Landscape & outdoor lighting
Landscape Lighting Installation in Los Angeles
Landscape lighting installation in Los Angeles ranges from a short path-light run on a timer to a full low-voltage system across a hillside lot. We design the layout, bury the cable, set the transformer, and aim every fixture after dark, with one written price before the work starts. Licensed electricians handle every job, and most yards finish in one or two days.
- Complete low-voltage systems usually $2,000-$6,000 with 8-15 fixtures
- Path lights, uplights, motion-sensor floods, string lights, and timers
- Low voltage for beds and paths, line voltage where floods need punch
- Brass fixtures near the coast, heavier cable on hillside lots
- CSLB #942404, free estimates across LA: call (818) 421-5290
How much does landscape lighting installation cost in Los Angeles?
Landscape lighting installation in Los Angeles typically costs $2,000-$6,000 for a complete low-voltage system: a transformer, buried cable, and 8 to 15 fixtures covering the front walk, a few trees, and the face of the house. Smaller projects scale down quickly, and a short path-light run fed by an existing exterior outlet can come in under $1,000.
Landscape lighting costs in Los Angeles
| Project | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Complete low-voltage system, transformer plus 8-15 fixtures | $2,000-$6,000 |
| Path-light run on an existing outlet, 4-6 fixtures | $600-$1,500 |
| Uplights for two or three trees | $500-$1,200 |
| Motion-sensor security flood, installed | $150-$450 |
| String lights over a patio, hung and wired | $300-$1,200 |
| Timer or photocell control | $100-$300 |
| New 120-volt exterior circuit with permit | $500-$1,800 |
These are typical Los Angeles ranges for orientation, not a quote. Every job is priced by its own conditions, so your exact number comes from a free on-site look. Get a free estimate in minutes, or call (818) 421-5290.
Two things move the number more than fixture count: wire runs and digging. A deep lot needs heavier cable so the far fixtures stay bright, and rocky hillside soil can turn an hour of trenching into three. We walk the yard before quoting, which means the written price already includes the hard digging.
Low voltage or line voltage: which does your yard need?
Low voltage covers most residential yards. A transformer steps household power down to 12 volts, the cable buries a few inches deep with no conduit, and a cut line is a quick repair instead of a shock risk. Fixtures also move in minutes, which matters more than people expect once the plants fill in.
Line voltage, the regular 120 volts, makes sense for long driveways, tall trees that need real output, and security floods. A new exterior circuit needs conduit at proper depth, a permit, and space in your panel. We check the panel during the first visit, and if yours is full, our panel upgrade page explains the fix.
Plenty of yards mix both: low-voltage paths and beds, plus one switched 120-volt circuit feeding the floods and the patio. The two systems share timers and controls without drama as long as each side gets the right wire and enough transformer capacity.
Path lights, uplights, and how the layout comes together
Good outdoor lighting works in layers, not a runway. Path lights mark the walk every 6 to 8 feet, staggered rather than paired, so the route reads clearly without the airport look. Uplights sit at the base of trees and at the corners of the house, grazing light up the bark and the stucco.
The front of the house usually wants three or four uplights washing the facade plus one accent on the best tree. Back yards work differently. You light the destinations, the seating area, the grill, the far fence line, and leave darker space between them so the yard keeps its depth at night.
The aiming session happens after sunset on purpose. Ten minutes of adjusting beam angles in the dark improves the result more than any daytime sketch, because glare only shows itself at night.
Fixture counts also grow in most yards, so we size the transformer with 20 or 30 percent of headroom. That spare capacity means adding two fixtures next spring takes an hour of work off the existing runs instead of a second transformer.
Security lighting and motion sensors that actually deter
Layered light deters better than one blinding flood. A motion sensor on each dark approach, the driveway, the side gate, the back slider, wakes the yard the moment something moves, while soft steady light everywhere else removes the shadows a single bright flood creates. Your neighbor also stops catching your floodlight through the bedroom window.
