Lighting Services in Kennebunk, Maine

Exterior lighting in the village center has an extra step. Within Kennebunk's Historic Preservation Overlay District, the town ordinance says no light may be put on a building or site until the Historic Preservation Commission has issued a certificate of appropriateness. That covers porch lanterns, sconces beside a Federal-style doorway and landscape lighting along a front walk. It pays to choose fixtures that suit the house and to settle the plan with the commission before any holes are drilled in old clapboards. Wiring a new lantern on a historic facade is best done through the inside wall where possible, which keeps the exterior clean and the cable protected from weather.

Inside, older houses reward careful work. Recessed lights in a plaster ceiling need the right housings and a clear path for new cable, and many village homes have low attic spaces where insulation-contact rated fixtures are a must. LED retrofits cut the load on old circuits, and modern dimmers and switches let one room serve several uses. In the 1980s and 1990s houses, common updates are under-cabinet kitchen lighting, ceiling fans in bedrooms and replacing builder-grade fixtures with brighter, more efficient ones. Warm color temperatures around 2700K tend to suit older interiors, while kitchens and workshops often benefit from brighter, cooler light at the counter or bench.

Near the water, outdoor fixtures face salt spray, so sealed housings and corrosion-resistant finishes last much longer on houses near Gooch's Beach or along the tidal rivers. Motion-sensing security lights on garages and long driveways in West Kennebunk make coming home after dark safer without leaving lights on all night. Goodnow Electric installs recessed, under-cabinet, outdoor, landscape and security lighting, ceiling fans, dimmers and controls, and pulls the town electrical permit where one is required. Landscape lighting on low-voltage transformers, timers and photocells for porch lights, and smart switches that can be controlled from a phone are all simple ways to light a property well without running fixtures all night or wasting power.