What Does LED Landscape Lighting Cost?

Like with anything else there is going to be a big range in prices. What I want to do here is give a basic breakdown of all the costs involved with a fully installed LED landscape lighting project for a typical home. What does LED landscape lighting cost? Here are the some of the factors that help figure cost:

• The number of fixture
• Type of fixture: spot, path, hardscape
• Location of installation
• Brand and quality of fixture
• The LED wattage
• Transformer used
• The cable and connectors

Beginning with number of fixtures: the more fixtures the greater the cost, obviously. Usually a system package will consist of 7 fixtures or more. Once you get over 12 there may be volume discounts. The style of fixture is a primary factor. We price most spotlights at approx. $300 per fixture installed, path lights at around the same price, hardscape lights (for seatwalls, etc.) at about $175 installed and peak lights at $350. That's where installation location comes into play. A light up on your eave is going to cost more because of the difficulty and additional wire required, but they look great. The brand and quality of fixture is a major factor. We use only Kichler LED landscape light fixtures because of their great warranty. The fixtures are fully potted LEDs, not the LED retrofit bulbs some other manufacturers use.

Wattage of the fixture is a factor when asking what does LED landscape lighting cost. The higher the wattage the more expense because more diodes are needed as the wattage goes up. Click to view fixture pricing for Kichler LEDs on Amazon.com.
The transformer is a final factor when it comes to pricing a LED landscape lighting system. A stainless steel cabinet is standard in a quality transformer and I usually start with a 300 watt transformer and size from there. Cable size also changes price. I only use 12 gauge and larger cable because that's what is required for the internal breaker to work. If the cable is too small the wire may short out and could potentially start a fire. But if the wire is the proper size any fault in the circuit will trip the internal breaker.

Also, be sure to use direct burial connectors with electrogel to prevent corrosion and shorting out of the wire. Here is a hypothetical cost for a typical system, completely installed if I was installing it: Install 7 LED spotlights for trees and home accents, install 2 eave lights on peaks, install 3 path lights of choice along walk and install 5 hardscape lights on landscape seatwall. Includes complete installation with 300 watt stainless steel transformer and 12 gauge low voltage cable with direct burial connectors.

7 spots @ $300 each= $2,100
2 peak lights @ $350 each= $700
3 path lights @ $300 each= $600
5 hardscape lights @ $150 each (volume discount)= $750
300 watt stainless steel transformer with digital timer= $300
Complete installation and warranty is included. Grand Total= $4,450 Obviously there are a number of factors, however this itemization should provide you an idea of how much high quality LED landscape lighting costs, installed, in the Chicagoland area. Good luck!



Here is a LED landscape lighting project Elemental Landscapes installed in Frankfort, IL.