How Much Does a Landscape Lighting System Cost?

This is the ultimate question in our industry! Although I’ve covered this in other ways on this blog, I don’t think I’ve ever come right out and talked about actual numbers. I’ll try to do that here.

WHY? The first thing that will help to determine the cost of your outdoor lighting system is the answer to the question, “Why do you want lighting?” This answer will help to establish the depth of the design of the lighting plan. For example: If you only want to light the walkway from the driveway to the front door because it’s dark, or you just want a few lights for security reasons, then the cost is not going to be as much as someone who wants much more. An individual who has an extensive landscape, a large beautiful home, an outdoor living/entertaining area where they love to have guests, and knows how outdoor lighting can enhance the ambience of all these areas, then that outdoor lighting system is going to cost a LOT more.

WHAT? Next consideration is the quality of the products you may choose. Many folks see solar lights and DIY lighting kits available at the local home improvement store. These represent the very low end of the outdoor lighting goods on the market today. You can buy a small solar or LED do-it-yourself kit at one of these stores for about $100. The solar lights won’t last very long at all and will probably be in the trash quickly, while the LED do-it- yourself kit might last 6 months or a year. On the other hand, a professional grade LED outdoor lighting fixture - just one fixture - could cost anywhere from $125 to $450 -- or more depending on the type of fixture (its function) and the construction materials. Brass, copper, aluminum and nickel are some options out there contributing to the variance in cost. But these fixtures will also last anywhere from 5 years to a lifetime. Do you want high voltage or low voltage lighting? High voltage lighting products (which operate at 120 volts or more) can cost quite a bit more than low voltage lighting products.

HOW? Now, how about installation? If you install the home improvement kit yourself, the cost is whatever your time is worth to you. High voltage lighting must be installed by a licensed electrician, and must be installed according to the National Electrical Code and any local codes. Permits need to be issued and inspections made along the way as the system is being installed. Wire must be buried to at least 18” deep which means trenches have to be dug in your yard. All this add up to a lot of money for the contractor. Low voltage lighting that operates at less than 24 volts, in most parts of the United States, do not require permits, inspections, trenching or licensing. This can mean cost savings in installation, even when using a professional. It must, however, also be installed according to the National Electrical Code.

DESIGN? Have you considered the actual design or plan for your lighting? Once again, if you are designing the system yourself, the cost is free, as long as you know enough about the products you use and the way light operates. Some green industry companies offer a “free” design or “free” demo, but the cost of the time taken here is actually hidden - rolled into the price of the finished project because everyone must recoup the costs for their time and materials used for these services. (See our blog post on this topic here.) Some companies, like ours, will charge a design fee because we are actually a lighting design company. Think about it this way: You can’t get an architect to design your home for free because designing homes is what he does to earn a living. And naturally the builder can’t determine the cost of building that home without a full architectural plan from which they can calculate the cost of the project. As I have mentioned before in previous blogs, the expense of education required to learn the skill of lighting design is quite high compared to an afternoon at the irrigation supply house learning how to “sell” outdoor lighting to increase profits. So a well-thought out design is necessary to assess the cost of the completed lighting system.

HOW MUCH? Last, but far from least, is profit. This is the down and dirty part of any business these days; but personally, I think it’s the part of business that makes our country (the United States of America) the envy of the world. Obviously, if you are doing the project yourself there are no profits to be determined. But there are contractors who really have no idea about the costs of doing business. They just say to themselves that they want to make a certain amount per hour and that’s it – so they may offer to do this work for you at a bargain price. (We have covered this more extensively in a previous blog here.) Company profits don’t come until all of those overhead expenses are deducted. Payroll is the single greatest expense for any employer; honest, reliable, well-trained technicians don’t come cheap – and no homeowner would be comfortable with an unscrupulous laborer with a questionable background walking around their home or poking around on their property. My point is that it costs a lot of money to conduct a reputable and profitable business which can stay around long enough to back up the work that they do. Also figured into the cost of doing business is warranty work. Our company provides three years of service with each new residential installation project. No matter how good the product or installation is, things go wrong. Lights go out, timers fail -- and we have to come back and take care of it at no additional charge to the client. These expenses still need to be calculated into each and every job in order to be cost-effective enough to keep the doors open. Those companies who suffer a lot of failures will eventually also fail themselves as they try to recover expenses by charging too much, or by simply letting go of the drowning albatross (the company). A company, who is mindful of good business practices, uses quality products, installs them well, and charges a fair price will do just fine.

There are several other things that go into the pricing of an outdoor lighting system, but these are the obvious biggies that must be considered. So here is the answer to the question: Our company, NightScenes Landscape Lighting Professionals, has completed a very wide range of projects since we began almost a decade ago in this industry. Prices have gone up over the years, both due to normal increases in manufacturing and labor, as well as the giant leap from incandescent, halogen and high intensity discharge (HID like mercury vapor and metal halide) to LED. Over 90% of our installation projects come to us by client and industry referrals, and are usually large estate properties. We have installed small projects for about $2000, and projects upwards of $100,000. Our average residential project is in the neighborhood of $14,000 for approximately 40 fixtures; and we don’t do very many commercial projects.  The commercial projects are those that can get into the $100K range.

Learning and honing a craft by attending schools around the country; gaining and maintaining industry certifications; researching and using high quality products; hiring and training employees of integrity and treating them well; paying for and controlling overhead expenses; and making a fair profit to continually improve our business all go into the pricing of a superior outdoor lighting system. Those who don’t cover everything outlined here will, of course, be able to charge less - while those who share our business profile may charge more. Potential clients who have very limited budgets may have to trade some value features for price; while others demand the highest available quality and will gladly pay what they feel is a reasonable price for excellence in product and company reliability.

Hopefully now you have a realistic idea of what you should expect to pay for a low voltage landscape lighting system.  If you do need more information, please don’t hesitate to drop us a note at info@night-scenes.com .