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Landscape lighting can be expensive, but there are valid reasons behind the large price tags! Read on to learn why.

Inexpensive Lighting

Inexpensive low-voltage landscape lights are typically made of cheap plastic that tends to get brittle and crack over time. These fixtures are also notoriously known for their poor sealing, allowing water inside of the fixture and causing irreparable damage to the internal electricals. This, combined with the already cheap materials, results in light fixtures that give off decent light for a while, before completely kicking the bucket after just one or two years of use.

Though this isn't always the case with cheap lights (it's certainly most common, however), these inexpensive fixtures typically end up costing more in the long run as you pay for replacements lights and the labor costs to replace them (or your time replacing them).

So, Why Are They So Expensive?

Landscape lights are electric fixtures that need to be able to withstand being outside all year long. And not just be able to withstand it but to continue to work perfectly even after heavy rain, snow, or wind. Because of this, superior and more costly materials should be used when manufacturing these lights.

Quality landscape lights are likely going to be made of some sort of metal. The most popular choices are aluminum and stainless steel, due to their durability and they're on the cheaper end of available and robust metals. Other widely used materials are brass and copper, though these are still used less frequently due to their much higher price tags.

The higher prices of brass and copper landscape lights are always worth it in the long run. Quite literally, the bodies of these fixtures could outlive you and me because of their robustness and complete corrosion resistance. If you don't believe me, look at the Statue of Liberty. This statue is made of mainly copper and has been standing strong for 147 years and counting!

Powder Coating

You can bet that if a high-quality landscape lighting fixture has a colored finish, it was powder coated. If you don't know exactly how powder coating works, or why it's better than solvent-based finishes (ex. traditional paint), allow me to explain!

Powder coating is the process of applying a dry powder to metal and curing it to form a hard and protective finish that is extremely resilient. In this process, the metal is first electrostatically charged, then coated with a fine powder made from a polymer resin, combined with pigment and other additives. The metal is then cured using high heat to essentially melt the powder into a uniform coating.

The benefits of using powder coating heavily outweigh those of using paint. Powder coating is resistant to weather, scratches, scuffs, impact, and chipping, and can last up to 20 years. Powder coating is also much better for the environment as it is non-toxic with a carbon footprint of up to 50x less than solvent-based finishes and no VOCs. At Silhouette Lights, we specifically use marine-grade powder coating for an extra durable finish that can withstand salt and extreme weather conditions.

Other Key Points

Lastly, expensive landscape lighting is more likely to be made outside of China. Though China does produce a lot of the world's great landscape lighting (ex. Kichler), supporting businesses local or closer to you reduces transportation emissions, supports your local economy, and ensures that you're purchasing high-quality products and not a mass-produced fixture with sometimes questionable quality.

High-quality and permanent landscape lighting also can increase the value of your home by up to 20%! Not only that, but you can expect a quicker sale with higher offers compared to a home without any landscape lights or with poor-quality lighting.

Conclusion

In short, the price of your landscape lighting is almost always a direct reflection of the cost of the materials used to make it! Though not always, more expensive materials are typical of higher quality and will last a lot longer.

Choosing landscape lighting is completely dependent on personal factors and your own needs. Aside from upfront costs, there is no downside to investing in quality landscape lighting, but it may not be what you're looking for - and that's cool! Solar lights are quicker and significantly cheaper, and though they don't last long, that may be all you need.

Landscape lighting doesn't have to be expensive, but it always pays off in the end if you do invest in quality fixtures. If you want to explore your landscape lighting options, take a look at our collection and do your research before investing!