Our most asked landscape lighting questions are answered here.

1. Do you give free estimates?

For properties 35 miles away and closer, we give a free one-hour consultation where we discuss your outdoor lighting wants and needs. During this time we can walk your property and talk about how you plan to use your outdoor spaces. We will identify focal points and specific areas for enhancement or safety issues. Properties over 35 miles away are charged $50/hr including travel time, but 100% of that is refunded to you should you hire us to install your system. If you decide that you would like us to move forward into the design phase, there is a charge for that. Just like a home builder cannot tell you how much it will cost to build your home without a plan, neither can we tell you how much a well-designed outdoor lighting system will cost without a design. A thoughtful design takes some time to create. Because we are a lighting design company, we do have a minimal charge to help cover the expense of the time and labor needed in the design creation. 50% of our design fee is credited back to you should hire us to install your system. All of that said, if it is a small project that does not require design time, we can provide a quote without charge.

2. How much does a professional outdoor lighting system cost?

Typically the average cost per light supplied and installed (labor, fixtures, lamps, hardware) runs $180-$250. Our systems usually start at about $2300 for around 10 fixtures. Your current landscape may have obsticles we must move around that may cause more labor and your price may be on the higher side. Perhaps your landscape is brand new and unfinished, allowing us to run wire quickly without worrying about damaging lawn or plant material, and thus causing the price to be on the lower side.

3. How long have you been in this business?

Although New England Nighscapes is a young company, our parent company Harris and Company Landscaping has been installing lighting systems for almost 10 years. Since that time we have installed several hundred projects and have maintained over 99% customer satisfaction rating. We still take care of almost every system we have installed over the years, and our clients tend to refer us to their friends and family.

4. Do you service/repair existing landscape lighting systems?

Yes we do. We are proud to say that New England Nightscapes has several highly skilled technicians on staff to troubleshoot and repair any professional grade low voltage lighting system. We do not, however, work on DIY lighting products which can be purchased at home improvement stores. The reason for this is simply because we feel that those products can not last, even with good maintenance practices in place and we feel it would be a disservice to our clients to act like we can work on or save them.

5. Do you recommend halogen or LED lighting?

This is a great question! We have found that LED lighting is by far, the best value for the money for our clients. A great LED project only costs about 20% more than a halogen system initially, but only costs about 50% as much over the life of the system in electrical and maintenance expenses. We have not offered halogen systems in over 7 years since we do not believe it is in the best interest of our clients.

6. Will you be trenching our yard with one of those big tooth machines?

No, we will not, if we are installing low voltage lighting. If line (high) voltage lighting is desired then the answer would be yes. We will make small trenches in your planting beds, but cover it up when we are done so you would never know we were there. We slit trench your lawn with a skinny shovel and insert the wire in. After you mow your lawn once, the slit will disappear.

7. How hard is it to maintain a professional landscape lighting system?

It’s very easy if it’s a well-installed LED system by New England Nightscapes. We provide 1 year of maintenance on all of our new systems, so there will be nothing for you to do at all. This service includes cleaning debris from fixtures, trimming vegetation around the fixtures which might be blocking the light, replacing any burned out lamps that we may find (mostly on older halogen systems, but there are occasions when a LED lamp fails as well), check the transformer voltage and amperage readings, replace batteries in timers, etc.

8. Can my old professional system be converted to LED?

Absolutely YES. We have been converting systems with tremendous success. There are now many LED products available for the outdoor lighting industry specifically designed to be used in the harsh landscape environment. If you plan to do this yourself, make sure you use LED products that are rated for outdoor use, in enclosed fixtures.

9. Will I hit wire when edging my planting beds in the spring?

Not a chance! Wherever we cross through a bed into your lawn, we insert a 6” long PVC conduit and pass the wire through that. Will you hit the conduit? Yes! However its thick and won’t be cut by your edger, and your wire will be protected. It is rare that our clients cut wire when planting new shrubs in the planting beds because we do our best to run wire along foundations and other structures whenever possible, keeping wire out of the way. The lines will not easily shock you, though, and it is easy to splice and repair a broken line in case it ever happens.

10. How will my system be controlled?

There are many control options for your outdoor lighting system. Most of our smaller systems use a simple analog timer with photocell. We also offer Bluetooth enabled transformers so you can turn your system on and program it through your tablet or smartphone using a free app.

Not finding what you want? Reach out directly through our Contact Us page.

We proudly service Wellesley, Weston, Franklin, Wrentham, Foxborough, Newton, Framingham, Natick, Ashland, Northbridge, Southbridge, Metro West, and more!