For almost every outdoor lighting project today, the answer is LED. Here is the honest comparison, including the few cases where halogen used to make sense.
The quick verdict
Modern LED fixtures match or beat halogen on light quality while using roughly 80% less energy and lasting many times longer. The old knock on LED, that it looked cold and blue, has not been true for years. Quality 2700K LEDs give the same warm glow halogen was loved for.
Running cost
A halogen system pulling 300 watts a night adds up fast over a Minnesota winter of long, dark evenings. An equivalent LED system might draw 50 to 60 watts for the same brightness. On a whole-property system the energy savings alone can cover the difference in fixture cost within a few years.
Lifespan and maintenance
Halogen bulbs typically last around 2,000 to 4,000 hours, which is a bulb change every year or two per fixture. Quality LED fixtures are rated for 40,000 hours or more, so you are not on a ladder swapping bulbs every spring. For a buried, professionally aimed system, that maintenance difference is a big deal.
Light quality
This used to favor halogen, but no longer. What matters is two numbers:
- Color temperature. Look for 2700K for a warm, inviting glow. That is the halogen look, reproduced reliably in LED.
- Color rendering (CRI). A CRI of 90 or higher makes brick, foliage, and stone look true to life. Good outdoor LEDs hit this easily.
When did halogen still make sense?
A few years ago, some homeowners with existing halogen systems chose to keep replacing bulbs rather than re-fixture everything at once. Today, even those systems are usually better off with LED retrofit lamps or a fixture upgrade, since the parts and energy savings have tipped decisively.
If someone is still trying to sell you a brand-new halogen landscape system in 2026, ask why. The math has not favored it in a long time.
What we install
We build every system with warm 2700K, high-CRI LED fixtures in cast brass and copper: the light quality homeowners want, with the running cost and lifespan that make a system worth owning. See how we do landscape lighting or get a quote.