Lighting Maintenance due to Cold Weather

As the city of San Antonio continues to recover from the many issues created by the cold and snow last week, we know that the state of your outdoor lighting is not on the top of the priority list.  However, once homeowners have taken care of the big things, there are a few maintenance items to check on to ensure your outdoor lighting system is working properly.

Maintenance Issue Number 1:  Resetting your timer.

The timer that the Guru installs most of the time is an astronomical digital timer that fits inside the transformer box.  This timer is rated for freezing temperatures and contains a battery backup so that it keeps the time even with prolonged power loss.  However, there may sometimes be the issue that the backup batteries drain faster in cold weather.  With the continual power outage plus the cold weather, if your lights are not working, as usual, the first place to check would be to see if your timer has the correct time and day, and that when unplugged it keeps the correct time and date.

Maintenance Issue Number 2:  GFCI resetting

Most GFCIs never trip from a power outage, so it should not be necessary to reset them.  However, as the snow melts, the moisture may cause the GFCI outlet to trip.  We have written many times on how to find and reset your GFCI outlet.  Please check out our tutorial here and video here.

While looking for your GFCI outlet, please be sure that all outdoor outlets are fitted with a bubble cover to protect them from moisture.  This type of weatherproof outdoor outlet covers work when the outlet is not in use and most and when the outlet is in use.   These are standard installations if the Guru has installed or serviced your landscape lighting.

Landscape Lighting Guru is back to work this week and is happy to talk to our customers to troubleshoot the issue or to schedule a maintenance service call for us to fix for you!