Choosing the right exterior wall lights for your home is essential and depending on the reason you’re fitting them will depend entirely on what type of light is best.
To this end we have put together the below information to help you ensure you choose the right outdoor lights for your needs.
Types of Outdoor Lighting
Your choice of outdoor lighting will depend on what you wish to light, for example do you need light to illuminate a potential burglar, or do you need occasional lighting when going through dark areas, such as to go to a shed at the end of the garden?
Below you will find a selection of the most common types of outdoor lighting and what each should be used for.
Welcome Lighting
A welcome light or courtesy light as it’s also known is generally placed above or near a main entrance door such as your front door.
If you have a visitor at night then the light can be turned on, both giving the visitor a sense of security, allowing them to see their surroundings and also allowing you to see and identify them, so you know exactly who’s calling.
The most popular type of welcome light is the four or six-sided lantern type or the glass down lantern. These can either be the standard wall-mounted light or a down lantern.
These sorts of lights can also be combined with a PIR sensor or Dusk Till Dawn sensor so they turn on and off automatically.
In terms of the type of bulbs that are used, traditionally these would have been incandescent bulbs but more likely today would be a much more efficient and energy saving LED bulb.
Mood Lighting
Mood lighting is ideal for use in and around pathways outdoor communal areas such as patios, barbeque areas, seating areas, hot tub and the similar.
As the name suggests, mood lighting is best used to create a “mood” or ambiance that’s both relaxing and suitable enough to see everything you need to.
Another great use for mood lighting is to illuminate features in your garden such as plants, trees or even ponds.
Mood lighting is available in a huge range of different styles and types including those with coloured bulbs.
Floodlighting / Security Lighting
One of the number one reasons for fitting exterior lights is for security and arguably some of the most popular types of exterior lights are security lights or flood lights.
Again, security lighting is available in a massive range of types, styles and power outputs, depending on how much needs to be lit up.
One of the most popular lights of this type is the PIR floodlight. This has a passive infra-red (PIR) switch, that when it detects movement turns the light on. This type of light is ideal for illuminating large areas that might otherwise be very dark and provide ideal cover for any wannabe burglars!
Exterior lighting can also often feature a Dusk to Dawn Sensor, which is a variation of the PIR. As the name suggests it operates from dusk until dawn, allowing the light to potentially turn on at dusk and then turn off at dawn.
Once installed, they require very little maintenance, save for changing the bulb when required, but again if LED’s are used in place of the more traditional halogen, which cost a fortune to run, then it should last for years.
Traditional Outdoor Lighting
Traditional outdoor lights are generally considered to be the more antique-looking four or six-sided lantern or the glass down lantern types.
These are either fixed to a wall and point upwards or are fixed higher and then hang down. They are normally painted in matt black to create the desired antique look.
Contemporary Lighting
Whereas traditional exterior lights tend to mimic more antique styles, modern or contemporary lights are effectively the opposite and reflect the most modern and innovative styles.
Due to this they generally suit the more modern type of property, however, as they come in such a huge range of styles and types e.g. bollards, welcome lights, security lights etc. there’s normally something to suit any property-type, regardless of the age or particular period styling.
Accent Lighting
Accent lighting is generally used to focus light on to a particular area or object. Although most commonly used in doors to light up alcoves or illuminate particular objects such as paintings, such lights can also be used to great effect outdoors.
They can be used to line a particular route e.g. along a wall that butts up to a pathway or they can also be used to light up feature objects such as pond fountains, trees and large shrubs.
Bollard Lighting
Although bollard lights are more of an industrial and commercial thing, mostly seen in car parks, retail parks and lining the walkways of office complexes they can also be used to great effect in a domestic setting for lining pathways through a garden, around a patio area, marking gateways or numerous other applications.
When used in a commercial situation, bollard lights are almost always mains powered (almost always with LED bulbs), however in recent years they are now also available as solar powered with LED bulbs.
Again, they are available in a huge range of sizes, types and styles, with something suitable for almost all tastes.
Solar Lighting
Exterior solar lighting is exactly what it sounds, it’s pretty much all of the above types and styles of exterior lighting, only instead of being mains powered, it has an in-built solar panel that charges a set of rechargeable batteries during the day and keeps the light running through the night.
To save on unnecessarily wasted battery power, these lights are often fitted with a PIR/dusk to dawn sensor that turns them on and off dependent of any movement and/or light conditions.
One of the main reasons for their explosion in popularity in recent years is the fact that as they don’t need to be wired to the mains, anyone can install them quickly and easily. Additionally as they don’t use mains electric they are free to run, saving you on your electric bills.
How Powerful Should Exterior Lights be?
How powerful your exterior light needs to be will very much depend on the area that you need to light up. If it’s a large garden expanse with darker shaded areas then a LED floodlight somewhere between 100W and 200W should do the job.
However, if the lighting requirements aren’t quite so much then LED bulbs between 4 and 11 Watt should suffice (that’s 30 Watt to around 80 Watt for incandescent and halogen bulbs).
