing an outdoor recepticle to provide power to the transformer and we’ll also be installing the lighting timer.  Also just added to the list: a drip irrigation system for our front plants because they keep dying!!

Disclaimer: Our Home from Scratch is meant to be an informative website detailing our adventures through home improvement projects. While these projects are often instructive, they may contain mistakes or errors. This website should not be used as a sole source of technical information for home improvement projects. Any projects attempted similar to those depicted on this website should be done with the aid of professionals and with the utmost caution. Always follow local building codes. Neither the operators nor owners of Our Home From Scratch website assume any liability for any injury, death or damage resulting from attempting something seen on this site.and the transformer timer.

Thanks for stopping back.  To continue our landscape lighting project, we’re going to install the 300 Watt transformer.  If in the future we decide to add more lighting fixtures, we are limited to 300 Watts worth of total lights or we’ll either need to replace it or add a second transformer.  We purchased our transformer from www.landscapelightingworld.com.  These units generally cost a few hundred dollars depending upon the power capacity and can represent the single highest cost af any one item associated with a landscape lighting project.  Light fixtures on the other hand range in price from about $10 to a couple hundred.  Our flood lights were about $30 a piece.

The transfomer and the necessary tools for installation.

To install the transformer, first have a location selected that will allow the fixture cables to reach it with a reasonable amount of length, say 30-60 feet or so. The longer the cables run is between the fixtures and the transformer, the higher the output voltage will need to be to make up for resistance losses. For our install, we selected the right side of the house immediately adjacent to our existing electric meter to mount our unit. You could also put the transfomer inside the house, in a basement or garage it that’s easier for you. Since I don’t mind the way it looks on the outside and it’s completely weather proof, we installed it right onto the side of the house. Additionally, most transformers for low voltage lighting require an exterior outlet close by.  Since we don’t have one close enough, we’ll have to add one at a later time. To test it out though, you can just run an extension cord. An extension cord is obviously not a permanent option however.

1. To start, you’ll probably need someone to help hold the unit up while you screw it into the house. Our transformer weighs around 25-30 lbs, so I held it in place while John screwed it right into the exterior siding and into the plywood behind it.  It’s always recommended that you first read the manufacturer’s instructions for how exactly to install the transformer. Our transformer manufacturer recommended the unit to be at least 1.5′ off the ground. This will prevent snow from butting right up against it in the winter and potentially allowing water into the box.  Any moisture in the box is a very bad thing. The transformer can short out and break or cause a fire and burn whatever it’s connected to, i.e., your house.

2. When screwing the unit into the house be sure to use the appropriate fastener. Since our unit was going into plywood, we used standard outdoor deck screws about an inch long.  However, these screws wouldn’t suffice if our house was made from brick, stone or stucco. You can purchase just about any type of exterior grade fastener for mounting a transformer from your local hardware store.

John screwing the transformer into the house.

3. Now that the transformer has been mounted, we can bring our cables into the box and make our connections. At the bottom of the transformer, a little plate gets attached to close off the transformer. That little plate has penetrations that can be popped open to allow the wires to be pulled in. Be sure to use a Romex connector or other appropriate wire clamps when bringing the wires into the transformer. These clamps will grab the cables tightly and prevent them from being pulled out by animals, kids, time, etc. For this post, we haven’t installed our Romex connectors yet, but we will before we finish the project completely.

4. Strip off the insulation from the ends of the wires entering the transformer. Since we have two circuits on our yard, we’ll have two different cables. Splice the two “white” wires together, but don’t splice the black wires together, leave those separate. Push the two spliced “white” wires into the space behind the Common or Com1 spot. Once in position, hold it there while tightening the hold-down screw. You can verify it’s held in place properly by giving the wires a firm tug downward. If they slip out, back out the screw and try it again. Now the two black wires can go together or seperately into any one of the other voltage pots. We chose to use the 13 volt slot for the lights that are further away and the 12 volt slot for the lights that were closest. You have the option to pick which voltage in order to make sure the lights are bright enough to your liking and you can always move them around later to get a better result. The goal should be to make sure no individual light nor any group of lights is noticeably brighter than the others. You want a balanced lighting scheme.

The interior of the transformer with both circutis landed. Notice the bottom plate has been installed.

Next time we’ll turn on the lights, add spotlights and finish the lighting project.

Check out Part 3!

Disclaimer: Our Home from Scratch is meant to be an informative website detailing our adventures through home improvement projects. While these projects are often instructive, they may contain mistakes or errors. This website should not be used as a sole source of technical information for home improvement projects. Any projects attempted similar to those depicted on this website should be done with the aid of professionals and with the utmost caution. Always follow local building codes. Neither the operators nor owners of Our Home From Scratch website assume any liability for any injury, death or damage resulting from attempting something seen on this site.and the transformer timer.