Summer is coming, is your backyard ready? If you’ve already freshened up the patio furniture and cleaned out the grill, it’s time to update your outdoor lighting. This task is often overlooked, but it could help make your summer nights both magical and enjoyable. Here’s how to get your backyard and outdoor electrical system ready for summer.

Below are a few ways that lighting is used in backyards:

  •   For illumination, safety and functionality — You need lights to see when it’s dark outside, so it makes sense to design outdoor lighting with this basic function in mind.
  •   Security — Outdoor lighting also helps improve security outdoors by discouraging potential intruders.
  •   Aesthetics — Backyard lighting sets a certain mood, helping to make being outdoors more welcoming and intimate.

Lighting for Illumination, Safety and Functionality in the Backyard

The first order of business is to ensure all walkways, stairs, entrances, patio doors, and functional areas (such as the barbecue and outdoor cooking areas) are adequately lit. Likewise, if you plan on eating outdoors, adding built-in lighting to your patio cover could provide the perfect amount of light you and your guests need to enjoy the meal.

If you have a pool or spa, these areas will need to be illuminated sufficiently. An electrician can help design a lighting scheme that lights up these areas both functionally and aesthetically.

While you may not necessarily want to draw attention to your side yard, you might want to consider adding motion-activated lights here to provide illumination when accessing trash cans or a side gate.

Lighting for Security in the Backyard

Many families leave their windows and patio doors open on summer nights, helping to cool their homes. Unfortunately, burglary rates increase by about 11 percent in the summer thanks in part to open windows and doors, empty homes while families are on vacation, and valuables left outdoors at night.

Adding flood lights, motion-activated lights, and general outdoor lighting can help make your home less attractive to potential burglars.

Lighting for Aesthetics in the Backyard

Outdoor lighting can play an important role in the aesthetics of your backyard at night. Not only can outdoor lighting, make your home feel more welcoming in the dark. Meanwhile, fairy lights, umbrella lights, rope lights, and other backyard lights can transform your backyard into a nighttime wonderland. Whether you’re enjoying time alone with your family or hosting a backyard party, set the mood with outdoor lighting.  

Off-the-shelf string lights and solar lights are good DIY lighting projects that can add sparkle and personality to your backyard. For pool and spa and larger outdoor lighting projects, you’ll want to enlist the services of a reliable electrician to ensure that your project is wired properly and according to all applicable safety and local building codes.

Your Outdoor Electrical System

Piper Electric provides professional residential electrical services for both your indoor and outdoor electrical system in the Denver area and can help transform your backyard into a nighttime wonderland. Contact us today for a free estimate.