Your yard should be your little Garden of Eden. You want a space where you can relax and host barbeques, parties, or intimate family gatherings. Therefore, your outdoor lighting merits careful consideration.
Before you hire an expert to set up lighting fixtures for your home, there are a few factors you need to know. This guide will look at why you need outdoor lighting before discussing how to install your outdoor lighting.
Why should you have outdoor lighting?
Outdoor lighting offers a range of benefits to the modern homeowner. Below are three reasons why people choose to invest in outdoor lighting. Let’s quickly look at each of these factors.
1. Outdoor lighting helps you make the most of your home
An outdoor space is a great asset in today’s dense urban neighborhoods. Naturally, you want to make the most of what you have available. You invest in landscaping, furniture, and other home improvements to make the most of your yard during the daylight hours.
You need outdoor lighting to continue to use that space after sunset. After all, how will you appreciate your brand new patio at night if you can’t see anything?
Regardless of how you wish to use your outdoor space, the lighting will be key to its functionality. From enjoying dinner and drinks with your friends to a quiet evening spent reading your favorite book, optimal lighting is vital to the way you use the space.
2. A deterrent against intruders
A UChicago study found that outdoor lighting can decrease crime by 39%. The statistic makes sense. In any residential neighborhood, intruders are more likely to target a poorly lit home since it makes it easier to break in and enter unnoticed.
Installing outdoor lights will help secure your house’s perimeter and put you at ease. Lighting around your home significantly reduces the chance of a burglary, and you will be able to spot any suspicious activity quickly.
3. Adds to your home’s curb appeal
A home shrouded in darkness will always be less appealing than one that is brightly lit. That’s irrespective of how it looks on the inside. Think back on all the great houses you have spotted during a drive or on your evening run. Those homes usually have chique outdoor lighting set up.
An attractive outdoor lighting installation will make your grounds look more appealing. Our China Hat Path Light will guide people to your front door. Tree lights cast dappled shadows on your grounds. You can use wash lights to illuminate bushes and shrubbery.
Careful lighting can also highlight the best architectural features of your home. For example, you can use a CAST-Classic Niche Light to illuminate your porch. Or use deck lights, like our Craftsman Series Bronze Deck Light, around your patio. Such small additions can make a big difference in the visual appeal of your home.
4 Things to Think About When Installing Outdoor Lighting
Lighting installation is serious work, and you should turn to experts to ensure your outdoor lighting is fitted correctly. Below are a few things to consider when discussing your lighting plan with an expert.
1. You Want Durable Outdoor-Rated Fixtures
Your fixtures are exposed to the elements—snow, baking sun, harsh winds, rain, and even hailstorms. You need durable fixtures that are suitable for harsh weather environments.
At CAST, we take special care to ensure that all our products are weather-resistant. The products in the CAST Landscape line are made of solid sand-cast bronze. Our SOURCE by CAST line, which is also popular, is made of brass. The lighting fixtures for both lines are durable and more resilient than plastic products, which some companies favor.
We offer a comprehensive warranty on all our products to ensure your peace of mind. We will either repair or replace any properly installed CAST lighting product which fails under normal operating conditions within the warranty period.
2. Energy-efficient LED Bulbs Will Save You Money
Lighting accounts for approximately 15% of the electricity bill for the average homeowner. Installing energy-efficient lighting is an obvious way of reducing your electricity bills. Simply switching over to LED light bulbs can save you an average of $225 a year.
That’s a substantial savings over time for a small change. Remember that LED light bulbs last longer than incandescent bulbs, so you’re saving double.
CAST Lighting is one of the industry leaders in outdoor lighting LED bulbs. We’ve developed a range of innovative lighting products that save energy and provide value to homeowners.
For instance, did you know that LED lights generate less heat than incandescent bulbs? It’s probably not something you think much about. However, if it snows where you live, this is an important consideration. The reason is pretty straightforward; ordinary LED bulbs don’t melt the snow around the lighting fixture. You’ll need to get your shovel out to remove the snow around your light fittings if you use a regular LED bulb.
On the other hand, CAST LED chips are cleverly designed to transmit heat through the fixture body. That means the snow slowly melts around the light fitting. Through clever innovations like this, we provide our customers with a better product that saves them money.
3. Weather-Resistant Receptacles Are Important
A lighting receptacle is an outlet that connects your bulb with the wiring. The receptacles need to be durable and function in diverse weather conditions. If they fail, best-case scenario, your lights will switch off. That often means calling out an expert to fix the problem. It’s a time-consuming and expensive process.
Check the quality of the receptacles and wiring used for your outdoor lighting installation.
At CAST, we use receptacles that are durable and weather-resistant. You won’t have to worry about your electric setup short-circuiting after a spell of rain. We also produce underwater lighting fixtures that can be submerged in a pond or other types of water features. These are specially designed to deal with prolonged immersion in water.
4. Consider Trench Depth & Location
The final factor you should consider is the depth and location of the trenches that hold your wires. Ensure you agree on where the cabling will be placed ahead of installation. You should note the location of the trenches too.
The depth of the trench will vary according to your needs and the soil. Electricians will often encase wiring in shallow trenches in piping. The piping forms a protective cover for the wire. That reduces the chance of severing a wire when gardening, for example.
Wrapping Up
Installing outdoor lighting at your home is a big project. You need input from an expert to design your outdoor lighting plan if you want the best results. The plan they create should tastefully illuminate the grounds of your home and highlight the best architectural features of the house.
This guide discussed things to consider when turning to an expert for advice. You need to check the durability of the lighting fixtures. You want lights that last for a long time and handle the weather year-round. The quality of the lighting receptacles is also important.
Finally, consider the location of the trenches for the cables. You don’t want to place shallow cables where you work the soil. You should also take note of the location of the trenches, so you can provide this information to people as needed in the future.
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