Every day more and more people are discovering the benefits of LED lighting: they are efficient, last many thousands of hours and better for the environment than older types of lighting such as incandescent and fluorescent lamps. For these reasons and more, LED technology is increasingly replacing the old format as a lighting option for landscape gardening. The most common type of garden lights that are used is the ones with PIR sensor. These lights are designed to come on automatically and alert homeowners to the presence of potential intruders. As a more viable alternative, many companies are now offering LED spotlights, which cost less to run and last many times longer, which is important given the spotlight quite difficult to replace.
This is the practical side of garden lighting, but there are also plenty of options for decorative lighting. Take LED Tape for example. It is flexible, light-weight and surprisingly bright for its small size. It also runs at 12-volts, which is ideal for use in the garden. When using any lighting outside, it is important to make sure it is waterproof. This can be done by checking the IP rating, a simple code designed to tell you the level of protection offered against the ingress of moisture. In order to use LED Tape in your garden you will need at least an IP67 rated coating. This goes for any peripheral units as well, such as transformers, controllers and amplifiers, which should either be IP rated or housed inside an IP rated enclosure.
Thanks to their compact design, LED Tape can be incorporated into the design of your garden in a number of different ways. It can be used to add decorative appeal to decking, arbors and steps, or to mark out the borders of your flowerbeds. As a safety feature, LED Tape can be used to mark out the edge of pathways and prevent your guests from accidentally trampling your flowerbeds. They also work surprisingly well under the lip of border walls and will add a stylish glow to architectural features.