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Landscape Lighting Installation: Process, Design and Cost

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How professional landscape lighting installation works in Kansas City: design, fixtures, wiring, safety rules, cost ranges and what to check before you hire.

Warm lights illuminate a residential garden path

A good landscape lighting installation starts with a plan for where light should fall, not with a box of fixtures. The crew lays out zones, sizes a transformer, runs buried low-voltage cable, makes sealed connections, then tests and aims every fixture after dark. Most residential systems cost in the low thousands of dollars, and the design decisions made before any trenching decide whether the result looks polished or glaring. Here is how the work goes, what drives price, and what to confirm before you sign.

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TL;DR

  • Most homes use low-voltage (12-volt) systems: a transformer steps household current down, and cable is buried in a shallow trench.
  • Plan zones for paths, steps, focal points and task areas first. Fixture count and placement matter more than brightness.
  • Expect roughly $2,000 to $6,000 for a typical project, with scope, fixture quality and site conditions moving the number.
  • Before you hire, ask for license, insurance, a written agreement, product details, warranty and an as-built plan.
  • Plan lighting before patios, walls and sod are finished, so cable can go in without tearing anything up.

Table of Contents

What a professional installation involves

The sequence is the same whether the job is a front walk or a full backyard. The details below follow the standard low-voltage method described by The Home Depot and This Old House.

1. Site walk and layout

The installer walks the property at dusk if possible, marks where fixtures will go, and decides where the transformer will sit. The transformer belongs near a GFCI-protected outlet. Fixtures are laid out on the ground before anything is dug, so you can see spacing and adjust it.

2. Locating what is already underground

Before any trenching, existing utility, irrigation and cable lines have to be marked so nothing gets cut, a step lighting specialists stress for anyone who digs. In Missouri and Kansas, that starts with the one-call utility locate service, and irrigation lines on your own side of the meter are something we ask you about up front.

3. Running cable

Main cable runs from the transformer along the route of the fixtures. A common approach is to lift the sod, lay the cable, and put the turf back. Research from The Home Depot puts burial depth for low-voltage cable at about 6 inches, and its guide uses 10-gauge cable for the main run. Where cable crosses a driveway or bed edge, it goes deeper or into conduit.

4. Making connections

Fixture-to-cable connections have to stay dry. The standard method uses brass butt-splice connectors covered with heat-shrink tubing. Connections made with cheap twist caps are the single most common reason lighting systems start flickering or dropping out a year or two later.

Sealed brass connector joining landscape lighting cable

5. Setting and aiming fixtures

Fixtures are set in prepared holes, leveled and staked. Final aiming happens at night, because a fixture that looks right at noon often throws glare at dusk.

6. Testing and programming

The transformer is energized and every fixture checked for output. Then the timer or photocell is set so the system runs when you need it and not all night.

Designing the light before you buy fixtures

Design is where professional work separates from a weekend hardware-store kit. The Guild of Landscape Lighting design best-practices guide calls for light that covers paths, steps and task areas, highlights focal points, creates depth and keeps glare low. It also notes that dark areas add contrast, so not everything should be lit.

Think in layers

A useful way to organize a yard is by purpose:

  • Safety and navigation: steps, walkways, grade changes, the edge of a driveway or patio.
  • Function: grill and outdoor kitchen areas, a gate latch, a house number.
  • Accent: a specimen tree, a stone wall, a fence line, a front facade.
  • Mood: soft washes on planting beds or a seating area that you will actually sit in.

Outdoor accent lighting works best when only a few features are chosen to be the stars. If a yard has six focal points, light two or three and let the rest recede.

Less light, better aimed

The National Park Service’s outdoor lighting principles recommend using the lowest light level needed for the task, fully shielded fixtures, and warm LEDs at 2700K or lower. The same guidance warns that too much light can reduce visibility by creating glare and disrupting night-adapted vision. For a Kansas City backyard, that means shielded path lights and downlights in warm white, not a row of bright globes.

Plan around the rest of the project

Lighting zones should be identified before landscaping or hardscape is finished. If you are building a paver patio, retaining wall or outdoor kitchen, sleeves for cable and wall-mounted fixture locations can be built in at almost no extra cost. Adding them afterward often means cutting into finished work. Our guide to landscape lighting placement walks through spacing and fixture positions in more detail, and our piece on driveway lighting spacing covers one of the most common requests.

Fixtures, transformer and cable: what you are paying for

Most residential systems are low-voltage. A transformer reduces 120-volt household current to 12 volts, and transformers are typically rated from 100 to 300 watts. The transformer has to be sized to the total wattage of every fixture on it, with room to add a few more later.

The parts that decide quality and longevity:

Component What to look for Why it matters
Fixtures Solid brass, copper or cast aluminum with a stated finish and warranty Thin plastic fades and cracks in Midwest freeze-thaw and summer sun
Light source LED, warm white (2700K or lower for most residential use) Low wattage lets one transformer run more fixtures
Transformer Sized to total load, with a timer or photocell An undersized unit overheats and dims the far end of the run
Cable Heavy-gauge main run, sized to length and load Voltage drops on long runs and fixtures at the end look dim
Connections Sealed, waterproof splices Moisture is the main cause of failures

LED is now the default. One industry report puts LED at about 88 percent of the worldwide residential landscape lighting market in 2025. If you want to understand the trade-offs between 12-volt and line-voltage options, we explain them in our low voltage landscape lighting guide. If you already have a system you like and just want app or schedule control, see how to retrofit smart landscape lighting without rewiring.

