Solar Energy Powered Outdoor Electrical Lighting Solution To Power Shortage

TIPS FOR CHOOSING OUTDOOR LIGHTS

Equally, the different forms of lights are suitable for specific placement. For instance, wall sconces for exterior walls, low-level path lights on stairs, floodlights on driveways, and string lights on patios or gazebos. In general, though, you need to have a single priority in mind; have a good idea of what you want to accomplish with your outdoor lighting so that you can pick the right lights for the correct location

The location or placement of your outdoor lighting should go hand in hand with the purpose of the fixture. Before you make any purchase, you need to be clear on its intended use. For instance, wall sconces and lights will help to improve the visual attractiveness of your outdoor area, while security lights and floodlights will help to improve the safety and security of your home.

It’s common for people to shop outdoor lights based on visual elements such as style and finish. While the design of the fixture is a good place to start, another area of equal importance is the size. Here, we are referring to the size of the fixture in proportion to your house. For instance, a fixture can appear gigantic and vibrant in a showroom, but when mounted on your entryway, it suddenly looks small and insignificant.

When choosing your fixture, you want something that will match the existing style of the space or complement the surroundings it will be added to.

Motion Sensors

Motion sensors are triggered by movements, making them ideal security lights for walkways. Also, their brightness over a large area makes them ideal for lighting the entryway into your home.

Outdoor lighting buying guide

Stay safe and have fun with our garden lighting options

Enjoy your garden after dark by introducing some outdoor lighting. It not only helps you move around your space safely, illuminating paths and changes in level, it can also help create an atmosphere for socialising or dining. Be it for fun family parties; romantic, intimate dinners or quiet, relaxing time alone. And with such a range of designs on offer, garden lighting can become an attractive feature to complement contemporary or more classic garden styles.

What area do you want to light?

The area in need of lighting often determines what lighting type would work best in this space. So, if you’re looking to light up a path for example, this would require navigational lighting that helps people stay safe and easily follow the route, rather than a decorative alternative that might only illuminate a portion of the path. So, have a think about your space and how you use it to shape your lighting design.

Do you want your lights to be portable?

When it comes to whether or not you can move your outdoor lighting around, power source plays a large part. Fixed, electrical lights need to be connected to the mains making them the ideal choice if you want lighting close to the house. Whereas candles, battery or solar-powered lighting have no restrictions and can be moved around as, and when, you like. So, if the area you want to light is a distance from your home, or you want to be able to adjust your lighting based on what you’re doing, choose one of these options.

Electrical lighting

Mains power provides consistent and uninterrupted lighting which will burn brightly and for us long as you want it to. Being a permanent fixture, it has to be fixed into place and be properly fitted.

Solar-powered lighting

Solar-powered lights don’t need any wiring as they store sunlight energy in a battery, which is activated once the sun goes down. Due to improvements in technology, solar lights are now more powerful and last longer than they once did, so there’s no need to buy any to keep in reserve or worry about whether they’ll last into the night.

Vital Things to Consider When Choosing Outdoor Lighting

When it comes to considering lighting up our homes, we often give priority to interior light fixtures like table lamps, chandeliers, recessed lights and standing lamps but we don’t put too much effort into selecting the outdoor lighting. This is because we use the interior areas of our abode more compared to the outdoor areas.

Nonetheless, the outdoor lighting is equally important for your home just like the interior lighting. That’s because the outdoor lighting illuminates the exterior and helps in providing better vision at night to the entryways, walkways, and pathways. Moreover, choosing the right outdoor lighting also adds beautiful accents during dusk and nighttime while letting you transform the backyard, lawn, or garden areas of your house.