Placement beats wattage. We mount sensors where a person has to cross the detection arc rather than walk straight at it, set the sensitivity so raccoons stop running the show, and angle the heads downward so they light faces and ground instead of blinding your cameras.
Floods and motion lights ride on 120-volt circuits, and every exterior outlet that feeds a transformer or a fountain belongs on a GFCI. If your outdoor outlets predate GFCI protection, our outlet and GFCI crew brings them up to code in the same visit.
Can you hang string lights over the patio properly?
Cafe-style string lights need more support than a nail in the fascia. We hang them on stainless cable with turnbuckles, or set a cedar or steel post in concrete where a span has nothing to anchor to. Hung that way, the lines stay tight through Santa Ana winds and the bulbs survive past one season.
Power matters as much as the hardware. A permanent string-light run should live on its own switched circuit or a smart exterior outlet, never an extension cord through the kitchen window. We wire the span to a switch or timer inside the house, so the patio behaves like part of the home instead of an afterthought.
Most people also want the strings dimmable once they live with them for a week, since full brightness suits a dinner party and a lower level suits everything after it. An outdoor-rated dimmer paired with dimmable bulbs handles that for modest money.
Timers, photocells, and smart control
The best control setup is the one you never touch. A photocell switches the system on at dusk, a timer shuts it down at whatever hour you pick, and together they run the yard all year without reprogramming around daylight saving. Most quality transformers accept a plug-in module that does both.
Smart transformers and Wi-Fi switches add scenes and phone control, handy when you want a bright setting for a party and a 2 a.m. setting that keeps only the path lights burning. They cost a little more up front and save fiddling for years. We program the schedules with you before we leave.
Hillside and coastal yards: what changes
Hillside lots in Encino, Sherman Oaks, and the Verdugo foothills fight two problems: voltage drop on long runs and soil that creeps. We run heavier cable to the far zones, split long slopes into separate runs from the transformer, and mount fixtures on taller stems where mulch slides downhill after winter rain.
Near the water, in Santa Monica, Venice, or San Pedro, salt air eats cheap aluminum fixtures within a couple of years. Solid brass and copper cost more per fixture and outlast three sets of the bargain kind. Salt also argues for sealed waterproof connectors on every splice, which we use everywhere as standard practice.
What happens during landscape lighting installation?
Most systems go in over one or two days once you approve the design, and landscape lighting installation in Los Angeles rarely needs a permit while everything stays low voltage. The exception is a new 120-volt circuit for floods or a patio, which we permit through LADBS or your city's own building department.
- Evening walk-throughabout 1 hour
We walk the yard near dusk when possible, talk through what you want lit, and note the panel and outlet questions early.
- Design and written quote1-2 days
You get a fixture-by-fixture layout with one complete price in writing, free, and we order nothing until you approve it.
- Cable and trenchingabout half a day
We bury low-voltage cable about 6 inches deep along beds and lawn edges, and sleeve it under paths and driveways.
- Transformer and connections2-3 hours
The transformer mounts beside a GFCI-protected exterior outlet with capacity to spare, and every splice gets a sealed waterproof connector.
- Aiming after dark1-2 hours
We set the fixtures, then return at dusk to angle beams, kill glare, and balance brightness zone by zone.
- Controls and walkthroughabout 30 minutes
We program the photocell, timer, or app schedule with you and label everything at the transformer.
Why hire A+ Electric & Plumbing for landscape lighting?
A+ Electric & Plumbing is a licensed electrician and plumber serving Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley from Tujunga under CSLB #942404. Outdoor wiring lives in sprinkler spray and full sun, so workmanship matters more out here than it does in a hallway, and every system we install carries our 1-year workmanship guarantee.
Yard projects also have a way of surfacing other needs: dead exterior outlets, a packed panel, rooms inside that deserve the same care. Our indoor lighting installation team and the full electrician lineup work under the same roof and the same license, so one call covers all of it.
Call (818) 421-5290 or request a free estimate online. We will walk the yard with you, ideally right around sunset, and put the whole design in writing.
