Outdoor lighting perspectives frequently asked questions

HOW DOES THE CONSULTATION PROCESS WORK?

Our lighting designer will schedule a time to meet with you at your home. While there, you will both walk the property so our designer can learn how you use your space and understand your lighting goals. Often measurements and photos will be taken to aid them in the design process. Using the gathered information, our lighting designer will put together a custom design for your home and yard. From there, he or she will create a proposal to send you (via email) and can call you to review it. If helpful, we can also schedule a time to demo the lighting design. Most of our clients move forward that day and will get scheduled for a professional installation with our certified lighting technicians.

ONCE WE SAY “YES”, HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL MY LIGHTS ARE INSTALLED?

Our average lead time is three to four weeks.

HOW LONG DOES THE INSTALLATION TAKE?

A typical installation will take about two working days. A larger installation can take anywhere from three to five days.

WHAT IS THE AVERAGE COST?

While every lighting design is customized to the home, a good way to ballpark your outdoor lighting investment is to calculate about 1 percent of your property value.

WHAT IS YOUR WARRANTY?

When you join the Shine365 program, you receive a lifetime warranty on your lighting system and priority service from our team. As a part of the Shine365 limited lifetime warranty, our certified technicians will perform an annual quality check of your system to ensure it’s working like the day it was installed. For any customer that chooses not to be in the Shine365 limited lifetime warranty program or if your Shine365 warranty lapses, the brass fixtures and professional grade transformers are covered for two years from the date of installation.

We strongly encourage our clients to participate in Shine365. Think of this like an annual physical for your outdoor lighting. When you commit to this annual maintenance at a rate of $15 per light, we warranty your system for life. Many of clients had systems in place at one time, but do to lack of maintenance, their systems fell into disrepair. This is a great way to protect your investment and often costs less than a single service call. To learn more, visit: https://www.outdoorlights.com/grand-rapids/why-olp/our-warranty/

HOW ARE THE LIGHTS POWERED?

All of our lights are hardwired to a professional grade low voltage transformer that will typically mount to the side of your home and plug in to a normal exterior outlet. These transformers convert the 120v current in your home to safe 12v current. These transformers are also often installed in unfinished basements and garages. However, to ensure easy access to our technicians, we always try to find a place outside to install.

DO YOU BURY THE WIRES?

Yes, all wires are buried underground. Our Outdoor Lighting Perspectives certified lighting technicians will hand trench the entire project with little disruption to your grass and landscaping.

DO YOU USE LED?

Yes, all lights Outdoor Lighting Perspectives installs will be high-quality, long-lasting LEDs.

ARE THEY ENERGY EFFICIENT?

In regard to the electricity bills and recurring operational costs to run exterior lights outside, you will get lots of additional savings benefits by using low voltage lights as these lights consume much less energy, last much longer and at the same time provide superior illumination both around the exterior landscapes and building architecture as compared to any other lighting option. Many of our clients have commented that they saw no change in their electric bills.

WHAT COLOR ARE THE LIGHTS?

With LED technology, you can customize the color from warm white to even color-changing landscape lights.

CAN I CHANGE THE COLOR OF MY LIGHTS?

Yes. Have a favorite football team? Want to change the colors to celebrate the holidays? Feeling blue? We’ve got you covered.

WHAT KINDS OF FIXTURES DO YOU USE?

At Outdoor Lighting Perspectives, we only use the best cast brass fixtures built to withstand the elements of our extreme west Michigan weather conditions.

CAN I INTEGRATE WITH MY SMART HOME OR CONTROL MY LIGHTS WITH MY SMART PHONE?

Yes! We have smart home and phone control options available.

HOW DO THE LIGHTS TURN ON AND OFF?

We have a few favorite options for timing control. Our most popular one is a digital timer that self adjusts for daylight saving time automatically. We also have other phone control options. Whether you want them from dusk to dawn, or dusk to your preferred off time, we have the right option for you.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN BUSINESS?

Outdoor Lighting Perspectives has been around for over 20 years.

WHAT ARE YOUR PAYMENT OPTIONS?

We accept most forms of payment. While credit card is the most common form of payment, we also regularly accept cash and check.. We also offer financing options, with 6 months no interest, or 5 years of low monthly payments.

I HAVE AN IRRIGATION SYSTEM. CAN I STILL GET LANDSCAPE LIGHTING?

Yes. Our trained and certified Outdoor Lighting Perspectives technicians know to look for your irrigation system and will carefully work around it.

CAN I ADD TO MY OUTDOOR LIGHTING SYSTEM LATER?

Yes, with a low voltage outdoor lighting system, it’s very easy to add on to your system.

DO YOU WORK ON LANDSCAPE LIGHTING SYSTEMS THAT YOU DIDN’T INSTALL?

Absolutely. We are a full service outdoor lighting company that can service any low voltage lighting system. We even offer a free lighting assessment for any existing or new clients.

DO I HAVE TO BE HOME DURING THE INSTALLATION?

As long as we have your permission to be on your property and we can access the outlet we will be using for the low voltage transformer, no. Typically our team will be working outside, and will not need to go inside your home.