Lighting Installation near you

LED lighting is now the standard for new installations. Natural Resources Canada states that ENERGY STAR certified LEDs are up to 90% more efficient than incandescent bulbs, last at least 15 times longer and produce almost no heat. NRCan also keeps a list of ENERGY STAR certified lighting products, including light bulbs and light fixtures, which is a handy check when comparing models.

Compare lumens, the measure of light output, rather than watts: NRCan gives the example of a 9-watt LED producing the same 800 lumens as a 60-watt incandescent bulb. Colour temperature, measured in kelvins, sets the mood. NRCan notes that most residential LED bulbs fall between 2000 and 6500 K, that lower values give warmer light, and that bulbs from 5000 to 6500 K best mimic daylight.

Recessed lights in a ceiling below an unheated attic sit right in the insulation and the air barrier, which makes them a common path for heat loss and a potential fire risk. Natural Resources Canada warns that standard recessed lights are difficult to air seal effectively and can become a fire hazard if covered with insulation, and recommends replacing them with approved airtight recessed fixtures or covers that can be installed safely under insulation.

In practice, that means fixtures rated for direct contact with insulation, usually marked IC, that are also airtight, so warm, moist indoor air doesn't escape into the attic, where it can cause condensation and frost in winter. Slim LED recessed fixtures and flush-mount or flat LED fixtures, which NRCan suggests as an alternative to traditional pot lights, are often easier to seal. Whatever the model, the electrician follows the manufacturer's installation instructions, and the insulation and air barrier around each opening are restored afterward.

Light fixtures are certified for the conditions they can withstand, and the marking on the box or the label tells you where a fixture may go. A damp-location rating suits spots exposed to moisture but not to direct water, such as a covered porch or a carport. A wet-location rating is needed where rain, snow or spray can reach the fixture directly.

Outdoor lighting earns its keep in winter, when darkness falls early and walkways are icy. Photocells and timers switch lights on at dusk without anyone having to remember, and motion sensors light the path when someone arrives. Mount fixtures where snow sliding off the roof, shovelled banks and the plough won't bury or break them, keep landscape lights away from where you pile snow, and have buried circuits installed so frost heave and garden spades won't damage them.

Good exterior lighting is also neighbourly. Fixtures that aim light downward, with shielding that hides the bulb, light the ground where you need it without glare into windows or the night sky. Warmer colour temperatures, no more brightness than the task needs, and controls that turn lights off late at night reduce light trespass and energy use alike. Before installing bright floodlights, check whether your municipality has rules on outdoor lighting.

Installing or replacing light fixtures is regulated electrical work. In Ontario, ESA requires electrical work to be reported through a notification of work filed before the work starts, and Licensed Electrical Contractors are the only businesses legally authorized to do electrical work in your home; the contractor files the notification and arranges any inspection. In Quebec, electrical work done for others is reserved for licensed contractors qualified through the Corporation des maîtres électriciens du Québec (CMEQ). Elsewhere in Canada, the provincial or territorial safety authority sets similar rules.

Opening walls and ceilings for new lights often reveals what's behind them. Knob-and-tube wiring, aluminum branch wiring, brittle cloth-insulated cable, crowded junction boxes or splices buried without a box are all reasons to pause and have the electrician assess the circuit before new fixtures go up. ESA publishes guidance on knob-and-tube and aluminum wiring, and when the problem goes beyond one circuit, a rewiring project is often the safer path than patching around it.