If you are building a new home, or perhaps you have recently moved into an existing home, you might find that some corners of the property aren’t bright enough. This can also be the case in a home you’ve lived in for years and have quietly tolerated. If this is you, then relax, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Adding extra lighting to your home is generally an easy enough project to organize.
Before you get carried away, you will want to take in every consideration. You need to hire a light installation electrician to do this. As these companies will generally charge by the hour, it is best to ensure they do everything you need in one go. You don’t want to have to call them back because you forgot something.
Front Yard
Many houses don’t come with sufficient lighting out the front or at least lighting you can turn on when you’re arriving home in the dark. Popular choices for extra lights include sensor lights in front of your garage door. The advantage here is that the light inside the garage is never bright enough on its own.
This is also helpful for those who park in the driveway as well as for when guests visit, and you’ve forgotten to leave the porch light on for them. Sensor lights are also great for deterring burglars, so the more of them you have, the better!
Side Way
The sideways of many houses have no lighting at all. This can be irritating when hosting parties and people want to spread out. This can also be an issue if you have a washing line attached to the side of your house. There’s usually a light near the laundry door, but depending on the positioning of your windows, the washing line might be too far away to be easily accessed in the dark. Ensure that you can quickly grab your clothes off the line in the dark.
If you have a garage door leading into your yard, does it have a light on the outside? This area and any other parts of your sideway should also be able to be lit up if you plan to entertain.
Backyard
By this point, you probably get that it’s good to have as much of your outdoor yard lit up as possible. The backyard is great to light up at night time when entertaining. Security sensor lights out the back can be an excellent deterrent to burglars who enter via a fence as well. Most sensor lights can be used as a regular light as well, so it’s not always going on and off during parties.
Inside The House
The inside of the house is always going to be better lit than the outside. Sometimes it’s only after you’ve lived in a place that you notice issues with the lighting. This is typical for rooms that have a single bulb in the middle of the room and less of a problem in houses with plenty of downlights. The easiest solution here is to add a lamp if you can fit it. Otherwise, you might consider a lamp mounted to the wall or maybe even upgrading the whole room to have downlights.
Another common light issue many people experience is the position of light switches and power points. If you find any entrances to rooms that are missing light switches, get these added as well while the electrician is here. The same goes for powerpoints. Every bedroom should have more than one double outlet. Near couches are also the right spot so you can charge your phone or laptop while you watch TV. If you use a corded vacuum cleaner, you can add extra power points throughout the house in hallways to ensure you’re not using too many extension cables and don’t have to have too many cords rubbing against the corners of walls.
So What Should You Get?
This is ultimately down to the attributes of your house. Take all of the above into consideration, and if you’re particularly tech-savvy, you might also consider getting smart bulbs and smart switches installed.
