Plug-in, extra low voltage or hardwired?
Solar garden lights with their own panel and battery aren't connected to anything, so there's no electrical work involved. Plug-in festoons and garden kits plug into an outdoor power point. Plugging them in is fine, but that outlet needs to be weatherproof and on a safety switch, and installing one is a job for an electrician.
Extra low voltage garden systems run from a transformer that steps the power down for the lights. In New South Wales, equipment running at no more than 50 volts AC sits outside the definition of an electrical installation, and the ACT leaves extra low voltage work out of electrical wiring work too. The transformer's mains supply, and any new outlet or switch for it, is still licensed work. Other states word their rules differently, so ask before assuming.
Hardwired lights, like wall lights, deck and step lights set into timber, and permanently fixed festoon runs, connect straight to the house wiring. That's licensed work everywhere.
What goes wrong outside
Most outdoor lighting faults come from water and digging. Cable laid shallow in a garden bed gets cut by a spade or a new fence post. Fittings that aren't rated for their spot let water in, and the safety switch trips every time it rains. Joins made in the open fail over time.
An electrician who does a lot of outdoor work runs cable in conduit at a sensible depth, keeps joins in weatherproof boxes, chooses fittings rated for where they'll sit, and leaves you a sketch of where the cables run so whoever digs next knows.
Switching, timers and festoons
Decide how you want the lights controlled before work starts. A switch inside the back door, a timer, a daylight sensor or a smart switch on your phone each need slightly different wiring, and adding a switch later usually means more cable and more digging.
Permanent festoons over a deck or courtyard need something strong to hang from, like a tensioned wire or posts, and a weatherproof connection at one end. If you'd rather keep them plug-in, ask for an outdoor power point where the festoons start, so no lead trails across the yard.
Your part, and the electrician's
You can
- Set out solar lights and plug-in kits made for outdoor use.
- Mark where you want each light, and where digging or paving will happen later.
- Keep outdoor leads off paths and out of puddles, and unplug them before heavy rain.
- Note whether the safety switch trips after rain, and tell the electrician.
Leave to a licensed electrician
- New outdoor power points, switches and timers.
- Connecting a transformer to the house supply.
- Hardwired wall, deck, step and garden lights.
- Running cable underground or through walls, and tracing water in a fitting.
Our take
If landscaping or paving is coming, get an electrician in before it starts. Even if you're not ready for the lights, have conduit laid to the spots you might want them later, because it's never easier than with the ground open. For an established garden, a few well-placed hardwired lights on one switch will outlast a dozen bargain kits.
Want a specialist to sort it?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match the licence-checked local electrician who does this kind of work, and they call you. No ring-around, and your number goes to them alone.
