Inexpensive Malibu Landscape Lighting Kits

If you've considered installing landscape lighting on your property, you may have done enough research to be turned off by the price. In terms of materials and installation costs, this isn't a cheap way of gussying up the ol' garden. But before you give up your dreams, take one more look at an affordable landscape lighting option; landscape lighting kits.

Malibu landscape lighting kits offer an affordable entry into the landscape lighting world. For an astonishingly low price you can find kits containing an equally astonishing number of lights. A perfect example of how Malibu can so readily trounce its competition is in its Intermatic LX19720T lighting kit which contains fourteen tier lights and six floodlights for as low as $52.00.

I don't know about you but when I see what seems to be a too-good-to-be-true deal like that, I get a little suspicious and this instance is no exception. And, truth told, there are some important considerations you should keep in mind when purchasing lighting kits from any manufacturer, not just Malibu. I've written a pretty detailed explanation in my blog where you can read some precautions about landscape lighting kits, but I'll summarize a bit of it here.

Landscape lighting kits (at least the super affordable kind) are almost always made of plastic. While that may raise some durability concerns, these things are surprisingly rugged. Not only do they stand up well to weathering and occasional abuse, their plastic manufacture means that individually damaged lights or parts are cheap to replace. Not so, with an expensive metal light. It's also important to note that the plastic construction is what allows Malibu to offer you such a great price on their landscape lighting kits.

There is a notable downside to plastic landscape lights and that's the inconvenient fact that plastic has a much lower melting point than metal. That means lower intensity bulbs must be used in these kit lights to keep them from dissolving into a puddle of plastic where once a light proudly stood. Does that mean they're no good? Not at all. But it does mean you should manage your expectations. You won't flood a tree with light or brilliantly illuminate an outdoor dining area with a warm glow.

The point is that you can get good results for an unbeatable price with Malibu landscape lighting kits. You just need to be reasonable in your expectations. Given that you could pay almost double for a single custom light relative to what Malibu charges for its 20 light kit (transformer, wiring and timer included) you shouldn't expect to be signaling the space station with what you get. But you will be able to easily define paths, mark out borders and spotlight a few modest-sized plants for less than it would cost you to buy a book on landscape lighting. Definitely worth it for the do-it-yourselfer with a few hours to spare and some very minimal tool-using skills.