Winter and pretty lights seem to hand in hand; everywhere you turn, you will see lights of various colours twinkling and illuminating the area. With longer nights, this season is the perfect time to make the most of your landscape lighting in Toronto. Contrary to popular belief, outdoor landscape lights are not just for decoration and aesthetic appeal but are also there for safety reasons. However, snow and the winter months can interfere with the functioning of the lights. Therefore, here are some tips to ensure that your outdoor landscape lighting is working optimally.
Clean The Lens Of Your Outdoor Light
The first thing that one should do is get accustomed to the cleaning process. This process includes cleaning the lens of all the outdoor landscape lighting. This is because outdoor lighting accumulates a lot of leaves, dust, cobwebs, dead insects, dirt, grime, and more. All of that dims the overall brightness of these lights. Ensure to clean the lights with a gentle cloth to ensure no damage is done. You might also need to pay attention to LED bulbs as they tend to remain cooler compared to halogen lights which get hot enough to melt snow. Clean the LED bulbs after a heavy snowfall to ensure the light is clear.
Exposed Wiring Check
This step is considered one of the most crucial steps in the entire list; it is to check for any exposed wirings on your outdoor landscape lighting. While performing safety checks during winter, search for any exposed copper or busted wire that can pose a threat. The ground will freeze sooner or later once the temperature drops drastically. So before that happens, it is wise to repair and rebury the wires. Because once the snow melts, you risk a lot of damage by allowing water and electrical wires to mix.
Check Your Bulbs
Longer nights mean your outdoor landscaping lights are working longer hours. So check the bulbs and their overall condition beforehand. If you notice a bulb dying, replace it as soon as possible. The reason is quite simple; if one bulb dies, other lights will receive a higher percentage of voltage, resulting in a quicker burnout.
Pro Tip: Change your regular light bulbs to LED ones, as they last longer and work better in cold temperatures.
Start Marking Your Lights
If you have outdoor landscape lighting installed on your pathways, you know how much damage they take during snow removal. If a snow shovel hits these landscape lights, you risk damaging it or exposing wires. It is best to mark your lights with indicator flags to identify them even after a heavy snowstorm. This means the next time you remove snow, you can see those flags and avoid or be careful with those areas.
Reset The Timer Of Your Lights
Winters mean the days are shorter, and the sun sets sooner and becomes quite dark. If you rely on light timers for your outdoor landscape lighting, you might need to adjust the time when the light turns on and off. Also, take into consideration daylight savings time when you are adjusting the timer.
Tone Down The Lights
After late fall, when the leaves have begun falling, you must adjust the intensity of your lighting. Since many trees shed leaves during this period, you will see trees with bare branches. Adjust the light to remove the focus from the bare branches and instead focus the light on other features of your yard. You can also manage the intensity by adding frosted bulbs or removing certain spotlights or light fixtures.
Improve Safety and Security
Outdoor landscape lighting is guaranteed to make your home feel safe and secure. Adding lighting to the door, pathways, and other areas ensure that people can safely navigate your property. Check if you have installed lights in the blindspots to avoid slips, falls, or injuries.
Choose Land-Con For Your Outdoor Landscape Lighting
Design an outstanding yet safe yard with Land-con and their incredible outdoor landscape lighting solutions. Land-Con is Toronto’s most trusted and preferred front yard landscaping and backyard designing company. With more than 25 years of experience in the field of beautifying properties, no matter the size of your yard you wish to transform, Land-con’s professionals are ready to help you achieve the best outcome for your front yard and backyard space. Our highest priority is customer satisfaction, which is why we offer a 5-year warranty to cover our craftsmanship to ensure you are protected. Our service areas include Toronto, Markham, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Oakville, Barrie, Kitchener, and the surrounding GTA. Contact Land-Con at 416.504.5263 or drop us an email at info@landcon.ca to learn more.
Also Read:
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