Outdoor Lighting

Outdoor lighting is important for many reasons. First, it makes things look nicer. The curb appeal of your home goes up significantly if it is tastefully lit during hours of darkness. People like to be able to see homes from the road and from their own homes nearby. It makes you seem more open and friendly. If a house is always cloaked in darkness, then people might think that you are closed off and not friendly. It will also make your house look older and more run down. Good outdoor lighting will accent the positive elements of both your home and your landscaping. In addition, if you ever decide to sell your home, it will be nice if prospective buyers can drive by during both the day and the night and get a good look at the house.

Another reason for outdoor lighting is to make it easier for visitors to find their way to your door. Especially if your house sits back far from the road, it is important to have some lighting to show the driveway, pathway, and stairs up to your door. Then, any guests that you may have will be able to find their way in the dark. In addition, if you have any outdoor furniture on your patio or deck for gathering, you want to make sure that the seating areas are well lit. Even though the sun goes down ,that does not mean that your outdoor activities have to stop. The right outdoor lighting can sustain the outdoor action on the patio or in the yard for hours after dark.

One final reason that you might want some outdoor lighting is for security reasons. Intruders and possible attackers like to lurk in dark shadows. If the area around your house is well lit, then people are less likely to take advantage of it. In addition, outdoor lighting on will convince potential prowlers that you are home even when you are not. A good outdoor security light that activates when something or someone approaches your home could scare someone away and will light your path as you enter and leave your home.

The different types of outdoor lighting were alluded to in the previous section when we talked about the reasons you might want some outdoor lighting. One of the most important types of outdoor lighting is outdoor pathway lighting and outdoor step lighting. These types of lights show a path or sidewalk leading up to your door. It makes it easier for visitors to find their way from your driveway or the street to your front door. Outdoor pathway lighting generally comes in the style that looks like tiny lamp posts sticking out of the ground. Outdoor step lighting will typically be affixed to the riser part of each stair so that light shines down on the stair below.

Another important type of outdoor lighting includes outdoor patio lighting. If you want to be able to gather socially in your outdoor areas, then dome overhead or lamp lighting will be necessary. Some outdoor patio lighting takes the form of hanging lights that you can string from a canopy or roof and other outdoor patio lighting is light fixtures attached to the side of the house. You might also find torch like lights or table lamps if the setup calls for it.

Yet another style of outdoor lighting is outdoor garden lighting and outdoor accent lighting. These lights are meant to accent or highlight your garden and landscaping in a positive way. These lights are often disguised as something else so they are not noticeable during the day. For example, some outdoor garden lights look like rocks or small statues. Other outdoor accent lights might be buried in the ground or exactly at ground level so that you cannot see the fixtures.

Finally, there are outdoor security lights. These outdoor lights are generally attached to your home at or close to the roof line and are motion activated. When someone or something comes close to any of the entrances to your home or to a sensitive area that you have chosen to have lit, the security lights turn on. Typically outdoor security lights are flood lights or strong spot lights so that the instant light is startling to an intruder and the light is sufficient to light a large area outside. Another popular choice is solar lights because they require very little maintenance other than rinsing off the solar collecting panels with a garden hose.

The amount of maintenance that you have to do on outdoor lights depends on what kind of lights they are. You have two choices. First, you can have regular electric lights that need to be plugged in. Second, you can use solar lights. Solar lights use the energy on sunlight to charge batteries which in turn power LEDs. The main difference between the two light sources is that regular lights use light bulbs that need to be changed occasionally and solar lights use LED's that almost never need to be changed. The only part that needs to be changed on a solar light is the rechargeable battery because it starts to become less effective over time. You also have to occasionally clean off the solar collecting panels and this can be done about twice a year close to the time that you call the gutter cleaning service or roofing service. Solar lights have the added benefit of not needing cords that need to be buried or hidden, but you do need to occasionally wipe off the solar collecting panels to make sure they work efficiently.