Malibu Landscape Lighting Kits
Posted by Landscaper | Filed under landscape lighting kits
In the landscape lighting world, much like any other commercial technology, you have your high-end, your low end and everything in between. In the not so distant past, enjoying a well-lit landscape was reserved for those with more substantial means. Not necessarily just for the rich, mind you, but your average blue collar worker was left pretty much in the dark (pardon the pun).
The two elements keeping the rest of us out were cost and installation. Actually, cost was a two-parter in its own right. Not only were the lights expensive, but installation wasn’t something your average Joe or Jane could readily tackle as earlier landscape lighting options were relatively dangerous electrical things to install. So purchasing the lights was prohibitive and paying a professional electrician to do the work placed the option outside many people’s range. But then came Malibu.
I’m not talking about everybody’s favorite Baywatch destination, I’m talking about the landscape lighting company (and others like it) famous for making landscape lighting accessible to the rest of us through the production of low-cost, safe, low-voltage, easy to install landscape lighting kits. If you’ve spent any time in a hardware store looking for a reasonably priced landscape lighting option, you’ve probably seen their products.
Now I do want to clear one thing up right from the start and that’s to point out that Malibu doesn’t just make inexpensive landscape lighting kits. They are a premier maker of high end landscape lighting as well. But that’s for another post down the road. For now, recognize that if you’re in the market for super affordability, Malibu is the way to go. Don’t believe me?
The LX10610T25 Malibu outdoor landscape lighting kit featured in the image above is just one example of how accessible Malibu has made things to the budget-conscious consumer. This kit contains 10 low-volt tier lights, a 44-watt power pack and a 50 foot cable. How much would you pay for all that? Well if this weren’t a kit, probably hundreds. As it is a kit, I’m looking at it on Amazon for only $27.00.
Other kits by Malibu include the Intermatic LX19610T25 Malibu Outdoor Tier Light/Floodlight Kit with Six One-Light Tier Lights, Four One-Light Floodlights and 44-Watt Power Pack
For those of you with bigger ambitions or larger property to cover, Amazon also sells the Intermatic LX19720T Malibu Outdoor Lighting Kit with Fourteen Tier Lights, Six Floodlights plus 88-Watt Power Pack/Timer, Black
I won’t rehash it all here, but there are some sacrifices you make buying an affordable landscape lighting kit in terms of brightness. You can read my extensive post covering the pros and cons of plastic landscape lighting kits for more details but, in a nutshell, the lower melting point of plastic limits the wattage of the bulbs. The good news is that Malibu also offers metal landscape lighting kits which, while pricier than the plastic models, are relatively affordable compared to what you might pay buying lights individually. The kit pictured below, the Malibu LT13976T Low Voltage Garden Light Kit with Four 7-Watt Metal Tier Lights and Two 20-Watt Metal Floodlights, Black
Don’t Give Up on Plastic Landscape Lighting Kits
But there are also tremendous upsides to plastic kits. Not only are landscape lighting kits such as those sold by Malibu inexpensive to purchase, they are also inexpensive to replace. If a light breaks due to a careless maneuver with a lawnmower, for example, replacing that light will be dirt cheap. Plastic also weathers well, is surprisingly durable and virtually indistinguishable from metal at night. But all those things aside, my big passion for Malibu landscape lighting kits and for the company in general is that their products are super easy to install.
As stated in the product descriptions above, Malibu kits (and non kits) utilize a power pack that converts the 120-watts your outlet provides down to a safe wattage appropriate for your lights. What’s safe? Well, that depends on the number of lights you’re running and their wattage. Say you have eight 10-watt lights. An 88-watt power supply will cover you. Just multiply the wattage of the lights by the number of lights you’ll be using and get a power pack providing a little more juice. The good news is that you don’t even have to bother with the math if you’re installing a kit as the kit comes with an appropriately powerful power pack included!
Hooking the cable that will feed power to the lights up to the power pack is also insanely simple. If you can use a screwdriver, you can do this. The power pack then plugs into your outlet just like any electric tool or appliance and you then run the cable in the pattern you’ll be placing your lights. But the fun doesn’t end there. The next step is attaching the lights to the cable.
