Exterior lighting fixtures have one important job: to illuminate your home. But as you well know, exterior lights can do so much more. They can add an extra layer of safety and security to your home and help take some weight off the shoulders of your electric bill. And if you pick the right light fixtures, they can even accentuate and complement the architectural style of your home. As a result, we’ve created a guide to types of outdoor light fixtures and what they’re used for so that when it comes time for you to find new outdoor lighting, you’ll know exactly what’s out there!
Outdoor Wall Lights
Outdoor wall lights are a type of outdoor lighting that can be mounted on the exterior walls of your home. They’re often used to maximize space and add additional light sources to areas that may not be accessible by other fixtures, such as walkways and gardens.
Wall lights provide an excellent way to brighten up your outdoor spaces in many ways:
- They can illuminate paths or steps leading up to your front door. These can be especially important if you want guests to find their way easily at night or if parking is not a problem in your neighborhood. For this reason, they’re often used on decks and patios, especially if there’s no natural light source nearby (such as street lamps or house lights).
- If you have a garden with lots of flowers and plants growing out there, wall lights might come in handy here too! You could even use them outside windowsills where potted plants live so that they stay nice looking all year long without having any direct sunlight exposure.
Outdoor Post Lights
Outdoor post lights are used to illuminate the exterior of a house. The most common place to put them is on the front porch, but they can also be used to light up walkways and driveways, gardens, or any other area where there’s no overhead light source.
Post lights are typically installed right onto the posts that hold up your roof (if you have one) or on top of fences or walls. You can buy fully assembled post lights in stores or assemble them yourself from kits—either way; it will work just fine!
Suppose you have an older home without much natural light coming in through windows in the winter months because there aren’t many trees nearby blocking out sun rays. Then consider adding some more lighting options throughout your property so that everyone feels safe walking around outside after dark without having any trouble navigating their way through hazardous terrain.
Outdoor Ceiling Lights
Ceiling lights are generally used to illuminate a large area, such as a living room or kitchen. They’re often used to light walkways or driveways outside of your home, so choose fixtures that look great and provide ample illumination with minimal glare.
Ceiling lights are also a good choice if you want to light an outdoor living space like a patio or deck. You can easily install one above your dining table and use it for nighttime entertaining outdoors—or even just relaxing in the evening after work!
Outdoor Hanging Lights
Outdoor hanging lights are an excellent way to light a garden, deck or patio, walkway or driveway, pool, etc. They are typically installed on structures such as trees or walls, and the lamps themselves hang from wires that lead back to an electrical source like an outlet in your home. These lamps can be made from various materials, including metal and plastic.
You may want to install these types of fixtures if you have a lot of shaded areas on your property where there is not much natural light coming through the trees. Hanging lights give off plenty of illumination for people walking through these areas at night, so they can see where they’re going without tripping over any objects lying around on the ground.*
Outdoor Ceiling Fans
Another way to add light and keep cool is with an outdoor ceiling fan. Outdoor ceiling fans are especially effective in areas where it is hot or humid, as they create a cooling breeze from above. This can help lower your energy bill and keep you comfortable during high temperatures.
A good rule of thumb is that if your home has a high ceiling (at least 9 feet), installing an outdoor ceiling fan is a good idea for light at night or in the evening when you don’t mind not seeing what’s going on around you.
The great thing about these fixtures is how easy they are to install—you place them at the top of your home’s ceiling and screw them on! Do-it-yourselfers may need to ask for help installation one if they are unable to do it themselves, but for the most part, there aren’t many parts involved. All told, installation shouldn’t take longer than 30 minutes at most, which means less time spent worrying about getting everything done right away versus just relaxing after work each day instead.
Exterior lighting fixtures are more than just a way to light your home; they can add curb appeal!
Exterior lighting fixtures are more than just a way to light your home; they can add curb appeal!
- Lighting can make your home more inviting. Overcoming darkness is one of the main reasons people choose to install exterior lights on their homes. You want potential buyers visiting at night to feel safe and comfortable enough to walk around without worrying about tripping or falling.
- Lighting can make your home more secure. Security lights help deter crime by making it easier for neighbors to see what’s going on outside their homes and providing extra security during the day when you’re not home by making it clear that no one has been around recently. If someone happens upon an unsecured door or window in broad daylight with no other signs of activity (such as lights), they may assume someone else has already come through, so there’s nothing worth stealing from this house!
Conclusion
You’re ready to shop now that you know the different types of exterior light fixtures and their uses!
