Outdoor Lighting Buying Guide
No matter the purpose, outdoor lighting can change the mood and atmosphere of your garden and outside spaces. Additionally, outdoor lighting is essential to ensure your property is safe and ensures you can enjoy your garden and outside spaces to the fullest.
The Different Types of Outdoor Lighting
Outdoor lights are available in a huge array of styles, shapes and sizes, as well as have the option to be paired with several different accessories to add additional functionality.
The different types of outdoor lighting include:
Wall Lights
Often used to enhance the exterior of a property or garden; wall lights offer a multi-purpose light that it perfect for many situations and is available in both modern and traditional styles. Additionally, many wall lights are fitted with a passive infrared sensor (PIR) to automatically activate the light when motion is detected within a certain range, making it an efficient lighting option as it’s only activated when it’s required.
Pendant Lights
Pendant lights are perfect for hanging under a fixed and sturdy overhead structure, such as a roof canopy, veranda, porch or pergola. When hung directly from an outside structure, pendant lights can offer a great source of lighting and should be sufficient enough to light a decking area or outside dining area.
Flush Lights
Flush garden lights or spotlights provide a concentrated narrow beam of light onto a specific area. This type of light is great for illuminating and highlighting an object such as a water feature or garden ornament.
Bollard, Pedestal & Post Lights
Bollard, pedestal and post lights are great for improving ease of navigate at night and are most often found installed on paths, driveways and property entrances. However, they are also great at creating ambiance on driveways, walkways and paths.
Outdoor Lighting for Entertaining
When entertaining through the summer months, there is nothing more joyful then carrying on your gathering into the warm summer evening. And with the help of outdoor lighting this has never been easier. Outdoor lights allow you to not only illuminate paths and walkways to help improve safety, they also help to create a great atmosphere.
Outdoor Lighting for Security
If you’re looking for outdoor lighting to help improve your properties security, then outdoor security lighting with a PIR (passive infrared) sensor is a great option. The PIR sensor will trigger the lights when motion is detected within a certain range. The triggering of the light will work to stop intruders in their tracks and prevents the need to have the light permanently switched on.
PIR activated lights also work well for property entrances, working as a practical measure to help locate belongings and to help provide a clear view of the property entrance.
Light Bulbs for Outdoor Lights
When it comes to light bulbs for your outdoor and garden lights, in most cases both LED light bulbs and conventional light bulbs can be used.
LED light bulbs work as semi-conductors protected in a plastic casing and offer a greater brightness compared to traditional light bulbs as well as requiring less energy to run. LEDs were originally only offered in blue and bright white, however, there is now LED colours and brightness’s to suit every possible preference.
When choosing your outdoor lights lightbulbs, it’s important to make note of the lumens, as opposed to the watts. Lumens are used to measure the actual brightness which a light is capable of producing. Whereas watts measure the amount of electricity a light consumes.
As a general rule of thumb, 100 lumens are appropriate for standard pathway lights, lamp posts are often around 120-180 lumens and high security floodlights can go up to 1300 lumens, depending on the area which is being lit.
Another consideration is whether to use traditional incandescent and halogen lights or modern LED lights. The main advantage to LED light bulbs is that they will last significantly longer than traditional lightbulbs. However, traditional lightbulbs can be slightly cheaper in price.
Choosing the Best Outdoor Lighting for your Outdoor Space
When it comes to the outside of your home, outdoor lights are a great inexpensive item that can really transform any outdoor area. However, choosing the most suitable outdoor lighting for your outside spaces can be a tough decision. Ultimately your decision will depend on what you’re trying to light up and where you would like the lighting fixture installed. For example, if you’re looking to illuminate a garden path then bollard, pedestal and post lights are the best option, as they create an easy to follow light that allows you to effortlessly navigate the path.
Outdoor Lighting Standards
Outdoor lighting should be both practical and aesthetically pleasing, as well as meeting certain requirements established by BS and CE standards, in addition to having an appropriate IP (Ingress Protection) rating.
A Quick Guide to IP Rating
An IP rating is followed by two digits; the first number indicates the level of protection against ingress from solid objects and the second indicates the level of protection against water.
All outdoor lighting should be rated to at least IP 23 to ensure an adequate level of protection. However, ideally outdoor lighting should be rated to IP 65 or higher as this will provide complete protection against dust and resistance to wate pressure from multiple directions.
If installing outdoor lighting in shallow water, up to 1m deep, then a rating of IPX7 is recommended. And if installing lights more than 1m deep, such as in ponds and swimming pools, a rating of IPX8 is best.
How to Install Your New Outdoor Lighting
It’s always a good idea when working with electrics to employee a registered and reputable electrician. A professional electrician will be able to install your outdoor and garden lighting safely, as well as in accordance with building regulations.
Buy Outdoor Lighting at the Outdoor & Garden Lighting Centre
Outdoor lights are a great multi-purpose item for any outdoor space as they beautifully combine practicality with visual appeal, ensuring your outside area looks attractive as well creating a well-lit, safe space.
Here at the Outdoor and Garden Lighting Centre we offer a great range of outdoor lights from great lighting brands including Searchlight Lighting, Elstead Lighting, Endon Lighting, Saxby Lighting and more.
Browse our complete collection of outside lighting at the Outdoor and Garden Lighting Centre today.