After working your way through Memphis traffic after a long day, you don’t want to stumble across your driveway and try to find the front door in the dark. Outdoor lighting does more than just illuminate pathways, though. It also adds a custom look to your house that helps you separate it from the others that are nearby. Check out some of the top tips to make sure you pick the right outdoor lights.
1. Choose Different Types
Outdoor lighting usually falls into one of three categories. Overall lighting refers to fixtures that provide illumination for a general area. You might have a light on your front porch that shines into your yard. With task lighting, you add light to specific areas such as a fixture on your garage that shines on your driveway. Accent lighting is another option and allows you to highlight an area and create a specific mood. You don’t need to settle for one or the other because you can use all three.
2. Make Sure You Pick the Right Locations
While buying new lighting is often exciting, make sure that you pick the right locations for all of your lights. Think about the path you follow when you get home and any problems you had in the past. You might find that you want one light on your garage and smaller lights that line the path to your front door. It’s helpful to have lights around any obstacles in your yard and any steps you have.
3. Consider the Power Needed
No matter what type of lights you choose, you need to have the power to run them. When you buy ordinary lights that have an attached cord, you need to keep running in and out of the house to find an open outlet. On hot Memphis days, you lose a lot of cold air each time you open the door. Hardwired lights are a better solution because they work with your home’s existing electrical system. Rush Electric can install these lights for you.
4. Control Light Pollution
Have you ever tried to fall asleep at night and found that your neighbor’s lights shined through your window? This is a form of light pollution. Light pollution usually describes lights that are so bright they cause harm to others. When you add new indoor lighting, make sure that it does not shine into nearby homes. You can also use automatic timers that let you turn the lights on and off or motion-activated lights that come on when they detect activity to keep your home safe.
Change the look of your home with the right outdoor lights, such as motion-activated floodlights and accent lighting near your driveway. Call Rush Electric to find out how easy lighting installation is in the Memphis, TN area.