What landscape lighting installation costs

NerdWallet’s 2026 cost guide puts landscape lighting at $2,000 to $6,000, noting that project scope and local labor and materials drive the range. That is a useful starting frame, not a quote. Per-fixture figures from calculators, such as the national average of $205 to $328 per fixture estimated for 2026, help you sanity-check a proposal, but your actual price depends on the property.

What moves a quote up or down:

  1. Number of fixtures and zones. A front walk and facade is a smaller job than a full yard with trees, steps and a patio.
  2. Fixture material and brand. Solid brass and copper cost more up front and last longer than painted aluminum or plastic.
  3. Trenching conditions. Rock, clay, tree roots, concrete and pavers all add labor. Kansas City clay is slow to dig when it is dry and slow when it is wet.
  4. Distance from power. A long run to a back corner needs heavier cable or a second transformer.
  5. Controls. Timers, photocells, dimming and smart controls add cost but also add flexibility.
  6. Timing. Doing the lighting during a hardscape build is cheaper than retrofitting around a finished patio.

We do not publish fixed prices for lighting because two yards are never the same. We give a written proposal after walking the property, with the fixture count, materials and controls listed so you can compare it line by line.

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Safety, codes and who should do the work

Low-voltage lighting is the part of electrical work that homeowners can legally handle in many places, and lighting suppliers describe it as DIY-friendly. The same source says to check the National Electrical Code and local rules and to use a licensed electrician for 120-volt (line-voltage) lighting. Local requirements vary by city and county, so confirm with your building department.

The outlet feeding the transformer matters too. The NEC requires GFCI protection on outdoor outlets in new homes, and GFCIs protect against potentially lethal shock, according to the Electrical Safety Foundation’s outdoor electrical safety booklet. If the outlet near your patio or side yard is old or unprotected, have an electrician address it before lighting is added.

The reason most property owners hire out is not that 12-volt wiring is mysterious. It is that layout, aiming, voltage drop and sealed connections reward experience, and a mistake means digging up a finished lawn.

Safety, codes and who should do the work — overview diagram

Our perspective: light the experience, not the yard

We see the same pattern on many Kansas City properties. Someone buys a boxed kit, spaces ten identical lights evenly along a walkway, and ends up with a runway effect that lights the ground and little else. The better approach is to ask what you will do outside after dark, then light only that.

We design lighting as part of the whole outdoor space, because it is rarely a stand-alone purchase. The patio, the retaining wall, the steps and the planting beds are all surfaces that light can bring out or flatten. When we build hardscapes and lighting together, the cable is in the ground before the pavers go down and the wall lights are part of the wall rather than something screwed on afterward.

We are also direct about durability. A fixture that looks good in the showroom but corrodes in two winters is not a bargain. We favor quality materials, tidy sealed connections, and a system layout we can explain to you in plain terms, because you should know where your cable runs and how to reach us if something needs attention.

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How to hire a landscape lighting installer

The Association of Outdoor Lighting Professionals publishes landscape lighting guidelines that are a good checklist for any proposal. Use these questions:

  • Licensing and insurance. Ask for the contractor’s license, bond and insurance information where required by your jurisdiction.
  • Written agreement. It should list fixtures, transformer, cable, controls and the scope of work. Vague line items such as “lighting package” make comparison impossible.
  • Product details and warranty. Ask what the fixtures are made of, and what is covered, for how long, and by whom.
  • Nighttime demonstration. Ask whether the installer will aim and adjust fixtures after dark before the job is considered complete.
  • As-built plan. The guidelines recommend getting a plan showing equipment locations and cable runs, which makes future service far easier.
  • Maintenance terms. Agree in advance on what future service work will cost and how often it will happen, as AOLP advises putting in a maintenance agreement.

A contractor who answers all six clearly is a safer bet than one with the lowest number on the page.

Commercial and multi-unit properties

For businesses, apartment communities and offices, lighting does more work: wayfinding, entrances, parking-edge visibility and a welcoming first impression. The design principles are the same, with more attention to uniformity, shielding so light stays on your property, and control schedules that cut energy use after hours. If you manage a property and want lighting coordinated with commercial landscape design, tell us early so cable routes and fixture mounting points are planned together.

Landscape lighting from Trew Landscape

We design and install landscape lighting for homes and commercial properties across Kansas City, including North Kansas City and Clay, Jackson and Johnson counties. Every project starts with a walk through the property and ends with a written proposal you can read without a glossary. You can see what we offer on our landscape lighting services page, or contact us through our main site to schedule an estimate. We also pair lighting with patios, walls, sod and outdoor kitchens when you want everything built as one project.

FAQ

How long does landscape lighting installation take?

A small front-yard system can often be done in a day, while a full property with trenching through beds, hardscape and multiple zones takes longer. The schedule depends on fixture count, soil conditions and whether other construction is happening. We give you an expected timeline in the written proposal.

Is low-voltage landscape lighting safe?

Low-voltage systems run at 12 volts after the transformer, which is why they are widely treated as the safer residential option. The transformer itself still plugs into 120-volt power, so it should be on a GFCI-protected outlet. Any line-voltage work should go to a licensed electrician.

Can I add lighting to a patio or lawn I already finished?

Yes, but it costs more and takes more care than planning it in advance. Cable can be routed along edges, under mulch or through conduit, though paver patios and concrete often limit the options. If you are planning a new patio or wall, include lighting from the start.

What color temperature should I choose?

For most residential yards, warm white at 2700K or lower looks natural on stone, wood and plantings. The National Park Service recommends warm LEDs at 2700K or lower to reduce impact on night vision and wildlife. Cooler, bluer light tends to feel harsh and increases glare.

Sources

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