Seven Ways to Improve Your Yard’s Lighting Before Winter
As you tackle your fall yard and garden maintenance tasks , you should also start planning changes to your approach to outdoor lighting for the winter. An important consideration when upgrading your winter lighting is safety, especially during snowy and icy conditions and at night. While outdoor lighting during the other three seasons may be more aesthetic, in winter there is more emphasis on minimizing trip and slip hazards and increasing overall visibility. Here’s how to optimize your outdoor lighting in winter.
Basic tasks for caring for outdoor lighting in the fall
Before winter sets in, you should do some basic maintenance on your outdoor lights to keep them safe and visible:
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Clean the light lenses and wipe away dirt and debris with soap and water.
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Check outdoor cables for exposed wires and wrap connectors with fresh electrical tape.
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Remember to remove leaves and debris from your yard to prevent damage or corrosion to your lights.
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Trim plants and hedges that grow above street lights.
Checking and replacing light bulbs
Walk around your yard with the lights on to look for burnt out bulbs and replace any that are burned out. Depending on the type of light bulbs you currently have, you may want to consider upgrading to LED lights, which are durable and long-lasting, or replacing them with brighter alternatives (at least 300 lumens) for walkways and high-traffic areas.
If you live in an area that gets a lot of snow in the winter, you should also check the IP rating—a measure of how well a light fixture resists dirt and moisture—on your outdoor lights. A light rated at least IP65 is waterproof and weatherproof, but for the most extreme weather conditions you may need IP68.
Add additional lights to cover more angles
As you walk, pay attention to any corners of your driveway, porches or yard that may need more lighting as the sun sets earlier and darkness lasts longer. You can either adjust the angle of your current fixtures to improve lighting or add additional lights as needed.
Updating timers
Since the days are shorter and the nights are longer, you may need to set timers for your outdoor lights and smart light bulbs. This is especially important for security lights that illuminate paths or provide illumination to your property. You should also check the motion sensor settings on any lights with this feature, noting sensitivity to light (and whether it triggers erroneously due to elements like wind and rain), as well as how long the bulb stays on once activated. Many motion sensor lights, such as AloftSun Solar traffic lights and Leonite LED security lights , have multiple adjustable modes.
Adjust color temperature
Different color temperatures (measured in Kelvin) are recommended for different outdoor lighting purposes : very cool light at 4600–6500 K is typically used for security lighting, while very warm white light at 2200 K provides a softer candle aesthetic. While you should use high Kelvin bulbs in security lights, consider replacing low Kelvin bulbs with other fixtures to soften the contrast with snow and ice.
Choose a winter aesthetic
Of course, changing seasons may also require a change in lighting aesthetic, whether that means adding colored holiday lights or switching light bulbs to flicker mode (which adds interest to a dull outdoor landscape and also requires less energy). We recommend Nanoleaf Smart Outdoor String Lights and Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights .
If you have tree lighting, consider changing the angle to illuminate the branches rather than the trunks, which can look softer and more visually interesting.
Clean regularly
As winter sets in, be sure to regularly clean, clean, and maintain your lighting fixtures. Accumulation of snow and debris can reduce visibility and ultimately damage fixtures.