LED Landscape Lighting vs Halogen: The Complete Comparison
If you’re upgrading an existing landscape lighting system or specifying a new one, you’ll encounter one of the most settled debates in the industry: LED vs. halogen. We only install LED. Here’s why — from a technical perspective, not a marketing one.
Lifespan
LED: 50,000–100,000 hours rated lifespan for quality commercial-grade LED landscape fixtures.
Halogen: 2,000–4,000 hours typical lifespan.
At 10 hours per night, an LED fixture lasts 13–27 years. A halogen fixture lasts 6 months to a year. The labor cost of replacing halogen bulbs over the life of an installation dwarfs the upfront cost difference between LED and halogen fixtures.
Energy Consumption
LED: A 5W LED uplighter produces the same light output as a 20W halogen MR16.
Halogen: 4× higher energy consumption for equivalent lumen output.
On a typical 20-fixture residential system running 2,500 hours per year, LED vs. halogen represents roughly $80–$150/year in electricity savings — which compounds over the life of the system.
Heat Output
Halogen landscape fixtures run extremely hot — hot enough to damage roots, dry soil, and create burn hazards for anyone near the fixture. LED fixtures run cool to the touch. For fixtures installed near plants, in mulch beds, or in locations where people walk, LED is the only responsible choice.
Color Quality
High-CRI (90+) LED landscape fixtures now produce warmer, more natural light than halogen at temperatures from 2700K to 3000K. The concern that “LED looks cold” applies only to low-quality fixtures — the commercial-grade fixtures we install look warmer and more natural than halogen at equal color temperatures.
Smart Control Compatibility
Smart dimming transformers, zone controllers, and app-driven landscape lighting systems all require LED. Halogen is incompatible with modern smart outdoor lighting systems.
Our Recommendation
If you have an existing halogen system, we can retrofit every fixture to LED without replacing the wire runs — typically the most cost-effective upgrade available to an existing landscape lighting customer. Contact us today for a free assessment.