Outdoor lighting around the home can serve many purposes.
It provides safety and security to the property, and the occupants. It can make the front garden more aesthetically pleasing, and lighting within the rear garden can increase outdoor activities throughout the year.
The development of long-life, high efficiency LED lighting, has created opportunities for better outdoor lighting. LED floodlights, dusk to dawn lighting, and motion sensor spot lights can all help outside the house.
LED lighting has several benefits over incandescent lighting. The greatest feature is their longevity, most of these lights will last for between 30,000 and 50,000 hours. These bulbs do not generate heat, providing greater efficiency.
LED Floodlighting
Flood lighting has been used to make commercial premises less appealing to burglars. With the development of super bright, high efficiency LED lighting, keeping a domestic property lit is more affordable. When a household property is brightly aglow, it will be less appealing to potential burglars.
Floodlights can be mounted in several locations around a property. Usually they are fixed to the outside walls of the dwelling. But can be post mounted, usually at height, looking back towards the house. Floodlights, can also be fixed at ground level, often highlighting an architectural feature within the property.
These types of lights are often fitted with light level sensors, switching them on at night. Most have a manual setting, to allow them to glow constantly. LED floodlights, come in a variety of lumen settings, using more energy as they get brighter. High demand lights are usually wired to the household power. Lights with sensors or lower wattages can be solar powered.
Dusk to Dawn Lighting
As the name implies, these lights glow throughout the night. They can be used for numerous purposes, surrounding the house. They are often used to mark driveways and pathways. They provide outdoor lighting on decking, in pergolas, surrounding pools and spas, and on balconies. They are sometimes used as up- or downlights on the walls of buildings, as an architectural feature, or to light a doorway.
These lights are usually low powered, and are fitted with light sensors, so that they only glow between dusk and dawn. Because of this low power demand, they are ideally suited to solar power. In those minor circumstances where a brighter light is required, mains connected LED lights can be fitted.
Motion Sensor Spot and Flood Lighting
When lights are used for incidental security, LED spot lights are combined with motion sensors. This configuration combines the effectiveness of super bright LED lights, with the efficiency of dusk to dawn lighting. Motion sensors, when set correctly, will detect a person moving within its proximity, and will light up for a prescribed period.
When incorrectly set, light pollution problems may be caused by passing local wildlife such as squirrels and foxes, so be careful to set your lighting correctly to keep the neighbours on side.