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It doesn’t matter how large or small your outdoor lighting project is, Winter’s Electric is proud to offer the finest design and installation of outdoor lighting for your home and property. We’re always happy to review and advise you on any outdoor lighting plans! This month we’re giving you some of our favorite tips for choosing your outdoor lighting system!

Outdoor lighting can be placed virtually anywhere, you’re only limited by your imagination. There are spots where lighting can add a stunning element to your home and landscaping, and there are times when lighting must be used for practicality and safety issues:

1. Pathways: A well-lit path adds a welcoming feel to a home, but more importantly, ensures the safety of all visitors after dusk. This is particularly true if your home is in a more rural area where there are no streetlights or homes in close proximity. High illumination isn’t necessary, however, and there are many creative and attractive ways to light the path to your home.
2. Doorways: Anyplace where you enter your home needs lighting after dusk, both to enable people to find keys and unlock doors, as well as to see who is outside if there’s an unknown knock at the door. You can put down lights either to each side of a door or overhead at the front, back, and side entry doors.
3. Driveway: Low-voltage lights placed low to the ground so they don’t glare into a driver’s eyes are a good idea along a driveway. Again, this is particularly important to guide visitors if the driveway is especially long, or if it’s a deeply shaded or rural home.
4. Steps: Any step or series of steps anywhere around the outside of your home must be lighted for safety; again low or ground level low-voltage lights can illuminate either the risers or the treads.
5. Decks or Patios: Lighting can be used to illuminate specific task areas on a deck or patio, such as a kitchen or cooking spot, as well as railings and seating areas. If the patio or deck isn’t too large, an overall lighting wash can be used to illuminate the entire patio or deck.
6. Gazebos, Pergolas, Trellises: Lighting is a good way to highlight an interesting or unusual constructed element in the outdoor landscape.
7. Architectural Features and Greenery or Trees: Outdoor landscape lighting, especially up lighting, can be used to highlight a wall. When a wide beam of light is aimed at a wall from a few feet away, it creates a wall wash that has interesting highlights and shadows. It will also provide accent to nearby plants. If an up light is placed at the base of a particularly beautiful tree close to the home, it illuminates the outlines of the tree as well as its shadow against the home for a lovely effect.
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In addition to considering all of these areas where lighting can and/or should go, there is also a huge range of shapes, sizes, and kinds of fixtures that are available for nearly every outdoor landscape lighting need, whether it’s high, low, or in-between. It’s important to remember, however, that any fixture used outdoors should be rated for “UL wet location” use.