I hear this question all the time from new prospective clients.  The logic behind it is that since they are already digging, why not have them just lay the wire in the ground.  The problem with this is that you would never trust your landscaper’s workers to work on electricity in your home, so why have them put in anything electrical on the outside of the home.

On Monday we finished an installation in Leesburg, VA.  The customer had seen our work at a neighbor’s home, but thought they might be able to save a little money by having their landscaper put in lights.  The landscaper, after all, reassured them that he had done many installations and was experienced in outdoor lighting.

Unqualified outdoor lighting installers can be dangerous. This is actually a burnt wire and two melted wire connections.

This turned into a very expensive lighting system and a few weeks after the installation the fire department was called to put out a fire that broke out.  The landscaper had used the typical MR-16 bullet lights with an 18″ wire lead.  At each fixture he used large wire nuts to connect everything.  The problem occurred because each connection inside the wire nut was loose.  This built up a lot of heat until it finally melted the wires down and ignited the mulch on fire.

It was fortunate that the customer was home and able to call the fire department before the fire spread.  When we were called out to take a look at their existing lighting and install new lighting, we also found the same poor connection with a wire nut on the lighting the landscaper had installed on the deck.  They were very fortunate that the first connection failed and not the connection on the deck.

We had to rewire the entire system.  As you can see the landscaper who did the first installation did not bury the wire, but left it exposed, above ground.  If there was a short-cut to take, the landscaper took it.  When the customer called their landscaper and told him of the problems that they were having, he told the customer that it would be impossible for low voltage lighting to ever cause a fire.  He also decided at that point that he no longer wanted to do lighting and was getting out of the business.  So after spending over $3,500 they were left with a lighting system that was too dangerous to run and had to call us in to “redo” the system.

This is how deep the wire was buried.

I believe a lot of the blame for this can be  put at the feet of the fixture manufactures.  They constantly bombard landscapers and irrigation guys with the idea that they can add outdoor lighting to their business and make a ton of money with minimal effort.  They then offer a four hour class at the local John Deere or nursery and then magically overnight the landscaper has become a “lighting expert”.

The better landscapers specialize in what they do well and bring in a specialist to do the landscape lighting.  This is the approach that excellent landscapers such as Grigg Design, Hidden Lane Landscaping, and Betty’s Azalea Ranch take and their customers benefit from not only having great landscaping, but also a lighting company that will service their lighting system years later.

The logical question that I hear at this point is, “what do I look for when choosing a lighting contractor?”

• MAKE CERTAIN THEY HOLD THE PROPER LICENSE IN THEIR STATE TO DO LIGHTING.  In the state of Virginia, that is an ESC (Electronic/Communication Service Contracting) license.  Look for at least a class B, but class A is preferable.
• FIND OUT HOW MANY LIGHTING INSTALLATIONS THEY HAVE DONE.  I recommend at least 500-800 as a minimum number.  You do not need to be the client with whom they are experimenting or learning the ropes of outdoor lighting.  Make certain that this number of clients is a total of just lighting and not a combination of all general landscaping/irrigation clients.
• ASK FOR A LIST OF CUSTOMERS IN YOUR AREA that you can drive by and see some of their work at night.
• ALWAYS ASK FOR A NIGHTTIME DESIGN.  It is not that difficult for them to show you how the system will look before they install it.  This will allow you to have input in the design of your home.
• ASK ABOUT THEIR SERVICE/MAINTENANCE PLANS.  Many people find out too late that the company that installed the lights offer no help after the sale.
• FIND OUT WHO WILL BE AT THE ACTUAL INSTALLATION.  I have seen many companies simply pick up some guys for the day, show them where to trench and head off to meet with other clients.
• MAKE SURE YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH THE PERSON YOU HIRE TO IMPLEMENT YOUR LIGHTING PROJECT.  Follow your gut and if something doesn’t seem right then continue to shop.

I hope this helps anyone looking to have a lighting system installed, so that you will not have to pay for the mistakes made by someone who is not truly a lighting professional.