Frequently asked questions
What does landscape lighting cost per fixture?
Inside a full system, each installed fixture usually works out to $150-$350 once the transformer, cable, and labor spread across the count. Adding fixtures to an existing system costs less per point because the infrastructure already exists. Material choice moves the number too, since solid brass costs more than aluminum and outlasts it by years.
Is low-voltage lighting bright enough for security?
For ambient security, yes: steady low-voltage light removes hiding spots and keeps the yard readable from the house. Where you want real punch, over a driveway or a dark side yard, we add one or two 120-volt motion floods. The mix costs less to run than flooding everything and bothers the neighbors far less.
Do I need a permit for landscape lighting in Los Angeles?
Low-voltage systems usually need no permit, because everything past the transformer runs at 12 volts. A new 120-volt exterior circuit does need one, and in the City of Los Angeles that goes through LADBS, while Burbank, Glendale, and Pasadena run their own counters. We pull whichever permit your address calls for and fold the fee into the quote.
Are the buried wires safe around sprinklers, kids, and dogs?
At 12 volts, yes. A shovel or a dog that digs up low-voltage cable creates a repair, not a hazard, and sealed connectors keep sprinkler water out of every splice. Line-voltage runs are the careful ones, which is exactly why they go in conduit at code depth with GFCI protection on the circuit.
How long do LED landscape fixtures actually last?
The LED itself typically carries a rating of 25,000 hours or more, which means decades of dusk-to-midnight use. Housings decide the real lifespan: powder-coated aluminum fades and pits, especially near the ocean, while brass and copper just darken and keep working. Buy the fixture body once, then replace lamps rarely and cheaply.
Can you light a tall tree?
Yes. A mature oak or eucalyptus usually takes two or three uplights at the base, tight beam angles on the trunk and a wider wash into the canopy. Very tall canopies sometimes justify a 120-volt fixture for the extra output. We test the look at night before anything becomes permanent.
Will bright yard lighting bother my neighbors?
Not if we aim it properly. Shielded fixtures, beams angled down and away from property lines, and warm color temperatures keep the light on your yard instead of a neighbor's window. Many cities also enforce light-trespass rules, so restraint is more than politeness. A glare check at night finishes every install we do.
Can string lights stay up all year?
Yes, when the span hangs on stainless cable or set posts and the run uses outdoor-rated wire on its own switched circuit. Commercial-grade bulbs shrug off sun and wind for years. The setups that fail are the ones on staples and extension cords, which sag by summer and quit with the first storm.
Does landscape lighting raise the electric bill much?
Not with LEDs. A typical 12-fixture low-voltage system draws somewhere around 60 to 100 watts total, less than one old halogen flood by itself. Running five hours a night, that lands in the range of a few dollars a month at LADWP rates, and a photocell plus timer keeps the hours honest.
Can you repair a system another company installed?
Yes, repair calls make up a good share of our outdoor work. Common fixes: transformers that hum or died, cable cut during a planting job, corroded sockets, fixtures knocked out of aim, and zones that go dim at the far end. We diagnose the whole system first, then quote repairs or a partial rebuild honestly.
Do you install landscape lighting outside the Valley?
Yes. We handle landscape lighting installation across Los Angeles, from the San Fernando Valley where we are based out to the Westside, the foothills, and the harbor towns. Distance can nudge the service call within the normal $100-$250 window, and the quote you approve covers everything else. Call (818) 421-5290 to set up a walk-through.
Where we do this work
Landscape & outdoor lighting across our service areas
Get a free estimate
Tell us what's going on and a licensed tech calls you back fast, with the exact price before any work starts. Electrical and plumbing, one team.
Estimates for quoted work are free. Troubleshooting or diagnosis may carry a $100-$250 service call, credited to your repair when you approve the work.
- Exact price in writing before we start
- Licensed, bonded & insured (CSLB #942404)
- One team for electrical and plumbing
Prefer to talk? Call (818) 421-5290, answered 24/7.