Four Tips for More Enjoyable Outdoor Lighting

Outdoor lighting is extremely popular during the summer months, and for good reason. With warm temperatures and long hours of daylight, it’s only natural to want to enjoy your outdoor spaces during hours when the sun goes down as well. In addition, tasteful lighting can make your landscape more beautiful, draw attention to features like plants, trees, or other highlights, and even make spaces functional and safe. When combined with anti-bug measures, you can enjoy your outdoors at all hours of the day thanks to optimal outdoor lighting.

Do you want to improve your outdoor lighting? It’s easier than you may have ever thought! Check out our blog for a few helpful tips you can follow this summer.

Tip #1: Always Use Outdoor-Rated Lights

There are so many different light fixtures available on the market today that you might be tempted to simply spring for the cheapest ones you can find. With a ton of different types of lights available, you might even find some that cost a significant fraction less than what you might see at big box stores or many online outlets. There’s a good reason for this: these lights are often built using lower-quality materials, and are thus not meant for outdoor use. Using an indoor-rated light in an outdoor setting could be exceedingly dangerous, and could damage your electrical system or your home as a whole. Do your research when purchasing outdoor lighting and always purchase fixtures that are rated for outdoor use and you’ll enjoy your property in safety.

Tip #2: You Don’t Need the Brightest Lights Available

This is a common mistake we see from many people who are looking to create a functional space in their back or front yard: buying the brightest lights they can so they get the most light possible. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the smartest decision. Buying lights that are too bright actually makes it harder to see and enjoy in outdoor settings—your eyes won’t be able to adjust from the brightly lit area to the darker areas away from it, and that’ll make moving in and out of this space difficult. It’s okay to buy lights that are bright to a certain level, but try not to go beyond more than about 40 to 60 watts—your eyes (and your neighbors) will thank you.

Tip #3: Yellow/Gold Colors Attract Fewer Bugs

Studies have shown that light itself isn’t necessarily what attracts bugs: it’s cool, blue light tones that tend to draw the most attention from unwanted pests and insects. Warmer, more natural golds and yellows tend to be far better when it comes to lighting up your outdoor spaces—while they can and do bring bugs, they bring fewer, and that means a better experience for any guests in the area. Likewise, it’s far easier to protect against fewer bugs than to try and use a number of anti-bug solutions against a massive onslaught of bugs brought about by poor lighting.

Tip #4: Protect Your Home with Motion Detecting Light Fixtures

A motion-sensing light fixture may be able to help you protect your home by giving those who wish to move in the shadows nowhere to hide. They’re generally small, easily concealed, but provide an abundance of bright light that you can utilize to your advantage. By turning on only when they detect movement, these lights can keep the darkest areas of your property illuminated when you need it to be, and likewise will stay shut off when you don’t need them in order to keep disturbance down to a minimum.