9 Reasons Why You Should Upgrade Your Home’s Lighting NOW!

Many of us have been spending some extra time at home during these last couple of months due to the Covid-19 pandemic and for some of us, that can be a weird experience. If you were used to being at work all day and now you’re forced to work from home, this can change your perspective on some of the aspects of your home.

Lighting is one of the main things most people realized is suboptimal in their homes during this bizarre period. Should you upgrade your lighting right now, however, or should you wait? Here are 9 reasons why you should upgrade your home’s lighting now.

Changing your home’s lighting fixtures or bulbs is usually only done out of necessity – the bulbs have burned out or the lighting fixtures themselves are so old they’ve become unsafe. There are quite a few other good reasons to upgrade your lighting, however.

Extra brightness

LED lights are usually touted as the best lighting option on the market right now and they are indeed. However, even simply getting a newer fluorescent or incandescent light bulb will likely increase the brightness of your lighting fixture considerably. Plus, if the brightness was particularly insufficient, some lighting fixtures are optimized for maximizing the brightness output of their bulbs too.

Energy-efficiency and lowering expenses

While all light bulbs can be bright, where LED light bulbs really surpass all other types is their energy efficiency. There’s plenty of research done about this such as this lighting comparison guide by the Natural Resources Defense Council (2) and many others (3) and it all points to LED bulbs as the most cost-effective option. High-quality LED bulbs, on average, recoup their costs through the energy they save after ~3 years.

Lower maintenance costs and efforts too

LED bulbs are cost-effective not only because of the energy they save but because of they last longer. This means that you’ll need to replace them less often and save more time, effort, and money from constantly changing your light bulbs.

Possible tax deductions

Depending on the specifics of your home or building, you may very well be up for a tax deduction as much as $1.80 per square foot or at least $0.60 depending on when your building was built, what its size is, and how much you’ve managed to cut off your energy costs (4).

Environmental approach and safety

All light bulbs are recyclable but they are all still different. Unlike their alternatives, LED light bulbs don’t have any mercury at all which means a couple of different things – 1) they are safer to handle and dispose of and 2) they are more environmentally-friendly.

Add value to your home

Even if you’re not thinking of moving out any time soon, adding value to your home and property is still a great idea. And one of the most cost-effective ways to do that is to upgrade your lighting fixtures with newer, better-looking, more effective, and more efficient models. Replacing all bulbs with LED bulbs and installing some track or recessed lighting in place of the older chandeliers can drastically increase your home’s value.

Boost security

Most homes have really poor outdoor lighting around them since homeowners tend to view it as unnecessary. Outdoor lighting isn’t just great for improving the look of your property, however, it’s also a great security tool. Studies have shown (5) that robberies and other crimes are less likely to occur on well-lit streets and properties, so installing additional lighting like outdoor motion security lights, for example, can be a great way to improve your home’s security.

Protect your eyesight

If you’re just now finding yourself in a work-from-home situation, you may be noticing how suboptimal your lighting is for work. Bad lighting can be really terrible for your eyes over time and can lead to things such as headaches or migraines all the way to eyesight problems.

Make your home more comfortable to live in

Last but not least, good lighting means more comfort. Regardless of how much time you spend at home, it’s time that should be spent with a blissful smile on your face. And while good lighting isn’t the solution to all our problems, it’s definitely a great way to add more comfort and amenity to our living space.

Author Bio:

Arthur Smith is the main editor of LEDwatcher.com, a blog on all things LED and solar lighting. With years of experience in these fields, he’s passionate about finding new alternatives to traditional lighting and learning everything he can about renewable energy.