Landscape Lighting Fixtures: Big-Box Stores vs. Professionals
Without a doubt, incorporating outdoor lighting into your landscape has many benefits. When done correctly, outdoor lighting can add safety, aesthetic appeal, dramatic contrast, and elegance to your property! But how do you decide whether outdoor lighting is a DIY project or something that’s better left to the professionals? We think that the best way to address this common question is to look at the fixtures themselves. In this post, we’re going to compare fixtures you can buy at any big-box store to the ones that you can get from a professional landscape lighting company.
A Closer Look at Price
Fact: Box store fixtures are less expensive than professional ones.
Yes, it’s true. Box store fixtures are typically much cheaper, but that price is not the only variable that is important. The fixtures you’ll find at a big box store are mass produced, often made with cheap materials, and are meant to be short-term solutions for your lighting needs. If you’re looking for a landscape lighting solution that is durable, attractive, and high quality, then don’t let the cheapest price be your guiding light.
A Closer Look at Quality
Fact: Box store fixtures are not high-quality products.
Box store fixtures are made with cheaper quality materials (usually plastic) and lower quality lights than those that you can get from a professional landscape lighting company. We’ve seen countless projects where someone installed lights they bought from a box store, and as soon as the lawnmower hit them or someone accidentally bumped them while walking, the fixtures needed to be replaced. To tie this point back to the variable of pricing, buying a cheaper product more often typically ends up being the more expensive overall route.
Professional lighting manufacturers use high-quality materials, such as brass, copper, and aluminum, to ensure that their products are durable and conducive to spending their days (and nights) outdoors. Many professional lighting providers also use integrated light bulb systems that eliminate moisture build-up inside the fixture, which is a common problem we’ve seen in box store lighting products.
A Closer Look at Warranties
Fact: Not all warranties are created equally.
When investing your time and money into an outdoor lighting project, you want to be sure that if something goes wrong, it can be resolved easily. A warranty guaranteed by a professional provides the security that comes with someone who is accountable for fixing or replacing it. Box store lighting systems will often come with some form of warranty as well, but the process of getting it fulfilled can be a tedious, stressful process. Save yourself a headache and do things right the first time, both in terms of quality and professionalism.
Get the Most Out of Your Investment
In most cases, letting a professional install your outdoor lighting is the better choice than doing it yourself. That’s not to say that you are not talented or smart or capable of such things – it’s just that professional installation has the better overall return on investment. Don’t waste money on cheap, low-quality products with limited warranties. Between the cost of replacing them and the value of your time, the DIY approach ends up being a net negative.
Topeka Landscape is Here to Help!
Topeka Landscape has been providing outdoor lighting solutions to our customers for over 20 years, and we know the value of high-quality lights. We choose only the best products from our professional lighting resources. Ready to brighten things up around your landscape? Contact us today to get started!
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