If you watched Games of Thrones (GOT) or are fond of online memes you may have heard of this particular phrase from the famous Ned Stark Winter is Coming. Well indeed it is here and Lighting and Supplies knows that December is already poking our doors at home, that also means that colder air and snowstorms are already here and that lights are vulnerable.

Although the forecasts say that warmer winter is coming to Maryland, it is still very cold and it will bring a huge raining season with up and down temperatures.

What does it mean? Besides the snow shoveling and all the bills you’re going to pay to keep your warm, you need to spend some time on your outdoor lighting, look out on them before rough weather takes them by surprise and well… breaks them.

That is why in this entry Lighting and Supplies is going to give you some tips to safeguard those lights so enjoying Christmas and special reunions is going to be something that will not boggle your mind.

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1. Check the status of your lights

Year is almost ending and with the worries of the day-to-day, one thing that we may often overlook throughout all of the year is to check the state of our lights, especially outdoor ones.

Who has time to check some lights? I installed them properly, they should be fine…

One thing about Outdoor lights is that in case you made excellent decisions installing them with a good lighting company, is that they made sure structures from those are very rough and have sturdy components.

However, seasonal changes of weather conditions, especially fall, leaves conditions that can slowly affect the foundations of which these components are made, making them helpless against rough weather conditions like Winter.

In order to avoid that, the first step you need to do is look for the wires. Any left dust and dirt left from fall? This creates situations where the Outdoor lights’ buried wires get exposed, something that can be especially dangerous when continuous rains and snow storms begin, possibly ending up hurting unaware people that pass by or damaging the lights itself.

In case you have complex connections and lengthy cables, examine them carefully, don’t know if you have exposed copper and get an injury, that’s why it’s always advisable if you aren’t experienced to check with specialists.

After you’re done with this delicate process of checking the wires, you need to look for all of your installments, touch if something feels off, see if any component is out of place, maybe one of the furniture close to your installation is obstructing a wire or it’s cutting some of the pathways.

Leaves from fall could damage the fixtures or maybe your bulbs are dirty or presenting some issues just by being exposed. Checking if everything is right is a key step before doing the preparation phase, that ensures that you have a good understanding of what you’re lacking.

In case you don’t feel you’re up to doing these fixes, this info is really useful for company experts to fill in those gaps and make their job easier.

2. Preparation: Safeguard

Now that you’re finished with diagnosing what’s your status on the lights, it’s time to make preparations.

One case, for example, If you have a big patio with steps and walk paths, it is recommended that you adjust your fixtures in order for them to increase your lighting when night falls but to also avoid accidents like stepping on the cables or just flat out stumbling with them.

This is very important in winter due how visibility starts playing a bigger part. Snow Storms lead to cables being buried or simply damaging fixtures. Beware that you may even need to consider switching places of your lights in case adjusting doesn’t do it.

Another important step in preparation is planning snow shoveling and your timers for turning up your lights on winter nights.

Regarding snow shoveling, if you do it yourself, be careful not to hit any of the structures with lighting and clean the places where cables are buried so snow moisture doesn’t affect them. If you’re hiring a service then you really need to point out places for them, with signals or just with a chat before any action is taken.

Timers are to safeguard your space, in winter sunlight time is less so adjusting your timers for your lighting is a must, even changing some of your lighting decor or adjust some windows, not only improve your source of lights in your but also bright up the mood to not let winter blues hit you.

3. Replacing bulbs in the Winter

You finished checking and making preparations, now you’re only left with replacements of bulbs. Just ensure that

If you´re still using incadescendent or classic bulbs maybe this is the time to go with LEDs in Winter.

Something interesting about LED bulbs is their capacity to withstand cold weather and still give good lighting even exceeding expectations due how they function, they don’t need heat.

LEDs are semiconductors, this means their materials aren’t conducting or non-conducting. This happens because the electricity makes free electrons from a negatively charged component pass through holes from a positively charged component, when this happens light is made in LED devices.

Due to this functionality, cold weather even outdoors isn’t a detriment on these types of bulbs , the only thing to watch out for is high temperatures, heat can interfere in their components but this can be solved by buying more expensive LEDs that have better dissipators.

So if you have the possibility to switch from incandescent for example to LED these can be a huge purchase for your home.

4. Keep an eye out

After you’re done with all the preparations, what you miss is maintenance.

Every now and then look over your lights, be aware of snow shoveling and make sure they avoid fixtures, wires, bulbs, etc; check if bulbs are burned out to replace them; make sure if there’s any sign of moisture, drain the space.

This step is about resilience, you need to have a set schedule to look and see if it’s anything that seems off. And in case, the issue is out of your expertise, lighting companies offer services that can help you with it.

Now you’re set up for Winter!

Winter is already here and sure is a great season to share wholesome moments with your family, but to ensure this we need to do some work on our lighting.

Because not only do they make our place look stunning and give that beautiful and warm Christmas feel to your place but also it’s key for security and even lifting the mood in these harsh weather.

Lightingandsupplies hope you found these tips useful for this winter so you can focus on having a great time with your loved ones, enjoy family gatherings without being scared of outdoors and prepare for the christmas snuggles.