Lighting Services in Portland, Maine

Plaster and lath sit above most older Portland rooms, and that shapes every lighting plan. Thin LED wafer fixtures need very little depth above the ceiling, which spares joists and plaster that a traditional recessed can would force someone to cut, and wiring can often be fished through closets and attic floors instead of opened walls. Heavy chandeliers and ceiling fans need a box rated to hold them, and the original boxes in century-old ceilings frequently are not. Dimmers matched to LED loads avoid the flicker and buzz that come from pairing new lamps with old controls. Warm color temperatures near 2700K tend to suit period rooms, while task areas can take a cooler, brighter light.

Outside, the building sometimes has a say. In March 2009 the City Council designated much of inner Congress Street a local historic district, and Portland runs a formal historic preservation review with its own application, so a new wall light, a floodlight or a relocated meter on the face of a designated building is worth checking with the city before any fixture is bought. Near the harbor and on the islands, salt air shortens the life of ordinary hardware; fixtures listed for wet locations, with stainless or marine-grade fasteners and sealed connections, hold up far longer. Shielded fixtures that aim light down also keep a porch or path lit without glaring into the apartment next door, which counts for a lot on narrow city lots.

Multi-unit buildings benefit most from LED retrofits because hallway and stair lights often run all night on the house meter. Swapping old fixtures for LED and adding occupancy sensors trims that bill while keeping exit paths lit. Under-cabinet strips brighten small galley kitchens, and motion-activated lights make shared driveways and back stairs safer. Goodnow Electric installs recessed and under-cabinet lighting, LED conversions, ceiling fans, exterior security and landscape lighting, and dimmer and control systems, with new fixtures and circuits permitted through the city. Replacing a fixture on an existing box is simpler work than adding one where no wiring runs, so separating the two keeps an estimate honest.