The latest thing in landscape lighting is LED.  This is short for light-emitting-diode.  The system has been used for years in traffic lights and other commercial uses.

The problem with using it in landscape lighting before now has been the color of the light itself.  It tended to have that sort of Frankenstein blue hue to the light and was not very flattering to the ferns and flowers.  This problem has been almost completely solved by more than one landscape lighting manufacturer.  In a side by side test I did myself, it was barely possible to tell which light was the LED source and which was the regular

Thousand Oaks Garden with Lighting

low voltage light.

There are two very large advantages to LED lighting.  First, the nature of the light source (or bulbs, if you prefer) is that they last a really, really long time.  Normal bulb rating is up to 100,000 hours, or maybe 25 years in ordinary usage.  Compared with maybe 5000 hours for a regular bulb, this is a lot of bulbs that don’t have to be purchased or changed in all those fixtures throughout the landscape.

The other big advantage is the cost in electricity to run the system.  Even as efficient as regular low voltage lighting is when compared to high voltage house lighting, an LED system leaves it in the dust.  In general round numbers, the average LED system uses probably about one eighth as much power to get the same amount of light in the garden as a low voltage system.  A high quality LED fixture uses either 3 watts, or 5 watts for the big ones.  This is something like using the electricity to power a baby’s night light to light a medium size tree in the garden.  Another way to look at it is that an entire back yard garden could have 15 separate lighting fixtures, highlighting trees, shrubs and flowers, garden walls and pathways and would cost the same in electricity as running one 60 watt bulb inside the house.

Any downside?  Just the cost of the fixtures.  Right now, they are definitely more than the regular fixtures (new technology cost more, primarily).  The good part is that the transformer can be much smaller than usual and the wiring doesn’t have to be nearly as large to carry the load – both of these should cost less than a regular system.  This should help to shave off some of the higher fixture cost.  In the long run, considering the cost of electricity and no need to buy any bulbs, the cost of an LED system is much less.  It is also a lot greener.

For ponds and waterfalls, there are some pumps that are much more energy efficient than others.  The way to determine this is to compare the number of gallons per minute against the amperage required to run the pump.  Installing a timer is another option so you don’t forget to turn it off when you are not there to enjoy it.

Waterfall Design By Larsen Landscape

Waterfalls should be designed with the stonework so the sound is maximized without the need to have Niagara Falls pouring over the rocks.

Swimming pools are much more efficient with a variable speed pump system.  The idea here is to avoid having to run the pump at full speed for normal circulation needs.

Of course, the ultimate green approach to electricity is to install a solar collection system for all your electrical needs.  This goes way beyond just heating a swimming pool or a water heater and the technology is already available to turn sunlight into electricity.  You can even sell your unused power back to the utility company. Hopefully the ongoing research will get the cost of these systems into everyone’s price range soon.