Go for big fixtures but not too big

We understand that you have a large space outside your house, and you can surely add large lighting fixtures but in most cases, putting up “too big” outdoor lights ruins the look of your house. For instance, you don’t want to fix large lighting fixtures that block the doorway. Here, you need a fixture that will only go about a quarter of the doorway. You can use large fixture (if you are only using one fixture) otherwise, medium ones are way better since they won’t look over-the-top and only provide lighting in a focused area

Color of the lighting fixture

Just like the indoor lighting, you’d not want to clash the color of the lighting fixture with your walls. Instead, lights must complement the look of your exterior walls and the landscape. Quality lighting fixture makers offer you different resources that can help in creating a landscape that can complement with most attractive lighting installations. Just like landscaping and perfectly timed lawn care, the right fixture can indeed enhance the entire look of your house.

The style of your home

It is important to consider the overall style and look of your home before you head on shopping for outdoor lighting. If you have Cape Cod kind of style, the mission style fixture will not look good. Carriage style lighting may be too much for an English bungalow. So, pick outdoor lighting that matches the style and the color of your home.

Landscape Lighting Guide

Landscape lighting can be the thing that takes your backyard from basic to bling, but undertaking a lighting plan for your yard can be an intimidating project. But have no fear, as this need not be the case. Welcome to Landscape Lighting 101, where we’ll walk you through a basic overview of the various types of lighting you’ll find in a landscape and exactly what each of them is supposed to do

Like many things in life, less can be more—and this is the case when it comes to landscape lighting. Your instinct might be to light up everything: every detail, every tree, every nook and every cranny. But besides potentially running up your power bill, this will wash the yard out.

What makes a space special during the night is the play of light and dark, highlighting features that you may not take note of during the day and creating contrast and shadows using the forms and plants in your yard. Playing with these elements creates intrigue and drama, and a well-lit space will often be one in which you want to stay.

What to Light In Your Landscape

So what do you light and what do you leave in the dark?

Identify the features in your yard that you like. Maybe it’s a pond or a particularly stately tree—highlighting those with light will show them off.

How To Choose Landscape Lighting

Outdoor living spaces are becoming an integral part of how we live and increasingly an extension of our indoor spaces. Homeowners now have a multitude of landscape lighting options for illuminating their gardens, walkways, patios, and decks.We spoke with Douglas Prexta, sales manager of landscape lighting at Hinkley Lighting, and Scott Sorensen, vice president of sales at BEGA, about key considerations in selecting landscape lighting.

Douglas Prexta: It enhances the beauty of your surroundings—objects, fountains, architecture, and landscaping—after the sun goes down and increases the value of your home. It expands your outdoor living space and adds hours to your outdoor activity. Also, creating illuminated architectural features like walkways, driveways, steps, decks and stairs can ensure safe passage from one point to another while adding security.

Are there any trends driving landscape lighting today?

DP: LED has changed the industry dramatically. The main disadvantage with low-voltage products in the past was voltage drop: the flickering that results from resistance in the circuit. However, with most high-quality low-voltage LED fixtures, the voltage drop concerns have virtually been eliminated, basically allowing for plug-and-play installations.

What are basic rules of thumb to keep in mind when choosing landscape lighting?

DP: Work with a knowledgeable designer to lay out and install the lighting. Remember, you are making investment in your property with professional-grade product.

What should one know about different voltages and using electric lights outside?

DP: Because low-voltage landscape lighting is typically 12-24 volts, it’s easy to work with and doesn’t require a conduit (unless passing through a building or structure). Line voltage, by comparison, requires professional installation and is much more labor-intensive and expensive. All low-voltage lighting needs a low-voltage transformer to reduce 120-volts to 12-volts, and it must be plugged into a GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter)- protected receptacle. If you are unsure about the installation, consult a licensed professional.

How To Take Care Of A Baby Squirrel

What is the best method of squirrel pest control?

Squirrels always seek a place to build their nest, firstly remove or fulfill those places. You can also build a trap to catch them ou. They like some nuts, peanut butter and things that they are attracted to feed on. And build a trap inside.

