Lighting Services in Old Orchard Beach, Maine

Outdoor fixtures have a short life here unless they are chosen for the coast. Salt spray pits painted steel and cheap aluminum within a few seasons, and sand works into sockets and seals. Fixtures with corrosion-resistant finishes, sealed housings and wet-location ratings last longer on porches, decks and stair landings facing the ocean. For rentals, motion-activated security lights and switched walkway lights help guests find the door after dark, and a photocell or timer keeps the porch lit when an owner is away for the winter without anyone touching a switch. On streets where cottages sit a few feet apart, dusk-to-dawn fixtures should be aimed and shielded to light your own steps rather than the bedroom window next door.

Inside, older cottages set their own terms. Low ceilings, plaster or board walls and little attic space can rule out recessed cans in some rooms, so slim LED wafer lights, surface fixtures or a well-placed ceiling fan with a light kit often suit better. Ceiling fans earn their keep in summer, when many cottages have no central cooling, and a dimmer on the main room makes a small space more flexible. LED retrofits of old incandescent and fluorescent fixtures cut the lighting load, which matters in a building whose service is already crowded by electric heat. Bathrooms in older cottages often have one bare fixture over the mirror, and a damp-rated LED vanity light with a combination fan and light overhead makes the room far more usable in winter.

Kitchens in rental units benefit from under-cabinet LED strips on their own switch, and landscape lighting along a path or a small yard is a common request for homes that host guests. In the older parts of town, including the streets around Ocean Park, whose Temple and neighboring buildings form a National Register district, owners of historic houses often want exterior fixtures that suit the building rather than the hardware aisle. Smart switches and scheduled controls let an absentee owner vary lights from a phone. Goodnow Electric installs recessed, under-cabinet, outdoor, security and landscape lighting, fans, dimmers and controls, with a free written estimate.