Landscape lighting or outdoor lighting is one of the best investments you can make in your home for several reasons.
To appreciate its value, take notice that nearly all prominent retail and commercial properties in your community have outdoor lighting. These properties may not be open for business at this time, but not being well-lighted sends mixed messages.
Nighttime lighting demonstrates that you want to be visible, that you appreciate being in the community. Illuminating buildings and their outdoor spaces showcases the property. It strategically accents key elements in ways that are not possible during daytime hours. This builds the brand image.
The warm evening glow of lighting sends a positive message to the community. It’s a reminder that retailers are open for business the next morning. For residential properties, it reassures neighbors and friends that they are not alone.
Unlighted properties can appear vacant or abandoned and that may attract the undesirable.
Safety is an essential function of outdoor lighting. Security lighting and solar path lights illuminate the pathways and entryways of your property, making it safer for owners and your visitors. For commercial and retail properties, these enhancements could eliminate a slip and fall accident on a rainy or snowy night, and thus, a potential legal challenge.
The Benefits of Upgrading Your Landscape Lighting in Autumn
There are several benefits to upgrading outdoor lighting during late summer to early autumn. For one, you have experienced your outdoor environment in its current state for nearly six months.
You’ll have a good sense of what you like and the changes necessary to bring other areas up to your standards, whether that means landscaping or lighting or both. That awareness may lose its clarity by springtime, especially because that outdoor canvas will look different by then.
Most importantly, the autumn weather should be generally more favorable for getting the work completed. That’s good news for you if you are planning to make the upgrades yourself. It’s more likely you will be hiring professionals who will know how to balance the lighting system and make any necessary landscaping repairs or upgrades.
You can use this information to negotiate more favorable pricing.
#1. Lighting and Landscape Upgrades and Repairs Coordinate Nicely
It turns out that making outdoor lighting changes often requires pulling up many existing cables. It’s necessary to assess how and where new connections will be made, and the gauge of wire that ideally carries the load without significant voltage drop.
Most of the cables you are working with will be in landscaping beds, so that will minimize necessary turf repairs. Yet, after new cables are installed and the beds raked out, a fresh layer of mulch will be needed to restore the overall appearance.
You’ll discover the general mindset with projects like these is that it makes the most sense to get it all done. If cables need to be upgraded, they should be, regardless of location because the repairs to the beds or turf will be easier than at other times of the year.
If beds need to be enlarged to accommodate more mature plantings, this is the time to do this. The same holds true for adding new plantings. Sometimes one specimen plant that is properly lighted will transform the entire outdoor space by highlighting its unique branching structure and shadows for the coming winter months.
#2. Installing and Testing Lighting Systems Is Faster and Easier
One of the outdoor lighting challenges is balancing the combined physical and technical work. The former requires shovels, rakes and work gloves. The latter is finer work that must be completed with bare hands, such as crimping cable connections and installing wire nuts.
In both situations, moderate dry weather makes the job easier. Your specific tools can be staged to allow for easily moving between tasks. Compare that to standing on a wet, slippery ladder to attach a down light to a tree with numb hands that struggle to not drop fixtures and wire nuts.
It’s not difficult to imagine that even the simplest tasks can take double or triple the time.
With any lighting upgrade, you must perform as many tests as necessary before winter shuts that window of opportunity. The shorter autumn days allow you or your contractor to review and adjust the upgrades without having to work late into the night.
#3 Enjoy Your Outdoor Lighting Lifestyle Throughout The Holidays
As the days get shorter, many of us tend to take our activities indoors. You’ll discover that outdoor lighting will probably change your evening lifestyle for the better. The television is always there, but sunsets and the earthy fragrance of autumn will transport you to places new and remembered, not to mention making family time more engaging.
Did you know that you can now adapt outdoor lighting systems to accommodate holidays such as Halloween and Christmas? LED lighting in particular makes it possible to change the colors for every season, and these adaptations can be enabled simply using Bluetooth technology and apps on your mobile device.
This functionality allows homeowners to prioritize lighting outcomes for any purpose or planned event. For instance, you can command your system to instantly activate or cancel lighting zones to create a more intimate setting. Conversely, LED lighting systems can quickly bring up the lights to energize guests when entertaining, all with a few clicks to get it just right.
If you love your outdoor spaces, maybe it’s time to extend its role in your lifestyle with outdoor lighting upgrades.
Architectural Landscape Design: Helping Homeowners Enjoy Better Living
Here at ALD, our top priority is creating living spaces that are right for you. Our landscape design team will work with you from concept to construction to create the right landscape for your personal needs. Contact us today for a free consultation to explore your next outdoor living project.