How to Vet a Tampa Landscape Lighting Installer

The 10-question checklist

1. “What’s your Florida license number?” Florida requires a Limited Energy Systems Specialty license (or electrical/alarm license) for wired landscape lighting — the DBPR says so explicitly. Verify the number at myfloridalicense.com and confirm it’s current and in the right category. No number, no hire. See our Florida low-voltage license guide for the details.
2. “Can I see your insurance certificates?” General liability and workers’ comp, with certificates — not verbal promises. If a worker is injured on your property and the installer has no coverage, the liability can land on you.
3. “What are the fixtures made of?” In Tampa, the answer you want is solid brass or copper. Powder-coated aluminum is acceptable away from the coast; plastic is a dealbreaker. Ask for the manufacturer and model — “professional grade” without a name means nothing.
4. “How are you sizing the transformer?” A real designer calculates total fixture wattage and specs a transformer 20–30% above it, with room for expansion. If the installer hasn’t done the math — or specs the exact minimum — you’ll be replacing the transformer when you add four path lights next year.
5. “What connection method do you use?” The answer should be watertight: silicone-filled or grease-cap connectors, or soldered/heat-shrink connections. “Wire nuts and tape” fails in Florida’s rainy season. This one question exposes more bad installers than any other.
6. “How deep do you bury the cable, and how do you route it?” Expect 3–6 inches minimum, deeper under lawn areas, with the hub (home-run) method preferred so one damaged run doesn’t kill the system. Ask how they protect cable from aerators, edgers, and irrigation work.
7. “Will you do a nighttime aiming session?” Fixtures must be aimed after dark — a designer who aims at noon is guessing. The best installers schedule a dusk walkthrough with you to fine-tune every fixture before final payment.
8. “What’s the warranty — fixtures, transformer, and labor, separately?” Get each in writing. Quality: fixtures 5–10+ years, transformers often lifetime, labor 1–2 years minimum. Vague “we stand behind our work” isn’t a warranty.
9. “Can I see your Florida work at night?” Ask for photos of the installer’s own Tampa Bay projects shot at night — ideally addresses you can drive by. Portfolios of stock-looking daytime shots or other states’ work are red flags.
10. “What’s the payment schedule?” Standard: 10–30% deposit, balance on completion after the nighttime walkthrough. Never 100% upfront. Cash-only, pressure to sign today, and “storm discount” pitches are walk-away signals.

Red flags: walk away when you see these

• No Florida license number, or a license in the wrong category (landscaping alone doesn’t cover electrical work).
• Quotes dramatically below every competitor — the money comes out of fixture quality, transformer size, cable depth, or insurance.
• Big-box or solar fixtures presented as a “professional system.”
• Wire nuts and electrical tape as the connection plan.
• No nighttime design or aiming process — the whole job scoped at noon.
• 100% payment upfront, cash-only, or high-pressure “today only” pricing.
• No written warranty, or a warranty that covers fixtures but not labor.
• Can’t show you real Tampa Bay work at night.

Green flags: signs you’ve found a good one

• They ask about how you use the yard at night before talking fixtures.
• They bring up transformer headroom and future expansion unprompted.
• They discuss light trespass, your HOA’s rules, and neighbor windows.
• They spec fixture materials by name and explain why.
• The proposal is line-itemed: fixtures, transformer, controls, trenching, labor, warranty — not one mystery number.