Fluorescent Outdoor Light

Posted by admin on Friday, November 20, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Spring Cleanup is the Perfect Time to Maintain Your Outdoor Lighting

Whether you use traditional electrical or solar outdoor lighting, spring is a great time to perform routine maintenance and to take stock of your current fixtures.

It's a good idea to start with the lights that are most important to you. For some, this may be security floodlights or spotlights, for others it may be lamps and lampposts.

First of all, check all of your fixtures to see that they made it through the winter without damage. This means inspecting the housing and glass for cracks, evaluating the finish, and thinking about both the performance and utility costs over the past year.

If small cracks are found in the light's housing, odds are that moisture has set in. You can try to repair the cracks with clear caulking. However, if the quality of the illumination is degraded or if there is obvious moisture in the main part of the fixture it's probably time to replace them.

Once you're satisfied that the structural integrity of the fixture is fine, take a mixture of vinegar and water or ammonia and water and gently clean the glass and housing with a soft rag. If you have solar panels, clean these as well. You may want to treat any metal features with a thin coat of mineral oil to protect them and add some shine. Just make sure that the oil does not get on the glass or any plastic elements.

Lamps, both post- and wall-mounted also could benefit from special attention. In addition to cleaning, you should change any light bulbs if needed, and also consider more light-saving options.

Your spring clean-up routine can include replacing incandescent bulbs, or better yet replacing them with CFLs. Similarly batteries for back-up or solar fixtures should be checked and replaced if necessary. Note that it is very important that you replace the batteries with ones designated for the fixture, or you could permanently damage the light. This may mean regular lead batteries, or for solar products NiMh or the newer longer lasting, more powerful lithium ion (Li-Ion) batteries.

No matter how well things are taken care of, there does come a point where something has "seen its better days." Perhaps the fixture's finish is shot or the glass is badly scratched or worn. At this point, consider whether outdoor solar lights are an appropriate option. Continually advancing technology in batteries, solar panels, bulbs and housing means better, more reliable options that work even in areas that do not have continuous sunlight on a daily basis.

For example, if you have incandescent or compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL) in your electric spotlights or floodlights, the utility costs (specifically, none for solar) will pay for a new solar fixture, often within one year. New models are available with extremely bright Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) and to a lesser extent, halogen bulbs. CFLs are commonly used due to their electrical efficiency, but be aware that CFLs are often treated as "hazardous" materials by landfills. Many municipalities now ask that people store these for special collection/drop-off days used for other dangerous household waste such as old paints and cleaning supplies.

In addition, most new solar security lights come with cords that let you set the solar panel up to 15 feet away from the light fixture itself. This allows you to place the panel in an area with lots of sunlight and the light in an area that may not get direct sunlight including inside sheds, garages, barns or covered carports. (Note: halogen bulbs are not recommended for use inside of sheds or barns due to the heat that they generate.)

You also want to check your outdoor lamps, be they mounted on a post, wall, or fence. Along with routine maintenance and cleaning, consider how much you paid in utility costs over the past year. New technologies are available that better harness and store the sun's power.

Unless your lamp light is in the shade, one season's power saving could go a long way towards replacing low-voltage lamps with solar. Along with new technologies for the workings of outdoor solar lighting, there are several new designs that provide far more choices than in the past.

Even if you are not ready to replace all of your lamps or lamp posts, it won't be difficult to find a outdoor solar fixture that is similar or complementary to your other fixtures.

About the Author

AM McElroy has 20 years of experience in customer communications and marketing/sales within the financial, high-tech and engineering sectors and recently turned her enthusiasm for solar lighting into an e-commerce site, http://www.SolarFlairLighting.com.

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