Low-Voltage Landscape Lighting · Design + Installation
Landscape Lighting Design & Installation, Peninsula & South Bay
Layered, warm-white lighting for paths, steps, patios, planting and architectural features, planned with the transformer, the controls, the cable routes and the landscape around them.
CA Lic #1099847
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$2M GL · $5M umbrella
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On-time guarantee
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BBB A+
Planning ballpark
From $4,000
A complete system starts here and rises with fixtures, cable runs, controls, access and hardscape integration.
Project minimum
$25,000
Completion date
In writing
Verified reviews
80 review listings and recommendations across six platforms as of 2026-08-30
What it costs
How much does professional landscape lighting cost?
Fixture count is the number everyone asks about and the one that predicts the least. Here is what our own completed work shows.
Twelve fixtures in Atherton cost more than nineteen in Los Altos. That is not a pricing error, it is what happens when fixture material, output, cable runs, transformer capacity, controls, access and hardscape integration differ between two properties. Across the four completed systems where we recorded a fixture count, the per-fixture figure ranges from $242 to $1,058. Anyone quoting you a single per-light price is describing their own average, not your yard.
| Project | Completed | System | Lighting scope | Per fixture |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Altos | Oct 2024 | 19 fixtures, 300W Wi-Fi transformer | $4,600–$5,100 | $242–$268 |
| Los Altos Hills | Jun 2026 | 15 fixtures, Wi-Fi transformer | $5,400–$6,500 | $360–$433 |
| San Bruno | May 2026 | 38 fixtures | $25,500–$29,500 | $671–$776 |
| Atherton | Dec 2025 | 12 brass path lights, dimmable Wi-Fi transformer | $11,500–$12,700 | $958–$1,058 |
The four below are shown to make that point, not as a price list. Each is what that particular job cost inside a larger landscape project, and the Los Altos system is 2024 pricing.
These are planning ballparks, not a rate card. Any figure shown for a completed project is what that specific job cost, on its own site, with its own access, selections and scope. Yours is priced from yours, and the written proposal is the only number that binds either of us.
Where it matters
Where thoughtful lighting makes the greatest difference
Five jobs lighting actually does, in the order they usually matter.
Paths and changes in level
Path and step lights improve visibility at transitions, stairs and circulation routes. The fixture should light the walking surface without putting glare at eye level, which is mostly a question of shielding and spacing rather than output.
Patios and outdoor rooms
Low-level perimeter and hardscape lighting can define the dining, cooking and seating areas without washing the whole yard in bright light. The aim is that the room reads at night, not that everything is visible.
Trees and planting
Carefully aimed accent lights reveal trunks, canopies and the structure of the planting. Beam spread, output, shielding and how the plant will grow all matter before a fixture is placed, because a light aimed at a young tree is aimed at nothing in five years.
Walls and architectural features
Wall washing, grazing and narrow-beam accents bring out stone texture, fences and selected parts of the house, while limiting spill into windows and onto the neighbors.
Integrated into the hardscape
Step, wall, seat-cap and counter lighting is roughed in before the masonry, pavers or kitchen finishes are complete. Sleeves, conduit and fixture housings get coordinated during construction, which is the one part of this that genuinely cannot be done later without opening the surface back up.
The system
A lighting system is more than fixtures
The nighttime result depends on the whole system being designed together. Fixture selection is one line of thirteen.
- Fixture schedule: model, material, output, beam spread and color temperature
- Transformer capacity and where it is mounted
- Whether the power source exists, and who provides it if it does not
- Circuit and control zones
- Cable gauge and approximate run lengths
- Voltage-drop calculation for the specified system
- Sleeves or conduit beneath hardscape
- Outdoor-rated and listed components throughout
- Connection method and cable protection detail
- Timer, astronomical control, photocell, dimming or smart controls
- After-dark testing and aiming
- Final programming and homeowner handoff
- An as-built record of fixture and cable locations
Voltage drop is arithmetic, not opinion
Transformer position, cable length and the load on each run determine what voltage actually arrives at the last fixture. Get it wrong and the far end of the run reads dim and shifts color, which no amount of aiming fixes. It is calculated for the specified system rather than estimated from fixture count.
