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Outdoor lighting. Built for the weather.

Path, landscape, security, dusk-to-dawn coach lights, low-voltage transformer-fed runs. Marine-grade or commercial-grade fixtures only, sized transformer to avoid voltage drop, and weatherproof connectors at every joint.

TN LicensedResidential · Vacation RentalPermits handled
Service Overview

Cheap outdoor fixtures last one season.

East Tennessee weather is hard on outdoor electrical: humidity, freeze-thaw, intense summer UV, and the occasional ice storm. Big-box-store path lights and the cheaper Amazon-imported brands are designed for California climates and they corrode out within 18 months here. We install fixtures that hold up.

Outdoor lighting splits into low-voltage (12V landscape and path lights powered from a transformer) and line-voltage (120V coach lights, security lights, and any architectural lighting tied to your panel). Different installation, different code requirements, different failure modes.

For low-voltage, the most common mistake is undersizing the transformer. A 100W transformer running 10 path lights at the far end of a 100-foot wire run gets a major voltage drop at the last fixtures, so they look dimmer than the first ones and burn out faster. We size transformers with at least 25 percent headroom and run heavier-gauge cable on longer paths.

For line-voltage outdoor work, the failure modes are different: weatherproof boxes that aren’t actually weatherproof (any cheap stamped-tin box from a big-box store), in-use covers that crack in two winters, and the wrong connector for outdoor work (wire nuts inside a wet box). We use cast aluminum boxes, polycarbonate in-use covers rated for snow load, and waterproof crimp connectors at every joint.

Typical scope
Path · landscape · security · coach · driveway · cabin · dusk-to-dawn
Typical timeline
1-3 days typical · longer for full landscape designs
Typical price
$400+ simple swap · $2,500-$8,000 full landscape
Permit
Pulled when required (new circuits, hardwired runs)
Inspection
Scheduled when required
Warranty
2 years labor · manufacturer warranty on fixtures (5-10 years on quality LED)
What’s Included

Outdoor lighting we install.

Path + walkway lighting

Low-voltage path lights from a transformer, code-compliant burial depth on the wire run, weatherproof crimp connectors at every joint. Sized for the full run length to avoid voltage drop.

Landscape uplighting

Trees, architectural features, water features. Adjustable beam angle fixtures, color temperature matched across the design, glare shields where needed for neighbor consideration.

Security + motion lighting

Commercial-grade motion sensors, not the $20 box-store kind. Dusk-to-dawn photocell-controlled coach lights, code-compliant placement for driveway and address-marker lighting.

Dusk-to-dawn coach lights

Photocell or smart-switch controlled, marine-grade or wet-location rated. Replaces the bulb-changing problem on coach lights mounted 12-15 feet up where ladders are awkward.

Driveway + cabin marker lighting

For vacation-rental cabins in the Smokies that need to be visible to guests arriving at night. Address-marker lighting, driveway-edge lighting, parking-area illumination.

Smart-controlled outdoor

Lutron Caseta outdoor switches, Hue Outdoor system, dimmer-by-zone control. Scenes, schedules, voice control if you want it. Mostly used for vacation rentals managed remotely.

Recent Outdoor lighting Work

Field log.

Tree uplighting · architectural
Landscape
Tree uplighting · architectural
Cabin deck + path lighting
Deck
Cabin deck + path lighting
Dusk-to-dawn coach lights · garage
Coach
Dusk-to-dawn coach lights · garage
Driveway-edge low-voltage
Driveway
Driveway-edge low-voltage
Service Map · 100mi Radius

Where we install this.

Same-day truck rolls across the East Tennessee corridor. Sevier, Knox, Blount, Jefferson, and Cocke counties primarily.

How We Run This Job

Five steps. No surprise invoices.

Step 01

Text or call us first

Describe the job. We follow up with a phone chat to scope it, then we send your quote. Same-day for most residential.

Step 02

On-site walk-through

For larger jobs, we come out, look at the panel, and talk through what you actually want. Free. No “let me get back to you.”

Step 03

Itemized estimate

Every line item priced. Materials, labor, permit, inspection. You see exactly where the dollars go before you sign anything.

Step 04

Job day · permits handled

We pull permits, coordinate with the county inspector, and arrive when we said we would. We protect your floors. We label every breaker. We test every circuit before we leave.

Step 05

Inspection & sign-off

Inspector signs off, we walk you through what changed, we hand over the documentation. If anything ever flickers, you have our cell.

Customer Log · Voice Drop
Outdoor landscape lighting installation in East Tennessee

We had a previous “lighting designer” install path lights that all died within a year. Volt Pro re-did the whole front-yard system, sized the transformer correctly, and used FX Luminaire fixtures. Three years in, every light still works, nothing corroded.

Hannah B. · Knoxville · Full landscape relight · April 2023
Common Questions

Five things we get asked every week.

How long do quality outdoor light fixtures last in East Tennessee?
Commercial-grade brass or marine-grade aluminum landscape fixtures with LED engines last 10-15 years routinely. Cheap box-store path lights last 18-24 months. The big difference is housing material (brass and marine aluminum vs stamped tin) and LED driver quality (regulated drivers vs unregulated). We only install fixtures from manufacturers that warrant the housing 5+ years.
Do I need a permit for outdoor lighting?
Depends on the work. Like-for-like fixture swaps on existing circuits typically don’t. New low-voltage transformer-fed runs from an existing exterior outlet don’t. New line-voltage circuits from the panel do. We handle the permit when one’s required.
How much does outdoor landscape lighting cost?
A simple 6-10 light path system on an existing transformer is $400-$900 installed. A full landscape design with 25-40 fixtures (uplighting + path + decorative) including transformer, cable, and labor is $2,500 to $8,000 depending on property size and fixture quality. We quote itemized.
What is the difference between low-voltage and line-voltage outdoor lighting?
Low-voltage is 12V, powered from a transformer at an outlet, used for path lights and landscape uplights. Safer to work around, easier to add or move, but limited in fixture options. Line-voltage is 120V, run from the panel like any indoor circuit, used for coach lights, security lights, and architectural lighting that needs more output. Both are common; we install both.
Can you install dusk-to-dawn lighting that turns on automatically?
Yes. Two approaches: a photocell in each fixture (per-fixture control, simplest) or a single photocell controlling a switched circuit (one sensor turns on multiple fixtures, more elegant for full-property setups). We do both. Smart-switch alternatives (Lutron Caseta, Leviton Decora Smart with sunset schedule) work great for vacation rentals.
Now booking · East Tennessee

Want to light up the property?

On-site walk-through within the week. Itemized estimate before any work starts.