How often should garden lighting be serviced?

A simple visual check once or twice a year — typically autumn and spring — is usually enough for a well-installed 12V scheme: looking for damaged cable, cracked lenses, or fittings that have shifted or become covered by growth.

Does garden lighting need extra care in winter?

Mostly it needs to be left alone and used — LED garden lighting is designed for outdoor winter conditions. The main things to check are that fittings aren't buried under fallen leaves or snow, and that no cable has been exposed or damaged by garden work.

Maintenance Guide

Garden Lighting Maintenance: Keeping Your Scheme Running Through the Year

Q: Why has my garden light stopped working?

Common causes include a tripped connection at the transformer, a damaged cable (often from strimming or digging nearby), a failed seal letting in moisture, or simply an LED reaching end of life. Checking the transformer and connections first rules out the simplest causes before assuming a fitting has failed.

Updated July 20265 min readBy Eastbourne Garden Lighting Co.

The short answer

A well-installed 12V LED garden lighting scheme needs very little maintenance — mostly a visual check once or twice a year for damaged cable, cracked fittings, or growth covering a light. If a fitting has stopped working, check the transformer and connections first before assuming the worst.

Whether you had your lighting installed by us or someone else, this guide covers the basics of keeping a scheme running well for years, and troubleshooting the most common issue: a light that's stopped working.

Why has my garden light stopped working?

In rough order of likelihood:

A tripped or loose connection at the transformer — the simplest cause, and worth checking first.
Damaged cable — often caused by strimming, digging, or planting too close to a buried run.
A failed seal — moisture getting into a fitting, usually after the gasket has degraded with age or a knock.
An LED reaching end of life — after many years of use, this is a normal, expected failure rather than a fault.

Checking the transformer and visible connections first rules out the easiest, cheapest causes before assuming a fitting needs replacing.

A simple twice-yearly check (autumn and spring)

Look for any cable that's become exposed, cut, or crushed by garden work.
Check fittings aren't buried under fallen leaves, mulch, or overgrown planting.
Look for cracked lenses or housings — a compromised seal is the point a fitting stops being weatherproof.
Confirm the transformer is dry, ventilated, and its connections look sound.
Test that dimming and any timers or app controls are still behaving as expected.

Does winter need extra care?

Mostly, no — LED garden lighting is designed for outdoor use through a UK winter. The main things worth doing are keeping fittings clear of fallen leaves or snow so the light can actually get out, and checking nothing has been disturbed by autumn garden tidying (a classic cause of accidental cable damage).

Coastal properties need a slightly closer eye

On exposed Meads, Sovereign Harbour and Pevensey Bay properties, salt air accelerates wear on seals and housings faster than inland gardens. If your fittings aren't already marine-grade, this is where problems tend to show up first — see our coastal garden lighting guide. If they are marine-grade, an annual check is still worth doing, just less urgently.

Something not working?

If you're not sure whether it's a quick fix or something more, we're happy to take a look — get in touch and we'll advise honestly before recommending any work.

Book a Design Visit

Good maintenance starts with a good original installation — see how we specify and install schemes designed to need less attention in the first place, on our garden & outdoor lighting service page.