Having a dock at your property can be a great experience; however, it comes with considerable risk. From boats running into your dock to people slipping into the water when it gets dark, a dock can prove to be a risky proposition if it is not illuminated by exterior lighting in Tampa.
What are Dock Lights?
Dock lights are lighting fixtures that provide illumination to the travel lines or docking areas for boats, which help maintain the safety of people on board. As an added benefit, installing lights on your dock can attract fish for any fishing enthusiast.
The Advantages of Installing Dock Lighting
1. Provides Illumination at Night
Installing lights along your dock allows any boat to have a clear view of the area and the dock. This is especially useful in the darkness when rain or fog reduces visibility.
Lights can be fixed pointing downwards without illuminating a large area. Using warehouse dock lights can be a brilliant choice as they provide the perfect amount of lighting as bright lights can be disruptive to boaters and neighbors.
2. Helps Boats Navigate Better in the Dark
One of the primary reasons dock lighting has become popular is that it assists in directing boat traffic when it gets dark. With the leap in LED lighting technology, you can illuminate your dock with different colored lights. Doing so can make your dock more visible in bad weather conditions.
3. Increase the aesthetics of your dock area
Installing mere exterior lights in Tampa can completely transform how your exterior looks. If you wish to make your dock look elegant and create a mesmerizing ambiance, you can opt for dock lighting. If you do not like the sight of dangling wires, you can always opt for solar lighting solutions that can fit seamlessly on your dock. These lights can emit a soft glow which is sufficient to illuminate an area without over-highlighting it.
4. Saves Your Energy Bill
Since the dawn of LED lighting solutions, dock lighting has become increasingly efficient. Most of the dock lighting solutions feature LEDs due to their sturdy construction and nature. Therefore, using LED dock lights can help you save money on energy bills while protecting the environment.
5. Helps Keep Your Dock Clean
You may be wondering how exactly installing dock lights help keep your dock clean? The answer is more straightforward than you think. Since dock lights illuminate a considerable area of your dock, it helps in keeping certain animals and birds away from your dock. Birds can be a nuisance to the cleanliness of your dock because they usually leave droppings and dirt, which can be challenging to clean. Furthermore, if your dock is poorly lit, it can be inaccessible during the dark, making it almost impossible to clean.
6. You Attract Baitfish
If you are keen on fishing and are enthusiastic about it, having dock lights installed can be a boon for you. Lights can help attract bait fish to your dock. Since blue and green lights travel faster, they can illuminate deeper parts of the water body under the dock, especially in salt water. This helps you see fishes in deeper waters.
Green lights are also known to promote the growth of zooplankton. Hence installing green lights on your dock can lead to an expansion of zooplankton growth under your dock, which is food for the fish. Hence, this ultimately leads to more fish around your dock. You can even install green LED dock lights under your dock for better results and more fulfilling fishing activities.
Types of Dock Lights
The most popular dock lighting fixtures are called bollards. These are short vertical posts that are used to mount lighting fixtures as well as mooring boats. Installing a light on these bollards means that the lights are below the eye level of any boats and are less distracting.
Most dock lighting fixtures are made from durable, water-repellent plastic that can resist mineral salts. Most Tampa lighting companies do not recommend metal dock lighting fixtures as they will be prone to rusting and corroding.
As a general rule, all your lighting fixtures need to be fully shielded to direct light downwards instead of creating glares in any boater’s eyes or your neighbor’s. Using a full-cut-off lighting fixture can help avoid any potential light pollution too.
Final Words
If you have a dock, installing dock lights is paramount, whether it is for aesthetic purposes or from a safety perspective. You can get them installed when you install your exterior lighting in Tampa, as they are both equally important.