Squirrels look really cute when they scurry out of your view in tree or ground burrows or dance through trees and foliage. However, they can be a nuisance in or out of your house. There is a lot that you can do to control squirrel pest without being too much pro or technical.

• Trash cans are a favorite place for squirrels to forage for food. Placing trash cans with tight sealing lids is a good squirrel pest control method.

• Squirrels are experts at gliding across supply lines and tree branches and dropping on rooftops to make their way into the attic. The best method to ward off theses rodents from getting access to the attic is to trim tree branches near your house, if any.

• You can keep sunflower seeds in the feeder. Birds love these seeds, but squirrels don’t.

Squirrel Control Recommendations

Removal of any diet source: bird seed for example, because they attract the squirrels is the first order of business.

Using gutter guards and covering downspouts will reduce the number of squirrels that are entering through the rooftop and facia boards.

There are no poison baits on the market that squirrels will eat and die, except Ditrac Ground Squirrel Bait that is only made to control the California Ground Squirrel (found in western states). Typical rodent control bait for mice and rat control will not work against other squirrels.

Are you tired of the menace created by squirrels in your home? While squirrels are cute creatures, they might be sometimes disturbing given the mess they tend to create all around in your home. These frequent visitors bring twigs, leaves, and branches of all sorts from all around and leave the exterior of your home quite unorganized and dirty

Tips to Keep Your Home Rodent and Squirrel Free This Fall

Out with the old, in with the new- Are there broken or old and warped attic, dryer or gable vents on the exterior of your home? Now is the time to replace them. Rodents and squirrels have no trouble tearing through vents to enter your attic or home.

Don’t hang bird feeders- Bird feeders are prone to both squirrel and mouse feeding. Squirrels are exceptionally good climbers, so breaking into bird feeders is a treat for squirrels. Even if squirrels don’t touch your bird feeders, birds will. Birds fling seeds around, leaving piles on the ground while they feed. Mice and rats flock to this easy food source, attracting them to your property. Next stop? Inside your house.

Seal it up- Take a walk around the exterior of your home. Look for cracks and crevices that can be sealed with foam or stuffed with steel wool. Mice are not able to chew through steel wool, so getting it right the first time is important. Mice have collapsible bodies and can fit through tiny holes and gaps as small as ¼ inch. Once they enter your home, mice nest in wall voids, insulation, attics, under refrigerators, under stoves, and under dishwashers. It’s better to take a proactive approach as soon as you find these vulnerabilities.

Stop using essential oils- They do not work for pest control. If it was this easy, pest control companies would be out of business. If mice or squirrels are getting into your home, the entry point needs to be sealed. Think about it this way. If a bird keeps flying through a broken window in your house, would you spray essential oils onto the broken opening or would you fix the window?

Keep it clean- Sweep up crumbs inside your home on a regular basis. Make sure that you pay close attention to the hard to reach spaces that are easily ignored such as under stoves and under dishwashers. In garages, move bird seed and grass seeds into heavily secured Tupperware or containers.

Choosing a Squirrel Removal Company

Sometimes the best and easiest way to remove a squirrel or exclude it from your property is to hire a company to do it for you. Wildlife removal companies are not well monitored or licensed, so it is up to you to ask questions about a company’s practices before hiring them

A good wildlife removal company should

Provide a customized plan of action and a firm price estimate before you are required to commit

Focus on long-term solutions, such as fixing potential entry points (as opposed to simply removing squirrels)

Guarantee their work (for at least one year)

Know about squirrel behaviour, such as when babies are born and where squirrels are likely to gain entry to a building.

Use only humane live traps (cage traps) or one-way doors to remove animals (rather than leg-hold traps or other harmful capture devices)

Physically check the space for babies, no matter the time of year

Release any live-trapped animals on-site.  Never hire a company that moves squirrels to a new location: this is illegal and harmful to the animals. Instead, they should remove squirrels from the nest space and seal the hole to prevent return.

