Winter is only a month away, but we’ll likely be seeing snow before that. Fresh snow certainly looks beautiful, especially at night under the glow of outdoor lights. However, winter weather can cause a variety of problems for outdoor lighting. If you want your outdoor lights to keep your home looking it’s best during the winter, you’ll have to take special maintenance precautions for them. At Ryan Gath Electric, we can help you learn how to care for your outdoor lights during the Massachusetts winter.

Here are five tips for keeping your outdoor lighting healthy this winter:

Watch for exposed wiring

When the temperatures get cold, the ground tends to freeze and thaw, forcing buried wiring upward. Any wires that get unearthed this way should be reburied as soon as possible before the ground freezes again. Wires that get left out can get damaged. Any issues involving damaged wiring, such as exposed copper, should be handled by a professional electrician.

Readjust your lighting fixtures

Once in a while, you’ll want to go outside and adjust your lighting fixtures if they get misaligned or damaged. It’s not uncommon for snow shoveling or plowing to cause occasional damage to fixtures. Your best bet for preventing this sort of damage is by preventing accidents in the first place. Does a company or some other third party handle your snow removal or landscaping? Buy some cones or poles and use them to warn them about your fixtures and other sensitive areas.

Keep an eye on the light bulbs

Extreme temperatures, especially cold ones, often wear out your light bulbs quickly. You’ll want to replace any bulbs that die out quickly, as they’ll negatively affect healthier bulbs. This is because outdoor lighting is often a low-voltage system, and each bulb takes up a bit of the workload. When one bulb dies, the others take up the slack, putting more stress on them. Another thing to consider is that the long winter nights mean your landscape lighting will be working more than usual.

Clean the lenses

Dirt and other contaminants can often block the light coming from your outdoor lighting. You can wipe it off with CLR cleaner and a nonabrasive cloth. Snow is another common light-blocking contaminant during the winter. If you use LED lights, their improved efficiency can be a downside because they produce less heat, making it harder for them to melt away any snow that builds upon them. Take the time after every major snowfall to clean off your outdoor lights.

Be aware of moisture problems

Ice and snow are just frozen water, so moisture problems are very common during the winter. One common source of these problems is when melted snow gets into an outlet and trips it. You can easily fix this by pressing the “reset” button on the outlet and making sure the cover is properly closed. If the outlet won’t reset or it looks damaged, you should call for an electrician. Electricity is very dangerous to work with, especially during the wet winter weather.

Why call Ryan Gath to keep my electricity working this winter?

Ryan Gath Electric is focused on providing the best possible electrical services to the people of Massachusetts. We are composed of master electricians, with years of professional experience under their belts. No matter what kind of electrical needs you have, we can take care of it for you. So much of our modern lifestyles are reliant on the electricity that courses through our homes and offices. As important as that power is, however, it can also be quite dangerous. When you have a problem with your electrical grid, the very last thing you want to do is try and fix it yourself. You don’t want to put yourself at risk by dealing with that much voltage without the proper knowledge or tools. Call Ryan Gath today to learn more about protecting your electronics this winter!

By Ryan Gath Electric