Someone will dig here again
A record of where the cable runs is worth having the first time a fence post, a tree or an irrigation repair goes in. It costs nothing to produce during construction and is close to impossible to reconstruct afterwards.
Fixture types
Choosing the right light for each job
Eight fixture types, what each is for, and the thing that most often goes wrong with it.
| Fixture | Best use | What to plan for |
|---|---|---|
| Path light | Walkways, planting beds and transitions | Shielding, spacing, height, glare |
| Step or wall light | Stairs, seat walls and grade changes | Rough-in timing, housing, masonry coordination |
| Accent or spot | Trees, sculpture, architectural features | Beam spread, aiming, output, future plant growth |
| Wall wash | Broad walls, fences, textured surfaces | Evenness, setback, spill across the property line |
| Downlight | Trees, pergolas and overhead structures | Mounting method, service access, branch movement |
| In-grade or well | Columns, walls and selected trees | Drainage, listing, heat, serviceability |
| Under-cap or linear | Seat walls, counters and steps | Concealment, diffusion, wiring access, replacement |
| Pool or spa light | Underwater and regulated pool areas | A separate specialized electrical scope and approvals |
Pool and spa areas carry additional electrical and equipment requirements. Ordinary landscape fixtures are not a substitute for underwater pool lighting, and that work belongs to the appropriately qualified trade.
Restraint
Enough light to see, without lighting everything
The most common fault in residential landscape lighting is too much of it, aimed imprecisely.
Useful
Every fixture has a defined purpose. If it does not, it does not go in.
Targeted
Light falls where it is needed, through shielding and aiming rather than hope.
Low level
No brighter than the task requires. Most residential lighting is over-lit.
Controlled
On when it is needed, dimmed or off when it is not.
Warm-colored
Limit the shorter-wavelength blue-violet content.
Those five are DarkSky International’s principles for responsible outdoor lighting, and they are a good working brief for a backyard as well as for a dark-sky reserve. In practice they mean separating circulation, entertaining and accent zones so they can be run independently, preventing avoidable spill into windows and neighboring properties, and re-aiming fixtures as the planting matures.
On color temperature: warm white around 2700K is a common residential default because it sits well against wood, stone and planting and avoids a harsh blue-white cast. That is a design position rather than a rule. Requirements vary by jurisdiction, and DarkSky’s own guidance asks for warmer color without naming a number.
Electrical planning
What electrical planning does landscape lighting require?
Low voltage is not the same as no electrical work, and the difference is where responsibility sits.
91 volts
California defines low-voltage systems as energy limited and not exceeding 91 volts, and names low voltage landscape lighting among them (CSLB C-7). The path, accent and hardscape fixtures sit under that threshold. The household circuit feeding the transformer does not, and never has.
The supply side is still line voltage
A listed transformer reduces voltage at the fixtures. It does not remove the need for a suitable power source, correct equipment selection, protection where it applies, listed components, protected cable routing and a voltage-drop calculation. Where no suitable exterior source exists, the project may need a new receptacle, a branch circuit, a permit and a qualified electrical contractor.
- Confirm the existing exterior receptacle and its protection
- Identify who provides any new 120V circuit or receptacle
- Use listed transformers, fixtures and components throughout
- Follow the selected manufacturer’s installation instructions
- Calculate transformer load and voltage drop for the actual system
- Verify cable routing and protection before anything is covered
- Coordinate with irrigation, drainage, tree roots and excavation
- Confirm the additional requirements near pools, spas and water features
- Verify permit and inspection requirements with the jurisdiction
- Commission the controls and leave a manual fallback where it applies
California’s 2025 Electrical and Energy Codes took effect on 1 January 2026, and local jurisdictions may amend them. Check the current code through the Building Standards Commission. For applicable residential additions and alterations, the Energy Code carries outdoor-lighting efficacy and control provisions: building-mounted residential outdoor lights may require a manual control together with qualifying automatic controls, so an app or a photocell alone should not be assumed to satisfy them. Building-mounted and other line-voltage lighting is kept separate from the low-voltage landscape scope for exactly this reason.
Who does what
Why lighting comes with a landscape project
There is a licensing answer to this, and it is more useful than a sales one.
