Are you considering outdoor lighting for your home? Are you wondering whether it might affect your property value? Can you really add value to your home with such a relatively simple upgrade?
Making changes to the place where you live can often involve a tricky calculation in which you balance property value with your preferences.
It’s helpful to understand the impact of outdoor lighting on property value ahead of time so that you can factor that into your decision.
Security and Safety
Making your home safer is one benefit of outdoor lighting that also increases your property value. Burglars generally prefer to operate under cover of darkness. Outdoor lighting makes them more visible and makes breaking into your home a less desirable prospect.
There is also a safety element. It can be dangerous to try to make your way along dark walkways and other areas around your house with no lights. If you have children, they can play outside more safely after dark when you have outdoor lighting.
Curb Appeal
Curb appeal refers to the first impressions that people get on seeing your home, and outdoor lighting can boost that impression. The aesthetic appeal of outdoor lighting is one of the most popular reasons that people choose it. Outdoor lighting just looks nice. The lights make a house feel warmer, but they can also be useful in your landscaping in specific ways.
For example, you can use lighting to highlight particular features in your yard or on your house that you want to bring to people’s attention. Different colored lights or decorative fixtures are another way to use lights to add style and beauty to your front or back yard.
More Leisure Room
A home that uses outdoor lighting to extend the usable living space is likely to be more highly valued than a property that does not. This type of space can mean more room for entertaining or simply another area for the family to hang out. If you have a garden, a deck or a patio, being able to spend time there after the sun goes down thanks to outdoor lighting can make those features themselves much more appealing as well.
Other Outdoor Lighting Considerations
Before you install lighting outdoors, it’s important to think carefully about your goals. For example, motion-activated lights might be the right choice if your primary concern is safety and security.
On the other hand, if the real appeal for you is the ability to spend more time outdoors with family and friends, think about how outdoor lighting will integrate into existing or planned features. You might want some lighting near a grill or a pool.
This is the case when you are thinking about curb appeal as well. Lighting may be just one part of the larger overall landscape design in your front or back yard. It’s important that you choose the types of lights that will achieve the results you’re after and that you place them where they will be effective.
You should also think about the practical qualities these outdoor lights should have. For example, you might want to consider whether you need a dimmer switch for one or more lights or what kind of weather the lights might be exposed to. An electrician can advise on where to safely install outlets and switches and on any needed weatherproofing.
Return on Investment
One more element to consider when you are looking at an increase in property value thanks to outdoor lighting or any feature you have added is the return on investment. Sometimes a feature might increase the value of your home but not enough to necessarily make the upgrade worthwhile. After considering the many different options for landscape lighting, you may want to choose something that is more likely to have broad appeal if you are looking to add value. Fortunately, in general, outdoor lighting offers a good return on what can be a potentially low-cost investment compared to the huge renovation projects some homeowners might take on.
Start Your Outdoor Lighting Installation Project
When you do get ready to add lighting outdoors, be sure that you choose an electrician with experience in this area. Your efforts to add value to your home with lighting upgrades will backfire if the wiring isn’t done safely and to code. Don’t put up with any malarky, call Mister Sparky. Contact a company that has the skill and reliability to do the outdoor lighting job on your house that you need.