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If you’re like most homeowners, you want to spend more time outside when the weather is nice. Unfortunately, when the days start to get shorter, your outside time may be limited unless you install outdoor lighting. Here, we’ll give you some helpful tips on how to safely set up your home’s exterior lighting to maximize its functionality and enhance your home’s curb appeal during the overnight hours.
Plan It Out
It can be really easy to start jumping in by purchasing lights that you like without having a real plan in place of where everything’s going to go. We highly suggest starting out by mapping the different locations on your home’s exterior.
Make note of walkways, patios, porches, security spots, driveways, and other landscaping features. This will help you ensure the lighting you’re choosing will flow throughout your entire property instead of ending up with a mismatch of lighting that doesn’t really fit together as one.
Decide Between Solar and Line-Wire Items
One thing you want to keep in mind from the very start is how you want to power your lighting setup. It’s pretty common for a lot of homeowners to integrate both solar and electric-powered lights throughout their landscape.
Solar lights can be great for areas where you need a low level of lighting, such as along a garden pathway. Electric-powered lights produce a brighter light that is great for areas that require high visibility, like your driveway.
Certain types of lighting you may purchase can simply be plugged into an exterior outlet. Other types of lighting may require one of our electricians to run permanent wiring underground. Permanent wiring can be advantageous when it comes to locations where you want long-term lighting, as you won’t have to take up a spot on your outside receptacle to power them.
However, realize that permanent wiring has to be done by an electrician, and many local building codes will require a permit to install it. Permanent wiring is typically referred to as a line-voltage system and will have 120 volts of power going through it.
Assess Your Outdoor Outlet Needs
Unless you have a home that was built in the last 20 years, it’s highly likely that the exterior of your home doesn’t have many outlets. Outside outlets weren’t standard practice until a few decades ago.
What this means is you may not have enough exterior outlets to plug in some of your lighting fixtures. You want to avoid running excessive amounts of drag cords and overloading the outside outlets that you do have.
Instead, plan out where you want to run your lighting so that you know where to have our electrician add exterior outlets to your home. Also, all of your outdoor outlets should have GFCI (ground-fault circuit interrupter) protection. This allows them to shut off very quickly to avoid electrocution when they come into contact with water.
GFCI protection comes in the form of either GFCI outlets or circuit breakers. GFCI outlets are very easy to detect as they’re square and have a test and reset button on them. GFCI breakers also have a test button that you can identify at your panel box.
When plugging anything into your outdoor outlet, it’s always a good idea to use a drip loop. This is simply a loop in the cord prior to where you plug it in, so any water that runs on the cord will run to the bottom of the drip loop and off the cord. If you fail to have this drip loop, water will simply run down the cord and directly into the electrical outlet. This will likely cause it to trip constantly.
Select Outdoor-Rated Items
If you’re planning on installing some of your own outdoor lighting, it’s vitally important to ensure that any lighting item you purchase is rated for outdoor use. All lighting items, whether it’s a ceiling fan or a light strand, will have a rating located on their box explaining whether they’re for indoor or outdoor use.
You never want to use an item rated for indoor use outside. They aren’t able to withstand the natural outdoor elements, like rain and direct sunlight. If you need to use an extension cord to reach one of your outlets for temporary purposes, ensure that your extension cord is also rated for outdoor use.
Don’t Overload Outlets
If you’re just putting up temporary lighting where you’re not calling an electrician to install permanent lighting, you have to be very careful that you’re not overloading your electrical outlets. If your lights start to flicker or you’re tripping the circuit breaker, it’s a key indication that you have too many items on that outlet.
Additionally, if you want to plug multiple light strands together, ensure you’re checking the box to know how many you can safely put together. Opting to go with modern LED lighting is one of the best ways to minimize the power draw on your outlet so that you can put numerous strands together without overloading the circuit.
Properly Secure Cords
Whenever you’re installing lighting, you need to think about where your cords are being run. You never want your cords to be in high-traffic areas, as they can end up getting damaged. Simple actions like stepping on an electrical cord can cause it to compress and eventually overheat. This can create a dangerous fire hazard that you don’t want on your property. Instead, opt for running your electrical cords away from any regularly traveled route.
You always want to ensure that you’re properly adhering the cord to a surface other than the ground. You should never just have electrical cords running over the ground. When putting in electrical staples, you need to find a delicate balance between securing the cord and not putting it in too tight where you’re compressing the insulation and wires inside the cord.
Practice Ladder Safety
If you want to put lighting up on the eaves of your home and your roof line, you should be practicing proper ladder safety. Opt for using a ladder that’s made of fiberglass or wood, as these materials do not conduct electricity like a metal ladder would. This will give you some added comfort in the event that your ladder slips into a power line, as it won’t transfer electricity to you.
When setting up your ladder, keep it at least 10 feet away from any overhead power lines. This will prevent you from accidentally bumping into the line when you’re working on installing your lighting.
Use PVC Conduit When Possible
Direct sunlight can wreak havoc on the cords of your outdoor lighting fixtures. Any cords that will permanently run above ground should be encased in a specialized PVC conduit or other flexible outdoor conduit that will protect the wires from direct exposure to the sun. This conduit also protects the wires from adverse weather conditions, lawn equipment, and even animals.
Expert Exterior Lighting Service
MVP Air Conditioning, Heating, Plumbing & Electric offers expert exterior lighting service for the Kansas City, KS community. We can also help with all your interior lighting and other home electrical needs. Simply call us today to schedule your next service appointment with one of our helpful professionals.
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