Brick garden path at night with low-voltage path lights along the walk

Low-Voltage Outdoor Lighting in San Jose, CA

Path, step, and accent lighting for yards and outdoor living spaces. Licensed layout, transformers, and GFCI-protected feeds. CSLB #1133790.

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Landscape and Path Lighting That You Can Walk At Night

Low-voltage outdoor lighting is the 12-volt path, step, and accent work that sits in the landscape, not on the eave. A transformer steps house voltage down. Fixtures light a walk, a tree, or a retaining wall without the glare of a 120-volt flood.

Executive Electric plans this for San Jose yards, Los Gatos hillsides, and smaller Willow Glen lots where a dark side yard is the real problem. We start with how you enter the house after dark, not with a catalog of fixtures.

We size the transformer, lay out path and accent fixtures, and run the cable so the yard is walkable after dark without flooding the neighbor's windows.

This is residential work first. A small office courtyard can use the same transformer-and-path approach. Large campus lighting is outside this service.

Common Applications

Most of the work is walking surfaces and a few accents, not lighting every shrub. Too many fixtures wash out the yard and annoy the neighbor. We would rather light the path you actually use.

Pathways and steps

Downlights along a walk, side-yard path, or stair so you can carry groceries without a phone flashlight.

Entries and gates

Low fixtures at a garden gate or side door that do not glare into the street.

Accent on trees and walls

A small uplight on one tree or a retaining wall, not a row of spots on every plant.

Outdoor living pads

Soft light around a patio, spa pad, or outdoor kitchen so the space is usable after dinner.

Benefits and What the Visit Looks Like

Low-voltage fixtures are cooler to the touch and easier to relocate than 120-volt landscape floods. The transformer still needs a GFCI-protected feed, a listed enclosure, and a home-run that is not sharing a random garage receptacle.

We walk the yard at the time of day you care about, or we come back at dusk when that is the only way to judge glare. You get a fixture count, transformer size, and whether trenching or surface raceway is the honest install for your soil and hardscape.

Cost and time follow the length of the run, the number of fixtures, and whether we are cutting into finished pavers. We will not quote a package price before we see the yard.

Permanent lighting on the house arrow_forward

Low-Voltage Work We Handle

Transformers and GFCI feeds

Sized for the fixture load, on a protected 120-volt feed, in a location you can reach for a timer or a reset.

Path and step fixtures

Listed low-voltage heads aimed at the walking surface, not into a bedroom window.

Accent lighting

A few uplights or wall washes where they earn a place in the layout.

Cable routing

Burial depth, sleeves under walks, and drip loops at fixtures so winter rain is not sitting in a cut.

Controls

Astronomic timers, photocells, or a simple switch. Smart controls only when the wiring supports them.

Tie-in with house lighting

If you also want eave lighting, that is a separate 120-volt circuit. We will not mix the two on one transformer.

How We Install Landscape Lighting

01

Walk the routes

We mark paths, steps, and the one or two accents that matter. We also find a legal place for the transformer.
02

Quote fixtures and labor

Fixture count, transformer, cable, and any hardscape cuts are itemized. You can supply fixtures if they are listed.
03

Feed, trench, and set

The 120-volt feed lands, cable is run, fixtures are aimed, and connections are sealed.
04

Night aim

We adjust glare after dark when we can and show you how to override the timer.

When Low-Voltage Lighting Helps

check The side yard or back steps are a trip hazard after sunset.
check A floodlight on the garage blinds you and the neighbor.
check You added a patio or spa and the only outlet is on a kitchen GFCI.
check Existing path lights flicker because the transformer is undersized or wet.
check You want landscape lighting, not roofline lighting.
check A small courtyard at a home office needs a walk light, not a parking-lot pole.

Questions About Low-Voltage Outdoor Lighting in San Jose

Is this 12-volt or line-voltage?

The fixtures are low-voltage, usually 12-volt, from a transformer. The transformer still needs a proper 120-volt, GFCI-protected feed.

Can I buy the fixtures?

Yes, if they are listed for wet locations and match the transformer. Send the spec before we schedule.

Will this replace security lighting?

No. Path lighting is for walking. Motion floods are a different product and a different aim.

Do you trench through pavers?

When we have to. We will say so in the quote. Surface raceway is sometimes the cleaner option on finished hardscape.

Can you do the house and the yard together?

Yes, as two scopes: permanent lighting on the building and low-voltage in the landscape.

Serving San Jose, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Santa Clara, Milpitas, Los Altos, and Campbell

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Want a yard you can walk at night?

Tell us which path or patio you use after dark. We will size a transformer and send a written quote.