Garden lighting

Can anyone recommend some really effective decking lighting.

I am just about to embark on a decked garden project, the garden is fairly small and I really want to use it as an outside room.

I know I can get the low voltage LED deck lights or 50w halogens but I really want something a bit more stunning than that. I have looked at metal halide lights but they are very expensive.
All the metal bollards I have looked at are more atmospheric than task lighting.


Help and advice please. many thanks

 

Trying Hard, I've strained at this gnat for many years, trying to illuminate my BBQ patio.
Ground level lamps, LED, quartz halogen, whatever, are fine for illuminating your best architectural plants, but for flipping steaks on the BBQ, getting the wire off a bottle of champagne, in my case Cava, or just eating, you really need something 10 feet up and powerful.
I use an old TV aerial pole, set in a heavy cast iron brolly stand, with a 500 Watt quartz halogen clamped on top to illuminate the eating/drinking area, and it doesn't clash with the heater. :D

Nik

 

T h, a couple of sites that may interest you bear in mind the running costs of halogen compared to led's
http://www.cmsgardens.co.uk/lights.htm
http://www.lightingandmore.co.uk/brochure.php
http://www.fancylighting.com/acatalog/Outdoor_Lighting.html?gclid=CI7FwKTNpJACFQQ_MAodSQL8qA

 

Thanks for all the info, I'm still looking for inspiration, although the websites mentioned look pretty good.
The garden is still at the structural stage so I'm trying to avoid wasting money on lights that look pretty insignificant.

 

Lighting query again please.
I just got myself 12 x IP 65 1 watt mains LED walkover lights(blue) to start my garden lighting project. They are by Sycamore lighting and a nice product and I intend to put 6 each on the upper and lower deck ( both measure about 7m x 3m). Stupid question but how do i join them all together and get them back to the weatherproof box??

 

T h you must wire them in "series" it is important you do this correctly to avoid damaging the leds,
http://www.collingwoodlighting.co.uk/cnb/shop/collingwood?productID=100&op=catalogue-product_info-null&prodCategoryID=26

 

Sorry I am a bit late.
I am sorry walnut but i have to point out it depends on the supply voltage and the led voltage as to if they should be wired in series or parallel.

If you are "making it all yourself" then it is up to you how its done since you may have a very low voltage power supply.

Typically a led will work quite happily on 3 volts dc.

If your power supply is 12v dc, then yes 4 in series will in theory be fine, but most power supplies are just over 12v and the "extra voltage" although slight will shorten the life of the led�s.

The best way to do it is to put a current limiting resistor in series with each led and connect several of these in parallel.

I have done this my self with great success


above is my led "project" they do not light the garden, as that is not what they were designed to do, but they do "take away the dark" from the path (i have several at regular intervals)

I should also like to mention that LED's are a DC operated device, and if you connect them to AC they will actually flicker at 50hz (Flash very fast 50 times /second) most people will not notice this, but some might

As for general lighting any light, be it led halogen or other mounted at ground (or decking level) will be of no use to light an area to see in, (since it will be pointing up) it is however very good for "marking"
For example marking the edge of steps.

If you want light to see by, i suggest that you put the lights "high up", But, Please don�t put a 500w halogen light up on a pole or high wall, it spoils the atmosphere of a party / bbq and usually annoys the neighbours (especially if it is really high up)

I would suggest you buy a set of "string lights" which are not bright, but as they are in quantity it is usually enough to see what you are doing and give a good atmosphere.

string these between two "high points"

If you have a pergola you can also mount several low wattage lamps on these, again it allows you to see, and does not spoil the atmosphere.

By string light i mean lights that are "strung together"



Other brands are available, and these shown are for use outside.

[ 11. January 2008, 07:25 PM: Message edited by: water-garden ]

 

Good advice WG.

 

Your imput is valued Water Garden,you can get adaptors for outdoor that supports AC/DC output to DC of 3V to 12V or 4V to 24V (max.), and input to AC of 230V to 240V.There are also led spot lights on the market they are made up of lots of leds in one head they can't compare in brightness to halogen but are cheap to run and if green is your thing then are ideal.

 

I think garden lighting is brilliant for effect, but The main halogen lamp I had was far too bright and actually irritating, so I removed it completely
I have recently fitted a few lights bought from B&Q .... a couple of reasonable looking (although plain) ones fitted to my fence, another rather more attractive one fitted beside our outside dining area. The first one uses a low life bulb and cost around �£16. The second one was rather more expensive at �£29 or so. We supplement the dining area one with candles on the table ... very attractive for eating outside. The second unit uses an ordinary small bulb (60W maximum)
We also have three little old fashioned looking units which a neighbour was throwing away so I got them for nothing. They use long life bulbs (20W gives the equivalent of about 100W)
All are full voltage lights.
Any outside wiring I have done which goes underground is insulated cable. Any where the mice might get a chew is in conduit. Any other is neatly fitted along a pergola or similar to be as insignificant as possible
If you have any doubts at all about what you are doing get an electrician to have a look at it and advise (even if you then do all the work yourself)

 

:D
On looking at those I think the last one needs a bit of a wash and a new coat of paint
Another job for Wonderwoman this year

 

Just a point to note:

In 2005 a new building regulation came into being, its called part P. In short it says you can not add an additional circuit in a special location unless you: get a part p registered electrician to do the work OR get your local council building control office to check the work, before you do it and after its done.

Gardens are classified as special location.

Way round it for the average gardener is to install ââ?¬Å?low voltageââ?¬Â (12 / 24 v ) lights and plug them in, indoors.

Mains fed lights etc should be fed by steel wire armoured cable, which is buried 30 inches below ground level and marked with ââ?¬Å?warning electric cable belowââ?¬Â tape

Choice is yours.

 

Spot on W G just to add, all outdoor sockets must be RCD protected for safety. An RCD or residual current device works by switching off the flow of electricity when a cable or flex is cut, and should be hardwired to your fuse box.
ââ?¬Å?Cables for fixed outdoor lighting installations must be buried at a sufficient depth to avoid damage from garden tools and should also be protected by an earthed metallic cover (s w a.) This will require the electrician to dig a trench in the garden. Where possible lay piping or conduit for cables to pass underneath any hard landscaping. Your electrician can advise what to do if hard landscaping has already been laid.
ââ?¬Å?Decorative lights plugged into an outdoor socket, should be taken inside after use unless the box states they are waterproof - they are not designed to stay out all year round.

 

Having had a new patio laid I asked an electrician to install an outside socket.
There is an internal fused switch..

and the amoured cable to the socket which is running the pond pump..

 

Most houses these days with modern consumer units are protected by a main RCD switch.

Im not sure about the need to bury the armoured cable, I did a pond for a customer recently and the electrician and I got around the need to trench the cable by running it cable along the fence (securely fixed).

The cable was terminated at a waterproof socket screwed to the post and the pond pump cable run in conduit to the pump.