How to Weatherproof Your Outdoor Lights For the Colder Months

Summer evenings are the perfect time to relax with family and friends in your backyard. Exterior lights allow you to enjoy your outdoor living space after the sun sets and the temperature becomes more comfortable. They enhance the beauty of your landscaping and provide illumination for grilling and playing games. Now that cooler weather is approaching, your evening activities are taking place inside your home. And outdoors, you are preparing your yard for the winter months. Raking leaves, storing lawn furniture, and weatherproofing your windows are all part of the process. But what should you do with your outdoor lights? Should you take them indoors or leave them inside? Will the cold weather damage them?

In this blog post, we will tell you everything you need to know about weatherproofing your outdoor lights for the colder months ahead.

Does Cold Weather Affect Outdoor Lights?

Cold weather can affect your outdoor lights, but the impact of the temperature depends on the type of lighting you use.

Incandescent lights aren’t typically affected by the cold. But they produce a lot of heat and wasted energy. Furthermore, they are more fragile than LED lights, so freezing, thawing, and refreezing can cause them to break.

LED lights do very well in cold weather. In fact, you may find your LED lights perform better during the cooler months. Temperature changes don’t affect their performance since they rely on electric currents to produce light.

Preparing Your Outdoor Lights for Winter Weather

It’s not necessary to remove landscape lights in the winter. But there are a few simple steps to weatherproof your outdoor lights and ensure they continue to work throughout the cooler months.

1. Clear away leaves, weeds, and other plant matter that may have accumulated around the light’s base.
2. Clean your lights with a non-abrasive cloth and remove any dust, dirt, or insect debris.
3. Inspect the bulbs to see if any need replacing. Also, ensure all the seals are intact so no moisture can get inside and damage the light. Fill in any cracks with clear silicone.
4. Reposition your lights if they are in areas affected by inclement weather.
5. After a snowstorm, remove any snow or ice built up around your lights.
6. Since the days will be getting shorter, consider putting a timer on your lights to conserve energy.

Houston Lightscapes Can Do the Weatherproofing for You

Your time is valuable, and the thought of checking and performing maintenance on your outdoor lighting may seem overwhelming. Houston Lightscapes can take care of that for you. Our qualified electricians will come out and clean your lenses and check for burnt out bulbs, bury any exposed lines, reposition your lights, re-set your timers, and clear away any foliage. If you are still using traditional incandescent bulbs, we can update your system to more energy-efficient LED lights to provide your home with a warm, inviting glow all winter.

Contact us for a free consultation by calling (713) 461-3600.