Six Tips for Buying Outdoor Lights for Your Home

Whether you are putting up lights to celebrate the holidays or just want to add a decorative element to your home all year round, it is important to choose the best type of outdoor lights. You will have many types to choose from including: flood lights, solar powered lights, or LED lights. Here are six tips for choosing outdoor lights for your house.

What is the Purpose?

Before you go shopping for any outdoor lighting, you want to determine why you are putting them up. If you want to decorate for the holidays, you will have quite a few choices. If, however, you are adding lights for security, then there are certain types of lights you will want to buy and place them strategically around your house.

Mind Your Budget

You can easily get carried away when choosing decorative lighting for the holidays as there is so much from which to choose. You should set a budget before you go broke buying a light up Santa or strings of colourful, blinking lights to frame the entire house. Your budget will also determine what other types of lights you buy, so it is important to set your limit right away.

Pick Energy Saving Lights

Lighting up the night can add an enormous expense to your energy bill, so whether you’re purchasing security lights or decorative lights, you will want to buy energy saving lights. You can choose from several colours of LED lights for the outside of your home to help save money or you can buy solar powered lights if you are lighting the perimeter of your house. For security, you can choose lights that are not lit unless triggered to keep them from being on all night.

Read the Labels

You want to make sure you are buying lights decoration that are safe to be outside. They should be weather proof so they won’t short out if it rains or snows where you live. Also, read the information on the box to make sure the lights have enough wattage to do the job you are buying them to do.

Consider Your Neighbours

Put your lights on a timer so that they turn on when the sun starts to go down and they are turned off at a decent hour. You don’t want to anger your neighbours by having lights shining in their bedroom window at three o’clock in the morning. Plus, a timer can help you save money on your electric bill.

Less is More

Don’t go too crazy when choosing your holiday lights. Not only will this tip keep you from spending too much when shopping for decorative lights, but it will help keep your home from looking too garish. Your neighbours will also appreciate some discretion when you’re decorating your house for the holidays.

Whether you’re buying holiday decorations or outlining the perimeter of your house, outdoor lighting can add a wonderful element to a home. These tips can help you choose the right outdoor lights for your house.