If you own a single-family home, condominium or town home, you should highly consider installing outdoor lighting, as it has many benefits. Some of the long list of benefits include safety after dark, easier maneuvering around the house in the dark, enabling you to find your way, creating a warm welcome for guests and family, adding drama and highlighting interesting architectural features and landscape, etc.
The two main purposes of exterior lighting are aesthetics and security. You can take care of this by simply walking around your home at night with a torch light and taking notes about which dark areas you want lit for safety, and where in the garden or in the landscape you want to add more interest and beauty. Just like indoor lights, there are various types of outdoor lights, however, there are similarities in most of them. You can get ambient, task and accent lights.
One of the most popular outdoor lights are the stainless steel bollard lights. These lights are short, vertical posts which greatly increase the visibility along the driveway or architectural paths. They’re built with functionality and durability in mind, since after all, they are exposed to the weather elements. There are various shapes, sizes and unique designs you can choose from, but one thing to keep in mind when looking for stainless steel bollard lights is the type of bulb they use.
The most popular type of bulb technology nowadays is LED technology, and it’s the most popular for a reason. LED lights require less maintenance, illuminate bright, and are environmentally friendly because they don’t produce heat as much as other types. Moreover, electricity costs are lower with them as they’re one of the most power-efficient type of lights.
By adding bollard lights in and outside your home, you increase its value. According to home builders and real estate agents, an eye appealing patio or deck is one of the most requested features by new home buyers. To some people, it’s the area where they spend most of the warmer months in, so designing these comfy areas with an adequate lighting can certainly increase the value of your home exponentially.
Whichever type of outdoor lighting solution you opt to go for, ensure it’s wet-rated, which indicates whether it can be used in areas exposed to rain, or at least damp-rated, which indicates whether the product can be used in damp environments. And lastly, inform yourself on the local code requirements which may apply, since they’re different in most countries and even states – some of them include allowable uplighting, light distribution and other required light levels.