One thing to also think about if you are thinking of installing super bright lighting is where it points to. If it’s just lighting your outdoor space then this is fine, however if it’s encroaching on to a neighbours space or even worse shining through their windows then you are sure to get some complaints and rightly so!
What are PIR Sensors?
As we have commented, many exterior lights today come with their own integrated PIR switching sensor (passive infra-red) that when triggered, will automatically switch on the unit when it detects any kind of motion.
Some PIR sensors can be adjusted with day/night setting, angle of detection and a timer delay or overrun, which will switch the light off after a set amount of time, to avoid nuisance and also to conserve energy, as you don’t want it coming on every time a car goes past.
This type of system is normally referred to as dusk-to-dawn lighting. It works by detecting the amount of available light which then determines whether to turn the light on or not.
Should Outdoor Lights be Warm or White?
It is widely though that warm white colours around the 2700k mark are the most suitable for lighting outdoor spaces as the light they emit tends to feel much more comforting and relaxing, where as the cooler colours don’t so much.
Despite this, cooler white colours can be used to great effect when lighting up vegetation such as trees, plants and flowers etc.
Typically this question has only recent risen due to the fact that many lights now use LED bulbs, whereas traditionally halogen would be used and they tend to give off a warm white light by default.
Where Should Exterior Lights be Installed?
When considering where to install any exterior wall lights, try to position them to make the best use of their lighting abilities, angle of projection and also the detection area of any sensors, so that you illuminate as much of the area your are trying to cover as possible and ensure it’s triggered if anyone approaches.
It is important not only to select the right type of fitting to achieve the effect(s) required, but most importantly that your lighting will operate safely. All lights need to be positioned carefully so that you do not look directly at them. This can be very dangerous to the eyes.
When being used to light a seating or relaxing area, consider exactly where you intend people to sit or stand and make sure that any glare can be avoided.
Also, as we have stated above, pay particular attention to those living in neighbouring properties as they will not be happy if your light shines into their home!
How are Exterior Wall Lights Powered?
There are 2 different ways to power external wall lights. They can either be plumbed into the mains electric of your home, with a feed taken from a nearby existing light or circuit or they can have an integrated solar panel which keeps a set of rechargeable batteries toped up that power the lights.
As mentioned, when mains powered, they can often be supplied by an existing hall light, from the switch, where a cable is then run through the wall to the back of the light fitting itself. Following the manufacturer’s instructions, a simple terminal block is provided with these fittings.
When it comes to the actual connections, there are 2 types; the 2 wire connection for the plastic casings and double insulated types and with the additional earth wire required where the unit is made from metal.
See our project: Wiring an Exterior Wall Light for more details on how the wiring is performed and if in any doubt, consult a qualified electrician before proceeding.
All electrical work must conform to the current IEE Wiring Regulations: BS 7671 and Part P of the Building Regulations 18th edition. The works will also need to be tested, signed off and a minor works certificate issued on completion.
When using traditional incandescent and halogen lighting, bulbs and transformers can become very hot during use, so it is important to make sure they are not placed near any combustible surfaces and never use a more powerful bulb than the size recommended by the manufacturer and shown on the packaging or instructions for installation provided with the fitting.
In almost all cases when it comes to the actual cable used, you should run cable of the steel wired armoured (SWA) type to exterior lights, with connecting glands. Please refer to our project on installing an outdoor socket for further details.
However, the cable need only be the 1.0mm2 type, with an approximate exterior diameter of 11mm, 2 core, where the wires protecting the inner cable can be used as the earth connection.
When using particularly powerful lights or installing quite a few, they should ideally be powered from their own separate RCD in your consumer unit.
As stated above, depending on the power rating of the light, you could connect the exterior light to the lighting ring with a 5 amp fuse or 6 amp breaker (MCB). For higher wattage flood lights, e.g. 500W halogen or the equivalent in LED, it is probably best to connect the cable run to draw power from one of the ring main circuits, so as not to overload the lighting circuit(s).
For full instructions on how to fix the light unit to the exterior wall, see our fixing to masonry project for more help.
Regulations for Exterior Wall Lights
All wiring and electrical work should be undertaken by a registered Part P electrician with the necessary knowledge and equipment to fully test everything once it’s installed. If it isn’t then this could invalidate your home insurance.
Any fittings that are used must be suitable for outdoor use and have been tested to the European Standard for light fittings, BS EN 60598 and also have a CE mark.
All exterior light fittings should have a minimum IP rating of 44 (which means spray or rain proof) or higher, depending on where they are to be sighted.
Bear in mind that all outdoor lighting fittings will require a degree of maintenance, so select the materials your fitting is made from with this in mind.
For example if your property is near the sea and corrosion could occur, choose a marine grade stainless steel or plastic construction to avoid this possibility and always check the care instructions provided by the manufacturer and keep them for future reference.
Choosing exterior wall lights for your home can be a real task as there are so many to choose from. You should always opt for those that illuminate your chosen area sufficiently and don’t cost the earth to run.