I have been asked this question quite a bit over the years that I have worked with landscape lighting and I always tell the person that it is not as easy as it appears to be.
I could get into a lot of details and bore the majority of the people that will read this, but I am going to focus on just a few of the key elements that a professional landscape lighting designer and installer can do for you.
Design - A professional designer will plan your system layout based on current and possible future needs; will plan the wiring runs so they are not overloaded accounting for voltage drop, which is not as big a problem with LED based fixtures as it used to be with halogen-based fixtures. A professional designer also is more aware of the different wattages, lumen ratings, beam angles of the bulbs and LED based fixtures in the marketplace today and can create certain effects that the average person may not know about.
Light Fixtures - There are many types of light fixtures manufactured by landscaping companies such as accent lights, in-ground lights, wall washer lights, just to name a few. Each one of these lights can come in different brightness levels, beam spreads, finishes, color temperatures, shapes and sizes. They offer these options and different types of light fixtures, because they are intended for certain applications. Yes, you could use the same type of fixture with the same strength and beam spread for every location at your house that you want to put lights, but it would not look the same as a professionally installed lighting system.
Installation - I remember the very first job I installed by myself and it seemed like it took forever and that is how it will feel to an inexperienced installer. A professional has the right tools, knows the regulations to be followed, knows how to lay out the wiring runs to make it simpler to bury the wire and set up the lights and can complete multiple installations in a single day sometimes depending on the size of the installation.
Troubleshooting – What happens when you have completed the installation and you turn on the transformer (power supply) and only a few of the lights come on OR the ones closer to the transformer are brighter than the ones further down the wiring run? Do you know where to look to correct the problem? Did you use the correct wire connectors to ensure water does not corrode the wires over time? Would you know what to do if one or two of the bulbs were blinking? These are just examples of some possible issues that can be avoided by using a professional for your landscape lighting.
Choose Exo-Design for your Lighting needs and you will always get knowledgeable, well trained technicians, quality products that will withstand the test of time, and a design team that is experienced and highly professional.
Having an experienced professional take care of your system design and install will provide you with assurance that your landscape lighting installation will be done right!