LED Retro Fit: the Next Generation in Energy Efficiency

Retrofitting and converting existing 12v systems to LED has several benefits and features of with LED. With lower wattage, wiring methods can be simplified. Going back to the daisy chain is now common on many of LED installations. This will save on the cost of cable as well as the cost of installation.

Between 1960 and 1990, landscape lighting was still in the infancy stages and a majority of landscape projects didn't include much lighting, according to Lightcraft Outdoor. Most of the designs were basic Malibu type or common auto lamp fixtures. Not much thought was given to fixture and lighting design.

The most dramatic change was in the early1990's with the introduction of multi tap transformers, more variety of lamp choices and better fixture materials and design. This allowed the landscape lighting industry to be one of the fastest growing segments in home improvement. With larger projects came obstacles voltage loss, complicated wire runs and over voltage with the options of higher voltage transformers. Installing less than 11v would cause inconsistent and dim lighting and installing more than 12 volts will cause premature lamp failure.

Landscape lighting required a specialized knowledge of electricity and the need for exact testing with volt age meters. Also, transformers and cable became an expensive part of the lighting project. Today, with the advent of new LED technology, the industry now has more options with less complication. Not only does LED allow for easier and quicker design layouts, energy costs (which have risen dramatically), are also greatly reduced.

Why designing and retrofitting with LEDs makes sense
LEDs have a voltage range of 9v to 15v, which allow for a greater sweet spot on each branch circuit. Rather than utilizing 11.4 to 11.7 with incandescent/halogen, LEDs allow for a much more forgiving voltage range.

Less wattage - lower watts allow for less cable and smaller size transformers. This greatly offsets the cost of using LEDs. Longer life - LEDs last about 30,000 hours compared to 3,000 hours of incandescent lamps. There's less worry regarding premature lamp failure. In the past, lamp burn out would cause the rest of the circuit branch to be affected with higher voltage. This is referred to as the popcorn effect when one light went out, the rest of the lights would soon follow as voltage increased on the branch circuit.