Top Five Outdoor Exterior Lighting Ideas

CFI ELECTRIC LTD.   |   May 04, 2021

From the time the pandemic started, the employment scene and economy were quite unstable, with most people unsure about their future. The Government was implementing restrictions to keep people safe through the pandemic. The country went into a national lockdown with people not allowed to leave their homes. Many other changes were taking place, with people mandatorily having to wear masks, maintain social distance, and many other changes that were taking place.

These changes meant that people were spending a lot of time at home, which created the now well-known idea of remote working. Most companies who could make the switch, had their staff working from home, while others were waiting for things to get better, and for restrictions to be lifted. Additionally, with the uncertainty about future employment, people were not planning on spending any additional amounts when there were aspects of housework in their homes that they could handle themselves.

While there are various aspects of their job that people can figure out for themselves, there are just some that might be tricky. Many people around the world were using the time in lockdown to work on a hobby. They were learning to either draw, paint, cook, and so much more. Additionally, people were not planning on spending money on changes that they could delay. However, when it comes to aspects of a house that revolve around electricity or water, people should not try to figure those out because they could cause issues. If these aren’t fixed correctly, the person getting the work done could end up hurt or injured. Additionally, it could cause more damage than the person would have to pay more to solve later.

If you are dabbling with electricity, always get an expert to assist and get you through the process. Here are the top five outdoor exterior lighting ideas.

1. Motion Sensors
As the name implies, motion sensors detect moving objects in a specific field of view and send out a signal when motion is detected. Generally, they use these signals to turn on lights to illuminate a path or to an alarm when movement is detected when there shouldn’t be.

Exterior motion sensors for homes and offices typically turn on lights, and their placement around the property determines their usefulness. Some of the key locations you want to have illuminated are entrances/exits to the home/building, visitor parking and driveway, entrances to garages, alleyways between houses, back yards and areas that are secure/restricted. Our electricians installed many of these sensors and can offer advice on their best placement depending on your needs. If you have an extended walkway between your driveway and your front door, consider getting a motion-sensing system that will activate other lights/sensors along your path, so you don’t have to walk in the dark until the next sensor picks you up.

2. Flood Lights
Some properties require a high amount of illumination, such as baseball diamonds, soccer fields, football fields, skateparks, and more. Floodlights provide the necessary amount of light needed to turn night into day and allow players, athletes, skaters, and spectators to see everything happening around them after the sunsets.

We can even have floodlights activated by photocells, motion sensors, or timers. The only challenge is making sure that the total wattage that the lighting system uses is safely sustained from the circuit powering it. A 20 Amp circuit can safely run a single or set of floodlights totaling 2000 Watts.

If you need more lights to illuminate a specific area, you may need a dedicated circuit to power it safely. Our electricians are equipped with the knowledge and expertise to determine the safest amount of power that they consume on any given circuit. They install special, high-power circuits that will meet your energy demands.

3. Lamp Posts
Lamp posts are on virtually every large parking lot, along every side street, major avenue, and even highways. When it comes to deciding what kind of outdoor lighting you want, you should give lamp posts a thought.

Besides curb appeal, they can add a beautiful rustic or modern look to your home. With such a wide selection of brands, and styles with different shapes, paints, and metal finishes, you will find one that fits your house the best.

Lamps and lamp posts don’t have to be very high up you can have lamp posts that come up to your head height, waist height or even installed along edges of porches and patios. Ultimately, this lighting system should serve its primary purpose, to illuminate an area during the dark hours.

Before choosing a style, we recommend browsing through some catalogs and watching a few YouTube videos on how other homeowners have used these lights to beautify their property. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and so, feel confident that the lamps you buy will make your home look more attractive than before.

4. Porch and Patio Lighting
When you want to throw an outdoor party or invite friends and family over for a barbeque, you won’t be sure that the fun can continue even if the sun is setting. To ensure you have the right kind and amount of lighting, you might want to consider installing some lamps along the railing of your deck and even some warm light floodlights.

Installing lights on your porch or patio is a must-have to enjoy your outdoor property in the evening and at night. To do this, we recommend looking at a selection of lights that fit your home’s outer décor and style. If you have brown-colored brickwork on your house, perhaps you might consider getting lamps with a brushed copper or brass finish. For modern-looking homes with exotic exteriors, getting lamps that have a matte or exotic shape to them would complement your home’s exterior. With so many brands and styles to choose from, you will find the right fit for you!

Deciding how these lights should work is no problem for our electricians. You can choose to control your lights from one or more switches, through your phone or smart home assistant. They work using motion or occupancy sensors, photocell, which detects daylight and activates your lights when it gets dark, or a timer that will activate your lights during a preset period, with the option of turning the timer off whenever you want to.

5. Seasonal Lighting
Have you ever passed by a beautifully decorated home in the winter and wondered to yourself, I wonder how they were able to plug in all those lights? Well, we can tell you it’s not magic! Having weatherproof power outlets on your front lawn, back yard, porch, or patio is a MUST! From powering Christmas lights on the roof to those fancy rotating lasers in festive red and green to the vintage appeal of LED Edison bulbs strung along with a gazebo, all these lights need to be plugged in and having access to power outlets outside your house makes everything easy.

You can have outlets installed pretty much anywhere, with a few exceptions, but generally, you can have them installed on your house, on your deck, above ground around your lawn, and close to pools and hot tubs. Our electricians even work on burying the cable underground so you can only see the outlet box with the power cables hidden. Nothing beats having the satisfaction of readily available power, no matter what you need. Our goal is to ensure that the installations are safe for outdoor use, are protected from the elements, and are resistant to tampering by young children or pets.

If you are looking for a professional Electrician in Scarborough, look no further than CFI ELECTRIC LTD. We have our paperwork and documentation in place and were working within the industry for more than three and a half decades. When it comes to the work we handle, we work across all electrical genres including, Home (Residential), Commercial, and Industrial Electrical projects following the Ontario Electrical Safety Code and make sure that the customer is very happy with the results. We work with clients across the Greater Toronto Area and Mississauga, but we are always open to expanding.

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