Another Look at the “Humane” Alternative

Thousands of squirrels call our city home. Sometimes we don’t think about our wild neighbours until there is a problem: a squabble over who gets the garden vegetables, or an uninvited tenant taking up residence in the roof. While squirrels are only trying to meet their basic food and shelter needs, these conflicts can be extremely frustrating for homeowners.

So why not trap the squirrels and move them somewhere else?

Contrary to popular belief, live-trapping a squirrel and relocating it is not a good way to solve any problem you might be having with the animal. While trapping may seem like a humane option, it often ends in a death sentence for the squirrel and leaves your property vulnerable to ongoing wildlife conflicts

There’s no place like home

Many people think that a squirrel can survive anywhere. It may even appear that moving a squirrel from an urban backyard to a ravine, park, or forest will help it, since these spaces seem more “natural.” But the truth is, squirrels have specific home ranges where they are adapted to living

How to Get Rid of Squirrels?

Whether you want to learn how to get rid of squirrels because they are in your attic, scaring the birds away from birdbaths and feeders, or just want to ensure your children aren’t at risk when they play in the yard, squirrel control can be achieved in a number of different ways. Below are some simple tips on getting rid of squirrels based on the leading research in squirrel removal and control.

How to get rid of squirrels outside

Most of the squirrels you see outside your home are not going to present a problem. It’s when they invade your living space that the real nuisance starts. But as the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection notes,

‟Another major complaint about squirrels is the disruption they may cause at bird feeders. Feeders should be placed in an area where squirrels cannot gain access to them, far away from shrubs and overhanging tree branches. Mounting the feeder on a metal pole at least six feet high and attaching a metal, cone-shaped baffle to the pole will help prevent squirrels from reaching it. Hanging feeders are not recommended, since squirrels will climb down the hanger wire or will shake the wire until the food falls to the ground.”

How to get rid of ground squirrels in your home

If you need help getting rid of squirrels in your home, a pest management professional is going to be your safest bet as well. The Environmental Protection Agency summarizes the options for squirrel control

‟Be warned, if someone recommends using mothballs, forget it; it’s illegal. The EPA allows moth balls for moths and caterpillars only. This is because moth balls are toxic to humans and pets. You can try trapping them [squirrels], locking them out, or quickly sealing up holes if you know they are out to get lunch and water.”

Tips To Keep Squirrels Away From Your House

If you have a squirrel problem at your house, you’re just a phone call away from help from professional pest control specialists, who will be necessary if you have discovered a squirrel inside your home. Many people insist on trying to get rid of squirrels that have invaded their home without the help of trained exterminators, and this is just not wise because of the danger involved with these animals.

If you have a squirrel problem, our first suggestion is to avoid squirrel repellents you see in home goods stores because they simply don’t work. While these products may serve as a temporary deterrent for the squirrels around your yard, they will not get rid of them for good. Squirrels are extremely determined little pests, and once they choose your home as their new hangout, they are very hard to get rid of, but there are steps you can take keep them out of your yard, garden and home for the time being.

First, remove any food and water provided for your pets from the decks, porches, and yard surrounding your home. With colder temperatures upon us, it’s time to keep your animals indoors as much as possibly anyway. Those bowls of food and water are invitations to the squirrels in your area to hang out near your home, so the sooner you remove the bowls of food, the sooner your squirrels will be forced to look elsewhere for their next meal.

Next, take a thorough walk around the exterior of your home and check for any holes or spaces that these critters can enter your home through, and patch them up immediately. Make sure you close holes and spaces with durable materials that will last such as metal, glass or aluminum. Squirrels can gnaw their way through plastic, wood and similar lightweight materials, so choose the toughest stuff on the market to protect the interior of your home from these pests

If you have bird feeders in your yard, move them to the farthest corners and as far away from any doors or windows to your home as possible. Squirrels are big fans of bird feeders, so if the feeders are close to your home, the squirrels will be close to your home, also.