Select a language
Outdoor lighting, as the name implies, is designed to be used outdoors or outside of a building or outdoors. Since they are exposed to elements day and night, outdoor lights must be weather resistant and durable. Outdoor lighting, especially outdoor motion sensor lights, can also improve safety.
There are several major types of outdoor light fixtures, designed mainly around how they are mounted to surfaces. These weather-resistant light fixtures light the outside of your house itself, emphasizing architectural detail and lighting entryways and driveways.
Outdoor light fixtures include outdoor wall lights, outdoor post lights and outdoor hanging lights or ceiling-mounted lights. Free-standing outdoor lamps and outdoor string lights are also available to make your outdoor lighting more entertaining.
A popular form of outdoor lighting is to place a light like outdoor lights on the exterior walls of your home. Ideally, you place outdoor lights in main areas where you can move or operate at night, such as porch lamps or garage lighting.
The exterior wall lamps can be mounted next to a porch, in front of a garage, a side door or on a rear wall depending on how you enter and move into the building. You’ll want enough lighting near any road you need to navigate safely in the dark.
Porch lights are mounted usually either side or at least one side of your main front entrance. These outdoor wall lights are designed to spread light in a local area, outwards and downwards.
Outdoor porch lights or outdoor wall sconces should be mounted near to shoulder height. This will provide a downward light to help you with your keys etc while keeping direct glare out of your eyes.
Larger buildings, such as with a row of garages or a wider home, may need more than one outdoor light fixture to adequately light the area. Backyard lights can include flood lights, motion lights, wall lanterns, landscape lighting or outdoor post lights.
If your home or business has a porch or ceiling covering part of the outside area, or perhaps a covered patio, then outdoor hanging lights become an option. The outdoor lights can be attached to the underside of the ceiling.
The outdoor pole light are mounted so that the lantern is higher off the ground, so that some of its light will shine downwards onto the surrounding area. Lamp post lights are useful for lighting larger areas and generally should be positioned further from the main building.
