Hardwired Outdoor Lighting Can Transform Your Home and Business.
Whether you’re looking to create mood, increase safety, or highlight your landscaping, professionally installed, hardwired outdoor lighting is a must.
We’ve had the opportunity to help homeowners, residential properties, and businesses get the lighting they need. So in this blog, we’ll cover the basics of wired outdoor lighting and what you need to know before getting it installed.
Hardwired Outdoor Lighting Does More Than Illuminate, It Sets The Tone Of Your Space.
One of the best ways to transform an outdoor space is with lighting.
Because with the right outdoor lighting, you can make a place inviting, comfortable, and safe.
And one of the best ways to do the opposite? Make it dark.
This post is about making your home or business stand out and be welcoming for family, visitors, and customers. So let’s get started.
(Of course, if you want to do the opposite and create an abandoned building vibe…we can help with that, too 😉.)
What are the Different Types of Hardwired Outdoor Lighting?
There’s no shortage of choices when it comes to your outdoor lighting. With a little design and imagination, your lights can be combined to create something magical.
Lights generally come in different strengths and provide different levels of lighting depending on the power.
The most common outdoor home light is 12 volts and is relatively safe to install. For businesses, larger residential properties, and commercial spaces, the voltage is higher, and there’s a greater safety risk.
Outdoor lighting can also be hardwired or battery/solar operated, but this post is about hardwired lighting, so that’s what we’re focusing on.
That isn’t to say we don’t love the ease of solar-powered light, for example. But if you’re trying to make a statement AND have the convenience of switch operated or timed lighting, wired is the way to go.
Spotlights
Spotlights are used to illuminate an area or feature you want to notice. They can be installed for function or beauty, drawing attention to signage, landscape features, or outdoor art.
Flood Lights
Flood Lights do exactly what you’d think… flood an area with light. Usually used for safety, many flood lights come with motion-activated sensors. But, they can also create drama when directed at a landscape feature.
Up Down Lights/Sconces
Up Down Lights, also called sconces, are often wall or post mounted and can add depth and style to the exterior of any building. The shapes cast by light and shadow can create both class and whimsey for your home or business.
Step Lights
Step Lights illuminate…your steps! They are both beautiful and functional, welcoming and lighting the entrance of your home or creating mood and safety for your deck.
Bollard Lights
Bollard Light or Post Lights are a great way to add a soft glow and illumination to the ground and immediate surroundings. They come in a wide range of styles and sizes, and we just love ’em.
String Lights
Nothing brings fun, mood, and style to an outdoor space like String Lights. Whether they’re strung across a deck, along garden fences, around a patio, or wrapped around trees, String Light makes spaces inviting.
Looking to upgrade your business's exterior lighting or add more light to a dimly lit area? Get in Touch Today!
When Should You Install Your Home Outdoor Lighting?
Attached:
Lighting that’s attached to the exterior of a building can be installed year-round.
Landscape:
Living in a northern climate means that the ground is too hard for hardwired outdoor lighting installation at least half of the year.
Because, when you run the wiring for your lighting a shallow trench is dug from the location of the outlet to each of the connected lights. Digging the trench isn’t too hard, but if the ground is frozen, the amount of time it takes and the cost of installation goes up.
That’s why we recommend installing between May and October.
Of course, this can vary from season to season based on the weather conditions.
Other Things to Consider
If you are installing hardwired outdoor lighting, it’s important to know what you want to accomplish before starting.
Do you want to illuminate a garden pathway? Then lighting can be installed when the ground is soft enough to dig trenches.
Do you want to highlight planted areas? Think about what your plants look like and the space they fill at the peak of the season. Some plant foliage may grow over the landscape lights when they’re in full bloom or growth.
Are you going to add features in the near future? Planning ahead for rock gardens, ponds, statues, and even signage will save you time, money, and convenience, especially if you end up needing to relocate your wire lines.
Whatever you do, use your outdoor lighting to create the mood you want. Have fun, be adventurous, and enjoy your outdoor spaces more.
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