Looking for ways to add a touch of elegance and functionality to your outdoor spaces? Explore the world of outdoor lighting ideas!
Outdoor lighting can illuminate your outdoor areas, allowing you to enjoy them whenever you like. But choosing the right outdoor lighting solutions can be challenging, especially when facing issues like bugs, burnt-out bulbs, and wiring problems.
Let’s face it, fixing outdoor lights can take quite an investment. So these problems and challenges can waste your investment. In extreme cases, it could endanger your loved ones.
To ensure the maximum benefits of outdoor lighting in Australia, you should identify these challenges and seek remedies early on.
This article will discuss the most common outdoor lighting challenges you will face and give you insights on how to deal with them.
What are the Benefits of Outdoor Lighting
There are various kinds of outdoor lighting in the market. These lights are outdoor ceiling lights, outdoor pathway lights, outdoor spot lights, outdoor stair lights, etc.
Each lighting option adds a different glamour to your outdoors. That being said, you should know the benefits of installing outdoor lighting to decide whether to install them. These are the common benefits of installing outdoor lights in your yard.
What should you consider before fixing outdoor lighting ideas
Selecting a suitable outdoor lighting option can be a difficult task. To ease up the process, consider these factors before fixing outdoor lights
1. Your purpose
First of all, you should decide why you are fixing outdoor lights. As we discussed before, there are various reasons why people install outdoor lights. Some may do it for security and safety, while others might do it for decorative purposes.
Your purpose can significantly affect the type of outdoor lights you choose.
2. The budget and cost
Let’s face it, installing outdoor lighting in Australia can be a costly investment. Therefore you should have a clear idea about your spending capacity and the cost of outdoor lighting options available.
Calculate your budget first and leave a buffer of about 10% for unexpected expenses. Then check out the prices of outdoor lights that match your purpose according to your budget.
3. Colour and style
Are you going for a warm or cool lighting option? Warm lighting is suitable for relaxing and entertainment purposes, while cool lighting is suitable for security and safety purposes.
The colour and style should set the mood and serve the purpose of why you fix lights outdoors.
4. Lights placement
Where are you going to fix the outdoor lighting in Australia? You can find a suitable lighting option according to the place where you will fix the outdoor lighting. There are outdoor ceiling lights, outdoor pathway lighting, outdoor spot lights, and outdoor stair lights.
5. The durability of the lights
Outdoor lights will be exposed to heavy winds, rain, snow, and sunlight. As a matter of fact, their durability should be high. Therefore, ensure that you purchase quality lights that are suitable for outdoors which have a handy warranty.
6. Lighting fixtures
Consider the lighting fixture you need for the outdoors. You might require string lights, wall lanterns, and LED lights to serve your purpose. Even if you are on a tight budget, you should still consider these fixtures since they can improve the functionality of the lights and style your outdoors.
7. Wattage
Make sure to consider the lighting wattage that’s required for your purpose. Low-wattage bulbs are suitable to decorate your outdoors, while high-wattage bulbs are suitable to illuminate dark areas for security concerns.
What are the Potential Challenges of Outdoor Lighting ideas, and How to Overcome Them?
1. Bugs and pests
Depending on where you live, you might face an infestation of bugs and pests. These insects can mound over the lighting fixtures and damage them. They might also get inside and fill up the supposedly sealed lighting equipment.
Solution: If you find insects in your lights outdoors, and feel they could damage the fixtures, don’t hesitate to call a professional pest controller. They will take care of the problem.
2. Burnt-out light bulbs
This is a common problem if you select incandescent and halogen lights as the outdoor lighting option. There is a higher chance of lights burning out if you use daisy chain wiring, where all the lights feed on the same power source.
As a result, none of the lights receive the proper voltage. If a single lamp burns out, then higher voltage will be sent to the other lamps in the circuit and they too will burn out early on.
Solution: There are a couple of solutions in these situations. First, if you use incandescent or halogen lights outdoors, carry out a maintenance schedule twice a year.
You can also shift to LED lights. LEDs are more durable and suitable for outdoor weather conditions. However, it can be quite expensive to buy new lights.
Further, you can discuss with your professional electrician to shift to a suitable power line if you currently have a daisy chain system.
3. Failing connectors
The connectors will connect your lighting fixtures to the power supply. High quality and properly designed outdoor lights will have the connectors in a secure place that keeps them away from different weather elements.
If the connectors are exposed to these poor weather conditions, they will get damaged and could lead to electrical hazards.
In some cases, the issue might be due to the type of connectors used. In some connectors, you must put holes in the protective casing during the installation. It makes the wires more vulnerable to water damage.
Solution: You should hire a professional electrician to handle issues with failed connectors. The potential solutions would be to replace the damaged connectors or add weatherproof protectors to ensure no further damage.
4. Worn fixture seals and corrosion
This is slightly related to the last point. When the lighting is exposed to the elements, it will wear out and be subject to corrosion. First, it can be observed in the sockets where the lamps are installed.
Most of the time, the lamps generate sufficient heat to evaporate the moisture. However, if the light has burnt out, corrosion can easily catch up.
Further bad connectors will also allow water to seep through, which results in corrosion.
Solution: You should use a dielectric substance or compounds at the base of the lamp sockets as an insulator. Further, you can use waterproof connectors, so the water doesn’t seep through.
5. Solar outdoor lighting
If you are using solar lights, then you will have some other specific challenges.
First, you would have to place them so that the panel receives maximum sunlight. Further, you should have a solution on days when the sun doesn’t shine.
Solution: Seek help from a professional solar installer or a professional electrician to get these installed.
Wrapping up
It is quite challenging to fix outdoor lighting in Australia. However, there are various perks to installing them. Some of these perks are improving safety and security, setting the ambiance, bringing life to your garden when it is dark, etc.
If you plan to fix outdoor lighting, you should consider several factors.
You should first decide on the purpose of installing outdoor lights, then determine your budget, consider the location, lighting colour and style, etc.
You will face different problems and challenges when fixing outdoor lights.
As we said earlier, fixing the lights correctly is crucial to ensure your safety. For this purpose, you should seek help from a licensed electrician.
If you are looking for a professional electrician in Ballarat, don’t hesitate to contact MJ Electrician. We have served the community for many years and have the expertise to handle your outdoor lighting requirements.
Our professional team can help bring a wow factor to your garden by recommending and installing the best lighting solutions. We can advise you on where to buy outdoor lights with higher quality.
Remember our 24/7 emergency electrical service that helps you out when you need it the most. Call us to discuss your outdoor lighting options today.
