Outdoor lights and outlets around Logan County

A light by the back door, one over the shop door, a pair on the garage, one out by the drive. One of Luke's photos shows a small shed at dusk with a light glowing beside its door, which is about as plain a picture of the job as there is.

Outdoor fixtures are made for where they hang. A fixture under a covered porch roof only has to handle damp air. One out in the open has to take rain straight on, and it should say so on the box. An indoor fixture on an outside wall fills with water and fails, sometimes in a way that trips more than its own breaker.

Security lights mostly come in two kinds. A dusk to dawn light has a small sensor that turns it on at dark and off at daylight, so the yard is always lit. A motion light stays off until something moves in front of it, which suits a back door or a drive where you want to notice someone coming.

Aim matters as much as brightness. A flood pointed down at your yard and your doors does its job. One pointed out into the road or a neighbor's bedroom window mostly makes glare. LED floods use little power, so leaving one on all night costs less than most people expect.

An outdoor outlet should have GFCI protection and a cover that stays closed over the plug while something is plugged in. A flap that only shuts when nothing is plugged in leaves the outlet open to rain. That matters for a pond pump, holiday lights, a pressure washer or anything else left plugged in through the weather.

Luke's photos include a camper outlet mounted under a rain hood on the side of a house, with conduit running up the siding to it. The basketball area job had outlets added around the court along with the lights.

A light or an outlet on the house wall can often come off a circuit already inside that wall. Out in the yard, at a pole by the drive or on a building away from the house, it takes a line run underground. Send Luke a photo of where you want the light and of the nearest outside wall, and he can tell you which kind of job it is.