Outdoor lighting maintenance can be more complicated than you think. Even changing a low voltage halogen light bulb, for instance, can require knowledge that only a trained outdoor lighting maintenance professional would know. Specifications not available to consumers can determine mission critical success or failure of a replacement. Reliable and lasting results depend on knowing what wattage the fixture is designed for, what beam spread the lamp uses for various results, and what temperatures allow the light to burn with optimal safety and maximum half-life. The outdoor lighting maintenance team at Illuminations Lighting Design is here to help you with any questions and to develop replacement and upgrade solutions that will protect both your investment and personal safety anytime you think you might have a problem.
Many things in life can and should bring great satisfaction to the “do it your selfer”, but ELECTRICAL WORK IS NOT ONE OF THEM. Because of the hazards of shock and electrical failure, we always caution even the savviest and most mechanically inclined to contract their outdoor lighting maintenance from trained and certified electrical professionals. Even if you took an electronics course in college or trade school and feel confident you know wiring and lighting, please understand that technology evolves more rapidly each day, and every piece of new equipment has a mind of its own, so to speak, when it comes to interacting with other pieces of equipment. Some outdoor lighting fixtures, such as HID fixtures, require the use of a ballast to drive the lamp.
Maintenance professionals are normally the only people with access to the right ballast models and with the necessary training to install them. Low voltage fixtures require a 12-volt power supply, and mismatching a low voltage light with a high voltage power supply can blow out the light instantly. Even more discouraging to a consumer who has just purchased some of the newer MR16 lamps is the sinking feeling of doing everything right and then watching the bulb prematurely fail in a matter of days. This happens with MR16 lamps because the glass envelope that constitutes the light’s reflectors is highly sensitive to oil. Just a small deposit from a person’s fingers can cause premature burnout. An even more serious situation results when a homeowner mistakenly installs an indoor light designed for dry locations in their back or front yard. Houston humidity can quickly cause a short circuit that could result in severe or even fatal electrocution.
Outdoor lighting maintenance involves more than simply replacing faulty equipment. It involves optimizing existing equipment configurations so that homeowners can receive the best return on their financial investment possible and maintain the highest value that outdoor lighting brings to their property. We often change groupings of lamps to address lamp depreciation, color shift, and normal life expectancy. Outdoor lighting maintenance professionals from Illuminations Lighting Design can add value to service by replacing halogen lamps with a 4000 average lamp life with mercury vapor lamps with a 24,000-hour average lamp life. Mercury vapor lights also produce better illumination because they install in trees and cast a soft glow downward. Definitely call an outdoor lighting maintenance professional to install these tree lights. You can fall off a ladder or scar your tree in an attempt to install one yourself. Illuminations Lighting Design uses professional tree climbers to install these fixtures and uses techniques that are safe and environmentally “tree friendly.”
Outdoor lighting maintenance professionals not only have mastered the basics, but also retrain annually in new technology seminars so they can help our customers with all of these variables and find the best and most affordable solution to whatever maintenance needs their outdoor lighting design requires. Call Illuminations Lighting Design at 800-863-1184 to see what they can do to help you improve your property, peace of mind, and personal well being today.
