A safely lit exterior.
With the sun setting early during winter months, illuminating your home’s exterior with outdoor lighting provides not only for a warm and festive atmosphere, but also for a safer one. Being able to see the odd toy, or ice patch can mean the difference between rushing into the warm comfort of your home, and being rushed to the hospital in an ambulance.
Tripping and Slipping Hazards
Your yard, driveway, and sidewalk may play host to easily avoidable toys, decorations, and ice patches during the day; however, these minor inconveniences become a frustrating and dangerous obstacle without proper lighting. The reported incidents of injuries due to slipping or falling increase by 100% over the winter months and include injuries ranging from bruises, broken bones, to the occasional unfortunate death. Of course, the first step in making sure the area surrounding your home is safe clean up after yourself. Make sure you safely store any snow shovels, tools, or toys, and spread salt down on the ice. But even so, you or your children might forget to put away a toy or tool, or you might miss a spot when spreading the salt, it is because of those hazards that it is important you have excellent outdoor lighting.
Types of Lighting
The right lighting in the right situation can make all the difference when it comes to safety around the home in the winter. Listed below are three different types of lighting and how they help improve exterior home safety.
- Floodlight- Floodlights provide bright light over a large area. Using Floodlights with motion sensors and timers can be a great benefit to the safety of you and your home. The floodlights assist you, by providing convenient light whenever you need it, and by discourage trespassers. By positioning a floodlight over your garage and backdoor, you have a light illuminating the path from your car to your front door and from the backdoor to your trash can. With a floodlight you should be able to spot any carelessly discarded obstacles, such as sleds and snow shovels not properly put away, as well as any black ice that would otherwise go unnoticed in the dark.
- Path lighting- Path lighting is made up of small light posts that provide markers that delineate the borders of walking paths or drive ways, and while dimmer then floodlights, are still bright enough to reflect of ice and reveal obstacles that might otherwise be invisible in the dark. Path lighting can be set on a timer, motion sensor, or both, and often can be powered by stored solar energy. Running extension chords and holiday lights under path lighting keeps them out of the way and visible.
- Accent lighting- Accent lighting is made up of spot lights that highlight different aspects of your home or landscape. Any holiday decorations set up in your front yard should be illuminated by an accent light on a timer. Having accent lights prevents ornaments, signs, landscaping features, or water features from becoming obstacles when you’re bringing your trash to the curb.
Want to Improve the Safety of your Home?
Call Aqua-Bright to consult an outdoor lighting specialist about how you can make your outdoor living space safer with professionally installed outdoor lighting. Our dedicated and professional staff with ensure an excellent installation of our quality products, ensuring not only that your home is safer, but looks great too. Call Aqua-Bright today at 410-489-9009 or take a tour through our website.
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