Statistics show many Americans suffer injuries in their homes each year, and falls are very common. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 8,000 children are treated in emergency rooms each day for fall related injuries, and over one third of adults age 65 and older fall each year. One of the tips the CDC provides for avoiding falls is to improve the lighting in your home. Increasing the light in areas such as the kitchen can also help you avoid other common injuries. There are many simple lighting adjustments you can make to improve the overall safety and comfort in your home.

Check to make sure you have adequate Ceiling Lighting, especially in stairwells. You should also have a light switch installed at the top and bottom of each staircase so the light can be turned on as someone runs up or down the stairs quickly.

Make sure there are adequate night light options in each room of your home, and in hallways, to avoid stumbling in the dark. There are a variety of fixtures that can work as night lights, including Wall Sconces and Table Lamps.

Many accidents occur in the kitchen, so be sure to light countertops and the area around your stove, where cooking takes place. Track Lighting, Under Cabinet Lighting, and FreeJack pendant lights are all options that can help you create a safe cooking environment.

The bathroom can also be a dangerous place without proper lighting. Make sure to include Bathroom Lighting in the areas around your sink and shower, as many falls can occur there.

Don't forget the basement and attic, where there is often minimal light and the clutter of items you do not use everyday. Avoid falls and other injuries while searching through your storage areas by installing Ceiling Lighting or Floor Lamps that can easily light your way.

Many falls and injuries also occur in outdoor areas such as patios and decks, especially after dark. Outdoor Lighting such as Post Lighting, Wall Lighting, Hanging Lights and Landscape Lighting can beautify your property while adding safety around your home.  Fixtures such as step lights can illuminate walkways in your yard, and lanterns can be placed near driveways and other high traffic areas. 

Landscape Lighting is all about beautifying all that is natural or man-made in the exterior environment. Our landscape lighting blends unobtrusively into any surrounding, harmonizing your property with both nature and architecture. Grand Light's designers and products will help your landscape lighting design come alive with a three-dimensional look from dusk till dawn.

Browse through our huge selection of landscape lighting fixtures. For a free half-hour lighting design consultation, call us at 1-800-922-1469 or simply use our contact form. Our team is waiting to assist you with all of your lighting design and layout needs.

Planning Your Low-Voltage Landscape System

1) Sketch the Property

Sketch the structure (house or office building) in context on the lot. The front sidewalk or driveway is a natural starting point. This is usually the first area you see when entering the property, and creates a first impression in terms of design.

Make note of trees for uplighting, interesting textures, signs or address markers, colorful flowerbeds, shrubbery, etc.  These features can be emphasized with a creative lighting design. 

2) Indicate Fixture Locations

Once the sketch is complete, pencil in possible placements for area, path, directional, and specialty fixtures. These fixtures are outlined below.

It is usually more attractive when the lighting effects are spread throughout the setting rather than merely aimed for symmetrical distribution.  This creates a unique design that catches the eye and adds beauty to the landscape.

Area Landscape Lighting

Area Lights are indirect light sources that give off a large distribution of light on the ground. Use area landscape lighting to highlight driveways, isolated planters, or for perimeter illumination.

Area lights provide a chorus of shadows and three-dimensional views enhancing the safety, security and beauty of your property. We offer 12v (low voltage) area landscape lighting and 120v (line voltage) area landscape lighting. 


Path Landscape Lighting

Path landscape lighting is commonly used for small pathways, walkways, flowerbeds and ground cover areas, with spacing of 6 to 10 feet. With a narrow sidewalk, stagger the lighting from one side to the other. However, a uniform row of fixtures works well for a wide walkway or driveway.

In addition to providing areas with attractive lighting, path lights themselves can add to the beauty of your property. They come in many styles, ranging from whimsical to contemporary, and are available in a variety of shapes and sizes. We offer 12v (low voltage) path landscape lighting and 120v (line voltage) path landscape lighting.

Directional Landscape Lighting

Directional landscape lighting fixtures aim a beam directly at an object or surface, highlighting specific architectural or natural characteristics of your property. Many are easily adjustable, so you can customize your lighting design to emphasize specific aspects of the property.

You can use directional landscape lighting to emphasis large areas of your property, since they are strong enough to illuminate areas at a distance from the actual fixture. Lighting your property with directional lights can also provide security when you're not there. We offer 12v (low voltage) directional landscape lighting and 120v (line voltage) directional landscape lighting.

Specialty Landscape Lighting

Specialty landscape lighting is used for a wide variety of special installations and applications, including hanging, surface, underwater, step, and brick lighting. Think about the most interesting aspects of your property and use your creativity to highlight them.

For example, you can use specialty landscape lighting to highlight a pool or pond on your property. Lighting these areas makes them more visually appealing, and allows you to enjoy them after dark.

You can use specialty well lights to keep the focus on the natural and architectural characteristics of your property without visible fixtures. Well lights are extremely effective for aiming light up a tree or column. They can be hidden under shrubs or in other unobtrusive ways, and should be placed 2 to 4 feet from the trunk base.

You can use specialty brick lights to highlight brick walls on your property. These fixtures attach directly to bricks, and come in several finishes that can accent the bricks or blend in with them.

Specialty step lights work in a similar way, highlighting steps with a soft light aimed out of a covered fixture. Step lights are also available in a variety of colors and finishes to compliment your stairs.

We offer 12v (low voltage) specialty lights and 120v (line voltage) specialty lights. 

3) Select the Proper Power Supply

You may wonder how to choose the correct transformer to compliment your low-voltage landscape lighting design. However, the transformer calculation is easy.

Just add up the total wattage of the lamps you are using in your low-voltage landscape lighting system. The total wattages of fixtures wired to a transformer should not be more than 90% of the rated transformer capacity.

Try to leave extra space on the transformer for future expansion. You may decide to add to your low-voltage landscape lighting design as your property changes.

12-Volt Landscape Lighting vs. 120-Volt Landscape Lighting

Many people wonder about the difference between 12-Volt landscape lighting and 120-Volt landscape lighting. Our selection includes both, and they provide different advantages.

Advantages of a 12-Volt Landscape Lighting System

• 12v, or "low voltage" systems can be easily installed. No deep trenching is required and no heavy equipment is needed. In fact, you may already have all the tools necessary to install your own system.
• 12v landscape lighting is safe. No injuries will occur from touching bare wire or accidentally cutting the cable.
• Low voltage lighting requires much less power than a 120v system. Most lighting plans do not require additional electrical circuits.
• 12v provides flexibility. A growing plant may require you to adjust the location of a spotlight. With low voltage fixtures and a little foresight, you will be able to move that spotlight a foot or more from its original position without rewiring.

Advantages of a 120-Volt Landscape Lighting System

• 120v landscape lighting provides a more powerful landscape lighting option.
• With line voltage, there are more lamp color and wattage options to choose from.
• 120v products offer a multitude of solutions for creative landscaping that requires more intense illumination.
• By eliminating the need for a transformer, a line voltage system can be hard-wired into a home's main electrical supply.