Part of, or incidental to
CSLB’s Building Official Information Guide states that a C-27 contractor “may obtain permits and contract for such work, provided the work is part of or incidental to an overall landscaping project”, referring to electrical circuits for yard lighting. Sequoia holds C-27. So landscape lighting arriving as part of a landscape project is the shape of the classification, not a bundling tactic. Read the guide.
New line-voltage work goes to the qualified trade
Sequoia holds A (General Engineering), C-8 (Concrete), C-27 (Landscaping), D-06 and D-12, under license #1099847. We coordinate the complete landscape-lighting scope and any qualified electrical trade work the selected system and power source require. Each party’s work is named in the proposal.
One accountable project team coordinates the landscape, the lighting and the qualified trade work from planning through sign-off. Landscape lighting is available as part of qualifying landscape and outdoor-living projects meeting the $25,000 minimum total engagement.
Ask any contractor for their license number and check it at cslb.ca.gov. That applies to us as much as to anyone else.
Cost drivers
What changes the cost of landscape lighting?
Seventeen things, only one of which is how many lights there are.
- Fixture quantityThe starting point, and the weakest single predictor
- Material and modelBrass and copper against the alternatives
- Lamp typeReplaceable lamp or integrated LED
- Beam and outputSpread and lumen options per fixture
- Transformer capacitySized to the load, not to the fixture count
- Cable gauge and runLength drives both cost and voltage drop
- Control zonesHow many circuits run independently
- ControlsWi-Fi, dimming or astronomical timing
- Power sourceWhether a suitable exterior source already exists
- New circuit workA receptacle or branch circuit where none exists
- Excavation and accessWhat it takes to get cable where it needs to go
- Sleeves under hardscapeConduit beneath pavers, walls and steps
- Integrated fixturesStep, wall and under-cap housings set during the build
- Aiming and programmingAfter-dark commissioning, not a daytime walk
- Surface restorationPutting back whatever had to be opened
- Permits and tradesSpecialty work and inspection where required
- Pool and spa proximitySeparate requirements near water
Integrated fixtures are the ones worth deciding early. Step, wall and under-cap housings go in while the walkway, wall or patio is being built. Everything else can wait; those cannot.
Completed systems
Three documented lighting scopes
Every figure is the lighting line inside a larger landscape project, and every card links to the project it came from.
Fifteen fixtures on a circular terrace
Low-voltage fixtures lighting the new steps, walkway and circular terrace, on a Wi-Fi transformer, coordinated with 740 square feet of pavers, new planting and the circulation routes through the yard.
- Lighting scope
- $5,400–$6,500
- Fixtures
- 15
- Completed
- June 2026
Twelve brass path lights, dimmable
Brass path lights guiding movement through the paver steps, the cobble channel and the planted areas, on a dimmable Wi-Fi transformer so output can be set differently for a dinner than for a walk to the car.
- Lighting scope
- $11,500–$12,700
- Fixtures
- 12 brass path
- Completed
- December 2025
Nineteen fixtures on a 300W transformer
The largest fixture count of the three and the smallest lighting scope, which is the whole point of the table above. This is 2024 pricing.
- Lighting scope
- $4,600–$5,100
- Fixtures
- 19
- Completed
- October 2024
Our largest documented lighting scope is the San Bruno project at $25,500 to $29,500 for 38 fixtures across a complete outdoor room. See all completed projects and their investment ranges.
How it runs
From daytime plan to nighttime commissioning
Six steps. Step four is the one that cannot be reordered.
Project-fit review
The full landscape scope, the city, the budget, the timeline, and whether lighting is being integrated with new construction or added to a finished yard.
Site and nighttime-use planning
Paths, steps, entertaining areas, focal points, sensitive windows, neighboring properties, and the areas that should stay dark. That last one gets left off most plans.
Fixture and system plan
Fixture types, output, color temperature, transformer, cable routes, zones, controls and who is responsible for the power source.
Rough-in before finished surfaces
Sleeves, housings and cable routes go in before the pavers, walls, steps, kitchen or planting are finished. This step has no second chance.
