Illuminating Hampstead: An ELV Garden Lighting Installation with Hunza Fittings
There's something special about a garden lighting installation that's done properly where the engineering is invisible, the finish is immaculate, and the effect at dusk stops you in your tracks. This project in Hampstead, NW3 was exactly that.
Hunza ELV garden lighting installation at dusk, Hampstead — Hobbs Electrical Group
The Brief
We were brought in by another electrical contractor to handle the extra-low voltage (ELV) lighting element of a wider garden scheme at a residential property in Hampstead. The client had invested in premium Hunza garden fittings, ground spikes, wall-mounted spotlights, and step lights and needed an electrician who understood the specific demands of constant-current ELV systems. Our role was to run armoured cable to four driver locations around the garden and steps, and make off all the connections, drivers, and fittings to a professional standard.
Why ELV? Why Does It Matter?
Extra-low voltage garden lighting, running at 12V rather than mains voltage is the professional's choice for outdoor installations where cables may pass through planted areas or be at risk from garden maintenance. It's significantly safer than mains voltage in the damp outdoor environments where garden lighting operates, and it delivers a quality of light that plug-and-play transformer kits simply can't match: consistent, flicker-free, and properly controlled.
It also means that if a cable is ever accidentally nicked by a spade or strimmer, the consequences are very different to a severed mains cable. That matters to clients who actually use their gardens.
Hunza solid copper ground spike garden light in planted border, Hampstead — Hobbs Electrical Group
The Fittings: Why Hunza Is the Professional Standard
If you're going to the trouble of a proper ELV installation, the last thing you want is cheap fittings that fail in two winters. Hunza Lighting, engineered in New Zealand, is widely regarded as the benchmark for professional garden lighting and having installed them, it's easy to see why.
Every Hunza luminaire is CNC-machined and hand-assembled in their Auckland factory. No conveyor belts, no mass production. The fittings on this project were finished in solid natural copper, which develops a rich, organic patina over time that blends beautifully into planted borders, a finish that genuinely looks better at five years than it did on day one.
Hunza's PURE LED range uses high-output integrated LED chips engineered for long-term performance in sealed, weatherproof enclosures. Most fixtures are IP66-rated, completely protected against dust and high-pressure water jets and the copper body carries a 10-year manufacturer's warranty. These are fit-and-forget fittings in every sense.
Hunza copper wall-mounted spotlight on brick garden wall, Hampstead — Hobbs Electrical Group
The Installation
The armoured cable was routed from an existing external supply point to four locations around the front driveway and side steps, with weatherproof enclosures housing the LED drivers at each point. The circuit is controlled by a Sangamo sun-tracker, an astronomical timer that adjusts switching times automatically as sunrise and sunset shift through the year. No manual reprogramming required as the seasons change.
On completion, the installation was fully tested and certified to BS 7671:2018, with a Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate issued. Everything documented, everything compliant.
SWA cable terminations in weatherproof Wiska enclosure, ELV garden lighting installation — Hobbs Electrical Group
The Result
The finished installation lights the front driveway, garden planting, and side steps with warm, directional light that transforms the property after dark. The copper fittings sit naturally in the planting. The step lights provide safe, practical illumination without glare. The wall-mounted spotlight throws a tight beam up into the garden tree.
It's the kind of job where quality at every stage, client specification, fittings, installation, and certification all adds up to something that simply works, and goes on working.
Hunza ELV step lights illuminating stone garden steps at dusk, Hampstead — Hobbs Electrical Group
Working with Landscape Contractors and Garden Designers
If you're a landscape contractor or garden designer specifying premium lighting on a client project, we'd be glad to discuss the electrical element. We work with SWA distribution systems, constant-current ELV drivers, and fittings from manufacturers including Hunza, and we understand the scheduling demands of working alongside groundworks and planting programmes.
We cover Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Greater London.
Get in touch: hobbselectricalgroup.co.uk
Tags: Garden Lighting | ELV | External Installations | Hampstead | Landscapers I Hunza I Hobbs Electrical Group