Short answer: frost on a light fixture is not a problem by itself. What causes trouble is the freeze and thaw underneath: soil that heaves and tilts fixtures, water that gets past a weak seal and thin materials that crack or corrode. Check the aim and seals after a hard freeze. Our minimum service call is $95.
What winter does in North Atlanta
Georgia winters are a mix of mild days and hard freezes. The NWS Peachtree City average first freeze for Atlanta is Nov 13, and for Athens, closer to northeast Gwinnett, Nov 7. After that, a cold night can follow a warm, wet day. Water in soil freezes, expands and pushes. When it thaws, the soil sinks back. Red clay does this more than sandy soil.
Fixtures are staked into that soil. Each cycle can lift a stake a little, tilt it or leave a gap. Over a winter, a fixture that was straight in October can lean by February.
Where the damage comes from
| Problem | What happens | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Soil heave | Stakes lift or tilt | Leaning fixtures, beams off target |
| Failed seal | Moisture gets in, freezes and cracks | Fogged lens, water inside |
| Cheap plastic | Becomes brittle, cracks | Split housing |
| Thin metal | Corrodes with moisture and salt | Rust, flaking finish |
| Exposed wire | Surface wire gets cut or frozen in place | Wire on the ground |
| Wet connection | Water at a splice causes shorts | Flicker, dark sections |
What frost and ice do not do
A coating of frost on a lens does not break the fixture. LED light fixtures work in the cold, and ice on a lens melts with the morning sun. You do not need to scrape it off, and you should not chip ice off glass. It can crack the lens.
After a hard freeze
- Wait for the thaw. Do not handle frozen fixtures.
- Walk the yard in daylight and look for leaning or lifted fixtures.
- Walk it again at dusk and look for dark or flickering lights.
- Look for fogged lenses or water behind glass.
- Check the transformer for moisture and trips.
- Reset what leans, pressing the soil firmly around the stake.
- Mark whatever is cracked or full of water for replacement.
Which fixtures hold up
Plain thin shells struggle with a cold, wet clay yard. Brass is heavier, resists corrosion and does not go brittle. We offer lifetime-brass fixture options, and they make sense in the wettest, coldest spots. See our lighting page for the options. LED lamps do not mind the cold. It is the housing and seals that decide how long a fixture lasts.
Sprinklers and freezes
If you have an irrigation system, the same freezes matter for the sprinkler side, especially exposed backflow assemblies and pipes. Winterization is $95–$120 and protects those parts. See our winterization page.
What it costs
Our minimum service call is $95. New fixtures start from $195 each. Anything beyond that is quoted before work begins, and the estimate is free.
What a good installer does differently
Much of what winter does to a fixture is decided on the day it goes in. A stake pressed deep into firm soil resists heave better than one pushed in a few inches. A fixture set slightly proud of the mulch drains instead of sitting in a puddle. Connections that are sealed at the splice, not wrapped and forgotten, stay dry through a wet January. When we install or reset a fixture, we think about where water will go in a cold, wet week, because in Georgia clay it goes wherever it can.
When to call us
Call when fixtures are full of water, a section is dark after a freeze or fixtures keep leaning no matter how often you reset them. We offer same-day service, answer day and night and are family-owned, licensed and insured. See our landscape lighting design page.
FAQ
Can ice damage landscape lights? Ice on a lens is usually harmless. Soil heave and failed seals do more harm.
Should I scrape frost off my fixtures? No. It melts on its own, and scraping can crack the lens.
Do landscape lights work in freezing weather? Yes. LED lamps handle the cold well.
When is the first freeze in Atlanta? The NWS Peachtree City average is Nov 13 for Atlanta and Nov 7 for Athens.
Prices from our price list. Updated October 2026. First-freeze dates: NWS Peachtree City.