Installation and electrical coordination
The low-voltage system goes in, and any permitted or specialty electrical work for the power source is coordinated with the qualified trade.
After-dark aiming and handoff
Voltage and operation tested, fixtures aimed and shielded after dark rather than at noon, controls programmed, and the system documented for you.
Completion terms are in writing: see the on-time completion guarantee and financing options.
Check your project fit
Plan my outdoor lighting
Tell us what needs to be visible after dark and what should stay dark. That second half is the part most lighting plans miss. We will review project fit, the likely scope and the best next step. Lighting is designed as part of qualifying landscape and outdoor-living projects starting at $25,000.
Questions
Straight answers, before you call.
How much does landscape lighting cost?
Our documented lighting scopes run from $4,000 to $29,500 as the lighting line inside larger landscape projects. Four of those recorded a fixture count: 19 fixtures in Los Altos at $4,600 to $5,100, 15 in Los Altos Hills at $5,400 to $6,500, 38 in San Bruno at $25,500 to $29,500, and 12 brass path lights in Atherton at $11,500 to $12,700. That works out between $242 and $1,058 per fixture, which is why we do not publish a per-light price.
Does Sequoia install standalone landscape lighting?
Landscape lighting is installed as part of a qualifying landscape or outdoor-living project meeting the $25,000 minimum total engagement. There is a licensing reason as well as a commercial one: CSLB permits a C-27 contractor to contract for yard-lighting electrical work provided that work is part of or incidental to an overall landscaping project.
Is low-voltage landscape lighting safe?
A properly designed and installed listed low-voltage system reduces voltage at the landscape fixtures, and it is still an electrical system. Transformer placement, the line-voltage source, equipment listing, cable protection, connections and clearances near pools and water all have to be handled correctly. Low voltage means lower risk when done properly, not the absence of one.
What is the difference between low-voltage and line-voltage outdoor lighting?
California defines low-voltage systems as energy limited and not exceeding 91 volts, and landscape lighting sits under that. Line-voltage work includes the household circuit feeding the transformer and may include building-mounted or architectural fixtures. Which contractor classification applies, and whether a permit is needed, depends on which of the two the work actually is.
Do I need a permit?
Possibly. It depends on the jurisdiction and on whether the project adds a circuit, a receptacle, building-mounted fixtures or other line-voltage work. We confirm the project-specific requirements before construction rather than quoting a general rule.
How many landscape lights do I need?
There is no reliable fixture-per-square-foot rule, and anyone offering one is guessing. It depends on circulation, grade changes, focal points, entertaining areas, fixture output, beam spread and how much of the property you want to stay dark.
Can lighting be installed in an existing yard?
Often, though access and surface restoration affect the scope. Integrated step, wall and under-cap fixtures are far easier while the corresponding hardscape is being built, which is the argument for deciding on them early rather than a claim that retrofitting is impossible.
What color temperature is best?
Warm white around 2700K is a common residential default because it complements wood, stone and planting and avoids a harsh blue-white cast. It is a design position rather than a requirement. The final choice should account for the effect you want, the fixture output and any applicable local rules.
Can the lights be controlled from a phone?
Many transformers offer app or Wi-Fi control, and capability, network coverage and manual-control options vary by product. The proposal should identify the selected controller and say how the system behaves when Wi-Fi is unavailable.
Can lights be installed near a pool or spa?
Sometimes, and pool and spa areas carry additional electrical and equipment requirements. Landscape lighting near the area is planned separately from underwater pool lighting, and that work is assigned to the appropriately qualified trade.
Will landscape lighting improve security?
Lighting can improve visibility along selected routes and activity areas. It is not a security system and should not be sold as one, and a badly aimed fixture that creates deep shadow and glare can make seeing harder rather than easier.
What maintenance is required?
Lens cleaning, clearing vegetation off fixtures, occasional re-aiming, control updates and the odd connection or component service. The bigger change is growth: planting alters the intended effect over a few seasons, and re-aiming is normal rather than a fault.
Ready to plan your landscape lighting?
Tell us what needs to be visible after dark and what should stay dark. We will confirm project fit, set a completion date in writing, and show you what each part of the work costs. Qualifying projects start at $25,000.