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Outdoor Lighting Problems and Solutions

Even in brightly lit New York City, outdoor lighting is vital for practicality, safety, and aesthetics. However, outdoor lighting problems can range from nuisance issues to failures that threaten the security of your building’s occupants. Here are some of the most frequent reasons our clients call us for outdoor lighting concerns and the solutions to these common troubles.

Wasting Electricity

Problem

You have outdoor lighting that needs to be on at night for illumination or perhaps enhancing your landscaping, but your morning shift workers forget to turn it off, which wastes electricity. Or you have the lights on a timer, but you get frustrated with adjusting the timer to account for seasonal sunrise and sunset time changes.

Solution

The answer here is to replace your lights with photocell fixtures. These fixtures detect changes in sunlight and automatically turn on or off accordingly. When you go through Daylight Saving Time changes or gradual shifts throughout the year, you never have to worry about your lighting keeping up.

Safety and Security Risks

Problem

You have lights you need to keep on for the safety and security of your building’s occupants, but as in the situation above, you don’t want to run lights when you don’t need to because it wastes electricity. Perhaps photocells aren’t an answer if the lights are in a covered passageway or don’t get enough exposure to sunlight.

Solution

Motion sensor lights may be the solution for this scenario. They will be triggered by movement nearby, provided they are aimed properly. You can set them to go off by themselves after a prescribed period of time. Just be aware that these lights aren’t only activated by people; animals, tree branches, and the like can set them off.

Manpower and Money Drains

Problem

You spend what seems like an excessive amount of time replacing burned-out light bulbs, when your staff has other more important tasks. This is costing you too, as it gets expensive replacing all these bulbs.

Solution

This concern has one of the easiest solutions: switch to LED light bulbs. These bulbs last much longer than incandescent bulbs – sometimes years longer– so you don’t have to replace them nearly as much. While they cost more up front to purchase, they use less electricity, so you save money in the long run.

Mother Nature

Problem

Outdoor lights that have been in place for a long time can be subject to damage by moisture corrosion, frost heaving, and ground-dwelling pests, among other natural causes. Usually the signs of this type of problem include some lights working while others do not and gradual reduction in your lighting system’s functionality.

Solution

You need a three-pronged approach to fix lighting problems brought on by Mother Nature:

1. Identify the cause of the outages (double-check to make sure it’s not a tripped breaker or another easy fix).
2. Have a licensed electrician repair the issue, whether it’s loose connections, chewed wires, or rusty parts.
3. Protect your lighting components from future damage from the same sources (new weather-proof components, better sealing, pest control, improved drainage, etc.).

Sometimes old lighting elements have simply reached the end of their lifespan and need to be replaced. The good news is that technology in this area is greatly improved, so you’ll have much better options to select from this time around. We can also explore moving your wiring or even using wireless options, if that’s a possibility.

If moisture retention from poor drainage is causing your lighting to fail, we can work in tandem with our partners at Sanitary Plumbing to improve your storm runoff and snowmelt mechanisms by channeling water elsewhere. This will also benefit your landscaping plants, walkways, and other outdoor elements that may be damaged by ponding water or ice formation.

Common Areas for Socializing

Problem

Most of your property’s lighting is utilitarian and used to light walkways for safety or illuminate your building’s street address. However, you also have a common area where condo owners can barbecue or hold social events. You need different lighting to make it more inviting and better lit, as occupants have said they’re not using the space because it’s too dark and dreary.

Solution

You probably want a mix of lighting here. As well as attractive lantern-style photocell lights that go on and off automatically with sunset and sunrise, you may want lights that users can manually activate via a traditional toggle switch when they need brighter light, such as for grilling or setting up a buffet. Also, LED strip lighting is ideal for making this kind of area more welcoming and stylish. You can purchase this type of lighting in various colors and temperature hues for fun. And LED strips can be attached to stair risers, deck rails, and other common area structures for subtle illumination to prevent accidents and to delineate boundaries.

Outdoor lighting often gets ignored in favor of interior lighting, but as we’ve outlined here, personal safety and the appearance of your building are on the line when your lighting fails. Not only will fixing your outdoor lighting problems improve security and reduce maintenance headaches, but it can also transform the curb appeal of your property, which makes everyone happy.

Do you need help fixing an outdoor lighting issue or updating your exterior fixtures? Bolt Electric is happy to assist you. Call us at 212-434-0098 today to set up a service call and enjoy years of beautiful and safe outdoor lighting in the future.