Be aware of cheap fixtures that are sold as professional equipment
A recent topic of discussion among outdoor lighting professionals is cheap, stamped, brass fixtures being marketed and sold as “high quality brass fixtures.” A couple of years after installation, the finish starts coming off and the fixtures are exposed for what they are: cheap, poorly made stamped brass, cheap fixtures.
What we see often with these cheap fixtures is that they carry no label with a manufacturer name. This means that if these products had advertised any warranty at all, there is no way to use that warranty. They also don’t have any UL/ETL marks indicating they have not been tested or approved for use and are not up to the National Electrical Code. The NEC states that all products installed in any electrical system, even low voltage, must be listed for their use.
The contractors installing these products are the ones who give our industry a bad name. They install very cheap products at a low-ball price, and then don’t stand behind the products or the system once it’s installed. They may give a one year warranty at best, but we have found that they often won’t show up to handle problems even within that first year. If we are called upon by the home owner to make repairs on these systems, we can’t warranty anything for them either because we don’t even know who made the products.
At least with high quality name brand products like Kichler or CAST we can make repairs to a system and get the manufacturer to cover the defective products – even if we didn’t initially install it. Then the only charge to the consumer is for our labor for making the repairs.
We have always encouraged our clients and other consumers to become well-educated before they make a significant expenditure such as outdoor lighting for the home. We strongly recommend that people know what products are being installed and what the warranty is on those products. Don’t fall for the line “these brass fixtures will last a lifetime” when there isn’t even a label on it. We have seen high quality powder coated aluminum fixtures last far longer than some so-called lifetime brass fixtures.
Are you going to pay more up front for those quality fixtures? Will that warranty cost a few bucks extra? Is the price of peace of mind higher for that lighting company with the better reputation for service if a problem does come up? Absolutely yes. But when you suffer fewer outages, and your system lasts 15-20 years with minimal maintenance, you will pay less in the long run and sleep better at night. You’re probably going to enjoy your landscape lighting system more when you’re not cursing it all the time because some of the fixtures aren’t working or the finish is peeling off.
Don’t be “penny wise and pound foolish” by scrimping on your initial investment only to spend much more later replacing lower quality or inappropriate fixtures several times over. By anticipating the long term benefits up front, you will smile every night when your outdoor lighting system works and shines just like it should for many years.
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