Inground Well Lights

Inground well lights are quick and easy to install, the wire can be easily buried only a few inches below ground or tucked in beneath ground cover or other plants. Like all low voltage landscape lighting, well lights require a transformer to operate. Some well light fixtures can be mounted directly into surfaces like wooden decks or stairways to act as guides for visitors. Others have lamp holders that are adjustable so that the light can be directed at specific locations such as an interesting tree or shrub. Installed close to a wall or building, they can be used to direct light up on to the surface, highlighting interesting rock, brick or other wall treatments.

Well lighting fixtures are available in many materials and finishes to complement the design of your home. Materials available include plastic, fiberglass, aluminum, brass, stainless steel, and even copper. Finishes can be the natural beauty of the metals or any number of painted colors and faux finishes. Special covers are available for many well lights, like grills or grates to keep leaves out of the light, or frosted glass and brass trim. Like most landscape lighting made today, well lights are available with LED bulbs, which are energy efficient and put out more light per watt than conventional bulbs. Using LED will allow you to use smaller, lower cost transformers. LED lights typically last up to 20 times longer than the old halogen bulbs, which saves lots of maintenance time spent changing bulbs. For larger systems using dozens of fixtures, this savings in time alone can be considerable. LED bulbs do cost more than halogen bulbs, but because they last so much longer, can be used with smaller transformers, and draw less energy to operate, they save money in the long run. Close -

Well lighting, just like all other outdoor lighting, offers a wide array of options as far as lighting color and illumination. Well lighting bulbs can be found ranging from 20 watt bulbs to 75 watt bulbs. Another increasingly popular option is LED well lighting. LED well lighting combines the energy efficiency of an LED system with the comfort and simplicity of an inground well lighting system. However, one drawback of using LED bulbs for inground well lights will be the muted illumination. Because the well lights are entrenched in the ground they will already be at a disadvantage as far as illuminating the area. Combe that with the lower light output that the LED bulbs produce will only further that. It is important to note here that the strength of illumination is only a disadvantage if that is something that negatively affects your perception as a homeowner.

If you are in favor of a more muted area of illumination, then combining inground well lights with LED bulbs may suit you. LED bulbs can be selected that put out the same amount of light as halogen bulbs, while drawing much less wattage. Well lights can work quite well when combined with spot, or narrow focused, beams. They will provide strong illumination of a small area, such as the length of a tree or a wall. If this suits your needs, perhaps this is something worth looking into. One of the main advantages of a well light comes from its unique construction. The well light is actually suspended inside a shell, or outer housing. This shell forms a well, thus the name well lighting. Because the bulb is suspended in this shell, it allows for more efficient heat dissipation and the entire assembly will run at a cooler temperature. On the downside, the hollow shell is also more susceptible to allowing water or moisture into the fixture. This may require the homeowner to provide better drainage and a little extra care when installing the well lighting fixtures.

Knowing this, it is recommended that the homeowner consider carefully the locations of well lighting fixtures. Try to put them in locations that will have adequate drainage and prevent small pebbles or debris from entering the fixture which may adversely affect the well housing. Also, placing gravel in the bottom of the well light fixture hole will allow water to drain away more efficiently. Placement is also important when considering whether people will be walking on top of the well lighting fixtures. If this will be the case, it is important to know that the temperature of some fixture lens’ can at times get hot enough to burn skin. Simply take note of this when doing research on which fixtures will be best for your well lighting needs.  Close -