Halogen garden lighting
Low voltage halogen garden lighting
For years the mainstay of garden lighting has been the 12 volt MR16 reflector lamp (bulb). This 50mm (2") diameter lamp features a miniature halogen capsule lamp mounted in a multi-mirror reflector to provide a precisely controlled beam of light with little peripheral light spill. These halogen garden lighting lamps run on 12 volts, so although this requires the installation of garden lighting transformers to step the voltage down, it also permits very flexible low voltage wiring configurations and the ability to adjust the lighting easily because 12 volts is so safe. It is twice as energy efficient as old-fashioned Par 38 tungsten lamps and the "dichroic" multi-mirror reflector reflects all the light forward while allowing much of the heat to dissipate through the rear of the lamp; in other words, you are projecting much less heat towards your planting or down onto the dining table. MR16 lamps are small and available in a wide choice of wattages from 10 to 75 watts and beam angles from 12 to 60 degrees, which gives the designer much more choice in accurately and precisely lighting subjects without glare. The result is halogen garden lights which can be much smaller and yet produce more light, with greater versatility, than old-fashioned tungsten garden lights. Halogen garden lighting transformers can be hidden at the back of the border, on the gravel board of a fence, behind a landscape feature or under a deck - not much different to locating the junction boxes needed for 240v outdoor lights.
Some smaller MR11 12 volt reflector lamps are also available for lower wattage applications where a miniature fitting is required, such as M2600 Picolo and E4511 Microspot. 12 volt spreadlights and some steplights typically use a halogen capsule lamp without a reflector to diffuse light in all directions.
The majority of directional garden lights supplied by Lighting for Gardens are 12v halogen - spike spotlights and uplights, recessed uplights, downlights and wall spotlights & underwater lights, plus 12 volt spreadlights and steplights typically using a halogen capsule lamps.
Mains voltage halogen outdoor lighting
A more recent innovation in halogen outdoor lighting has been the advent of the GU10 halogen reflector lamp to combine the advantages of the MR16 halogen outdoor lighting lamp with the installation convenience of 240v input; these lamps are nearly as small as MR16 lamps, meaning 240v spotlights can be about the same small size without the need to incorporate bulky integral transformers. Elipta's black E4231 is both compact and inexpensive. It is also available in copper (E4221) and 316 stainless steel (E4211) versions and has a companion twin wall spot in a choice of materials. While they are slightly less efficient than 12 volt lamps (so they give about 20% less light per watt), and the choice of lamp beams and wattages is not so comprehensive as 12v MR16 lamps, 240v GU10 halogen outdoor garden lights are often chosen for ease of connection to 240v wiring on house walls, gate pillars and locations where hiding a remote transformer would be especially difficult. Like GU10 downlights and uplights, mains voltage G9 halogen bollard lights can be dimmed using a standard wall dimmer. The Elipta spike spotlights, available in stainless steel, copper, black or green are available in GU10 versions for replacing old Par38 240v spotlights and locating spotlights where a transformer can't be hidden easily.