Now in the olden days of yore, hooking a light to a cable for outdoor use was a labor that could require waterproof conduit, wire strippers and a fair bit of electrical know-how. Malibu has turned this all into an extremely easy affair a half-stoned monkey with epilepsy could probably pull off. Attaching the lights to the power-feeding cable uses a method I’m familiar with from working with networks back in the primitive days. Rather than cutting and splicing a cable (which effectively reduces its carrying capacity each time it’s done) we could use what was known as a vampire tap to connect a branching run.
To put this into terms you non-network types can understand, basically, a short cable comes from the light and clamps onto the main power cable anywhere you find convenient. The clamp has a metal “tooth” that pierces the outer insulation to contact the copper cable inside. Once clamped, simply screw it into place and you’re done. I can’t over emphasize how simple it is. Again, if you can use a screwdriver, you can do this all yourself.
So I realized I’m going on and on with another rambling post here. I guess I should wrap things up and summarize. Malibu specializes in outdoor lighting and offers fantastic, high-end lights. But, they’ve also made landscape lighting affordable and doable for those on a budget with low-cost, low-voltage, easy-to-install landscape lighting kits. Just know what you are getting before you buy. Sorry for the self promotion but definitely read my earlier post on the upside and downside of landscape lighting kits before you make your purchase. If, after reading that post, you still feel that a kit is the perfect solution for you, you simply can’t go wrong for the price.
Tags: landscape lighting, landscape lighting kit, landscape lighting kits, Malibu, malibu landscape lighting, malibu landscape lighting kits, outdoor landscape lighting, outdoor landscape lighting kits
Hiding Undesirable Features with Outside Lighting
Posted by Kathleen | Filed under Planning Outside Lighting
As you peruse the posts here at Lighting up Landscaping, you’ll discover that we’re doing the best we can to take the mystery out of the process to help you create to-die-for landscaping. In the process we offer both practical solutions and focus also on the artistic elements. After all, anybody can just plant some landscape lights and walk away with an illuminated garden. But illuminated doesn’t necessarily translate into attractive. It pays to know what works and what the benefits are to better help you plan your creation.
Thinking logically about outdoor landscape lighting, you should have realized by now that you’re really only getting the benefit at night. But take a look around your garden during the day time and expand the depth of your vision beyond the confines of your garden a bit. What do you see that you don’t like? Looking out over my modest townhouse garden plot and beyond, I see telephone poles and power lines. I see the building across the street. I see taller vehicles such as SUVs and vans parked along the access road behind my garden. None of it adds to the visual appeal of my garden even in the best of circumstances.
Now bring your focus in and take a look around your garden. Stand in each corner and really “see” what you’re up against. Are there features inside the boundary of your wall or fence that detract from the overall beauty? In my own garden I see the AC unit, electric meters, two trashcans, a hose caddy and a grill. All of these are useful and I really can’t do without them but none are particularly attractive. Does your garden contain similar features you’d rather were invisible when hosting or entertaining?
It’s with these unappealing elements in mind where your landscape lights really have the opportunity to shine. Sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun. The point is that landscaping lighting trumps daylight for the simple reason that daylight illuminates everything. The ugly telephone poles, the power lines, the neighbor’s property and surrounding buildings, and anything else you wish weren’t visible and detracting from the overall theme and beauty of your prize garden.
Well planned outdoor garden lighting affords you the opportunity to feature only those elements that should “pop” while the absence of that brilliant bulb in the sky in the evening leaves those undesirable features conveniently hidden. It’s one of the reasons I’m such a fan of hosting events at night. Great features such as a pond, a beautiful tree accented by up-lighting, or a whimsically lit garden path serve attract the eye to what you want seen. Meanwhile, all the rest is hidden in the convenient blanket of the night.
So before you dig a trench for your conduit or purchase landscape lighting kits, have a good look around and think not just about what you want to highlight but also about what you want to hide. With outside lighting, it’s as much about what isn’t lit as about what is.
Tags: landscape lighting kits, landscape lights, outdoor garden lighting, outdoor landscape lighting, Outside lighting
