If you’re planning to add an open or enclosed metal carport to your property, be sure to do a little legwork before your Carport Empire professional installer arrives, especially when it comes to wiring. Although Carport Empire does not provide electrical wiring services, your new or existing structure can be wired for electricity and phone service. Your best bet is to talk with an electrical contractor or telephone service provider first, as your plans, as well as the locations of your existing underground utilities wiring (including not just electrical and phone, but gas lines too) may affect the placement and orientation of your new carport.

In planning your electrical wiring, a prime consideration is lighting. Wiring likely will come from the same wiring that powers and lights your home or existing attached garage, depending on how close your new detached carport is from your house. If your carport is small, one or two lighting fixtures may be adequate. A larger, double-bay or triple-bay metal carport, metal garage or metal building may require multiple fixtures to provide adequate lighting. And if you plan a corner workshop table, for instance, you’ll need to be sure that an electrical outlet for a plug-in lamp is nearby.

If your carport is enclosed, most any standard lighting fixture should work fine. Open carports, however are subject to moisture conditions, particularly in rainy, snowy or humid coastal climates. If your new carport will have an open or partially open configuration, you’ll need to install appropriate outdoor lighting fixtures that are resistant to moisture. Consider adding floodlights around the corners of your open carport, and pathway or driveway lighting in the ground leading up to your carport to help ward off vandals and thieves.

For open carports, solar-powered lighting costs more than electricity-powered lights initially, but will save you money on energy costs in the long run. A solar light with a motion sensor assures the light will come on only when someone is around, then automatically turn off after a period of non-movement. This avoids wasted energy and money when no one is around, plus helps to alert you if a unwanted prowler – whether a thief or a four-legged visitor such as a rascally raccoon looking for a free meal – has approached your carport.