Having a yard can already help increase your property’s market value. To ensure that you get the most out of your yard, adding aesthetics would help make the place look refreshing and inviting.
While creating an attractive garden would surely add life to your home, incorporating the right landscape lighting would complete the vibe and cozy atmosphere that you’re aiming for.
Furthermore, adding landscape lighting will highlight the personality of your landscape and your home. However, since they’re outdoors, they have more exposure to environmental factors affecting their lifespan and quality.
With that, you shouldn’t forget to maintain them well, especially since replacement doesn’t come in cheap.
While you can hire a professional within your area to do maintenance checkups regularly, such as Oregon Outdoor Lighting, it’s also cost-effective to do them on your own.
Moreover, listed below are landscape lighting maintenance tips that could help you when you opt for the do-it-yourself (DIY) route:
1. Give Them Enough Space
No matter how small your outdoor lighting is, it could generate a small amount of heat to light up an area in your yard.
To prevent any possible electrical sparks resulting from getting too close to the bulb, cleaning the area and giving enough space for the fixture would always be a great idea.
While it might sound minor, too much debris around your outdoor lighting might cause it to overheat, along with obstructing its light.
Apart from the heat, you should always give a clean area for your outdoor lighting so you can free them from additional environmental factors.
Fallen leaves or shrubs might have some insects lying around, giving them quicker access to your lighting fixture which might motivate them to slip inside.
Ideally, you should free the area from shrubs and other elements that could get in the way of your outdoor lighting. It’s advisable to check it once or twice a week to ensure that your lighting is functional and free of elements.
2. Replace Bulbs
Similar to your indoor lights, your outdoor lights might also require some bulb replacement.
While you may want to wait until the bulbs fully lose their function, replacing them before it happens can help extend the lifespan of the whole lighting fixture. This will be more cost-efficient and practical in the long run.
Preferably, you should change your yard’s lightbulb once you notice that it’s starting to be dimmer.
If you have a trail of lights, it’ll be easier to identify which lights are getting dimmer by comparing them all together.
To save on energy costs, you should consider switching to LED lights as they function similar to traditional lights but won’t consume too much energy, allowing you to reduce your electrical costs.
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3. Wipe The Fixtures Clean
One of the most effortless maintenance practices that you should do for your landscape lighting is to wipe the fixtures clean all the time.
You can do this once a week or whenever you notice that the fixtures are getting dustier and dirtier by the minute.
While this might be tiresome, especially if you have plenty of lighting fixtures around, it’ll help extend their use.
You can begin by using a microfiber cloth and dishwashing soap to clean the lighting fixtures perfectly. For more stubborn dirt, you should be careful about using any cleaning chemicals as it might harm the quality of your metal.
Before using baking soda and vinegar to clean your lighting fixtures, you should consider testing them in an inconspicuous area first to ensure that they won’t ruin the entire quality.
Alternatively, you can always purchase a metal cleaner to provide a thorough and safe cleaning process.
4. Check for Fixture Damage
One of the most important things that you should do to maintain your landscape lighting is to regularly check any fixture damage.
While some might look minor such as a small crack, you’ll never know when it will go further, causing a leak inside your fixtures, allowing further damage and possible fire for your entire lot.
When you notice any damage to your landscape lighting, you should repair or replace it immediately. This will help prevent any accidents that may harm your property or people near it.
Ideally, you should address the problem as soon as possible or before you need to use it, as it might cause harm once you need to light them up. Additionally, replacing them with better-quality materials would always be an efficient idea.
5. Confirm Any Exposed Cables
Outdoor lighting would still need to connect to electricity for them to function. Unless you have solar-powered lighting, wires shouldn’t be a problem for you.
However, for general landscape lighting, you should always be on the lookout for any exposed wires that could cause harm to your lighting and property.
When there’s any exposed cable wire floating in your yard, you should address it immediately by wrapping it around with electrical tape, or you can replace the entire wire itself.
To prevent any possible recurrence of the problem, you should consider adding a wire cover and plant it underground so you can prevent pests and rodents from biting the wire down.
6. Adjust Lighting Positions
With moveable outdoor lighting, there might be instances that they might change their position due to natural environmental factors, such as strong winds, rain, or even being pushed by animals or rodents in your yard.
To bring them back to their proper position, you should adjust them accordingly and try to place them in a spot that’s not prone to those factors.
While adjusting the lighting position might not sound like maintenance work, it’ll allow you to see if they’re still properly attached to the ground, wall, or ceiling.
You can confirm if it needs readjusting so you can ensure that it will stay in place for as long as possible. You can even add more attachments if you’re not satisfied with how it sits in your yard.
7. Set Timers for Lights
Even if your outdoor lights are long-lasting, you shouldn’t try to maximize what they can do just because you can.
To help maximize and increase their lifespan, you should set a timer for your light to avoid overworking them in the first place.
This will help keep your outdoor lights in their best shape and prevent overheating, especially when there’s enough sunlight around.
You can begin by lighting up your landscape around 8 PM in the night and turning them off around 4:30 AM.
If you’d like to maximize every light as much as possible, you might want to consider creating a schedule about which lights would open on certain days and which ones are not.
This will prevent them from being overused every day, thus preserving their lifespan.
When to Call A Professional
Maintaining your yard’s lighting should be easy and quick for you to do every week.
However, there might be instances wherein you need to hire a professional to assess the lighting condition further and see if any replacements or repairs are necessary.
That’ll help to maximize safety for your family and your property.
Ideally, you should call a professional when you notice something wrong with their electrical wiring.
More so, if you see an exposed wire that could create a spark, you should turn off their electrical source right away and call for a professional.
While you might want to fix this yourself, calling a professional will guarantee safety and utmost work quality. Moreover, it can also save you from the possibility of electrocuting yourself, especially if you don’t have the right tools with you.
How to Place Outdoor Lighting Strategically
As you install landscape lighting inside your property, you should ensure that you place them well around the area so you can maximize your landscape’s full aesthetic potential.
While using various colors might sound playful, going for a warm white will help show its true colors better.
You can begin by adding a spotlight for your garden so you can highlight the beauty of your plants and flowers.
Strategically, they should not overpower the entire area and only add lights that can help to highlight each piece.
Apart from showing your garden, you can also use spotlights to highlight any sculpture or outdoor fountain that you might have.
Moreover, you shouldn’t forget to add pathway lights so you can have easy navigation in your beautiful yard during the night.
While having a stepping stone would help, adding pathway lights will help illuminate the tracks while adding elegance to your pathways.
For a romantic and softer ambiance for your landscape lighting, you should consider adding string lights over any open yard or outdoor dining area.
This will help illuminate a softer tone, allowing your home to be welcoming, relaxed, and cozy at the same time.
The Verdict
As you decide to have landscape lighting, you should take responsibility for maintaining them once in a while. This will help maximize their lifespan while also ensuring the safety of your family and household.
With electrical wires that could get exposed to environmental factors, you should be extra careful and never neglect their maintenance and care.
