Is it okay to increase the wattage?

[MarkSJames]

I would like to increase the wattage of the bulbs used in my landscape lighting but was wondering if there are any risks or danger from doing so. Most of my fixtures are rated for either 7 watts or 11 watts and I would like to increase them at least one level each, so for example going from 7 watts to 11 watts and 11 watts to 18 watts.

My transformer has plenty of power to handle the increase in bulb wattage along the tracks, but will increaseing the wattage cause any issues, risks or dangers?

I appreciate any help you can provide me on this matter.

Regards,

Mark

[NightScenes]

Do not exceed the max wattage indicated on your fixtures. These fixures should be UL listed with a max wattage label on it. The biggest problem with increasing the wattage is that it will burn up the socket.

[desert night light]

ditch the wedge malibu lights and get yourself some real lights that take bi-pin bulbs. that's the best advice we can give. now go read gambino's new magazine article . he'll teach ya.

[JimLewis]

Ditto what Dessert Light said. You won't find 7w or 11w bulbs on professional lighting fixtures. Ditch Malibu and start installing some real lighting.

Most professional grade fixtures start at 20w. Many are 35w or 40w. And some are even larger.

In addition to the mag. article mentioned, I'd also personally recommend Nate Mullen's book, "Trade Secrets of Professional Landscape Lighting".

[NightScenes]

Most professional deck lights are only 6.5 - 10 watts.

[MarkSJames]

Thanks for all the good information. I have read over many of Gambino's articles and will check out Nate Mullen's book, "Trade Secrets of Professional Landscape Lighting". I have managed to get better light output by splitting the existing landscape lighting zones from the original 2 zones to 4. With this split I have additional capacity to upgrade to some higher end professional light fixtures.

[Pro-Scapes]

make sure your main lines are up to it before adding wattage as well. Alot of the low end homeowner "kits" come with 16ga wire. Lots of loss there and low capacity

[JimLewis]

Most professional deck lights are only 6.5 - 10 watts.

Most are 10w. I don't know any major professional brands (e.g. FX Luminare, Unique, Vista, etc.) that have less than a 10w deck light. Vista has one that is 20w and that's the one I use.

[desert night light]

You are so right Jim Lewis (I usually don't trust people with two first names, but you sound like a good guy) , don't listen to that other guy who thinks he knows it all and gets all bent out of shape once Gambino's name is mentioned in a thread. I at least admit it that Gambino blows my work off the map. This other guy, with his dinky point and shoot camera, is so delusional that he thinks his work is on par with Gambino's . Absolutely Incredible.

[Pro-Scapes]

we just put in some SPJ's that were 20w as well. They ended up spaced pretty good. If We went closer would of prolly swapped out for a lower wattage.

[NightScenes]

The Vista line of deck lights is very limited to start with. Their deck lights have a MAX wattage of 20 watts, type T-3. I have never had the need to use a 20 watt lamp on a deck. I use 20 watt lamps to light trees and facades. The brightest lamp I will use on a deck is 10 watts. See other manufactures such as Kichler, Hunza, Hinkley, Hadco and the like. Just because a fixture gives you a MAX wattage of 20, does'nt mean you HAVE to use a 20 in it. That would be like always using a 50 watt MR16 in every bullet that says 50 watt max. People want soft lighting on their decks. They want them to be romantic. Don't fall into the trap that says brighter is better. Use some creativity and cut back on the wattage. Your clients will appreciate it.

[Pro-Scapes]

well put paul. I used these as a favor to someone and they actually asked if I could get them brighter. I got 10 watt low voltage halogen discs above my desk recessed into the cabinet below and its more than enough light to work by.

[JimLewis]

The wattage of a deck light depends on the amount of lights my client can afford. At about $100 per fixture - before labor - it can get fairly expensive really quickly. Especially on a larger deck.

A 10w bulb doesn't have a very big spread. And you really have to install one on every single post (assuming the posts are 4-6' appart) in order to get a decent lighting effect. This gets costly. And honestly, I think a light on every friggin' post is a little over-doing it. But if I install that same fixture every other post and use a 20w bulb, I get just as much spread for half the price to the consumer.

So it's not so much that I am thinking brighter is better. It's that I am trying to give the client more bang for their buck.

Don't get me wrong. I want to make money. But I also want to keep it affordable enough so that my client can afford to have it done. Keeping the cost down by using less fixtures and larger wattage lamps is good for both the client and me.

[extlights]

I've never used a deck light with anything larger than at 10w bulb. We just did a 1400 sq ft. deck and used 5 lights.....it looks great and the customer couldn't be happier.

[NightScenes]

Just remember, deck lighting is more "mood" lighting than anything. You also don't have to cover the entire deck with light. Try using a lower wattage lamp and see what can happen. The fixture, and hight of installation will determine the coverage area of the light, it will just be softer. Try using a fixture with a wider photometric. Just some ideas.

[Pro-Scapes]

50 watts on 1400 sq ft ? was there some ambient light from the house ?

I just installed 180 watts on a deck half that size but it was really long and narrow.

I personally wanted to use lower wattage bulbs and downlight as there was some great trees near by.

I agree with Jim to a certain point but I like the effects of less wattage and more lights. It just looks smoother with better coverage. Im not saying its going to look bad with the way you do it because I have done it that way and been pleased with the outcome but would preffer a little less wattage.