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Choosing outdoor lighting isn't always easy. Bollards, wall lights, spotlights... To make the right choice, many criteria need to be taken into account, and nothing should be left to chance in terms of wattage, shape, luminosity, or how it matches the style of your home.
But outdoor lighting also has several functions. Both useful and practical for providing a spot of light, it is also used for decorative purposes and as a deterrent to criminals.
So how do you choose the right outdoor lighting? What criteria should you take into account when illuminating a terrace, marking out a path or lighting up a flower bed? Here's our buying guide to help you make sense of it all.
How do you secure the exterior of your home?
Above all, outdoor lighting must be functional, discreet and efficient. It must be easy to move around thanks to high-quality signage, while offering ideal visibility to thwart any burglary attempt.
Beaconing
To mark out a garden path, a driveway, or a path leading to the front door, lighting must above all be functional. It must facilitate access, without turning your path into a "runway". That's why you should opt for medium-power lighting. And to place your beacons ideally, we recommend a distance of about 3 to 4 meters between each element.
As far as solutions are concerned, you can opt for small, medium-power 230V spotlights (100 lumens is more than sufficient). Overly powerful lighting could have the opposite effect, dazzling people rather than guiding them.
And don't forget that if you're driving down a driveway, there's a good chance your car will drive over the installed lighting. It's therefore essential to choose drive-over spotlight models, such as those in the Lumihome range, which can withstand up to a ton of pressure.
If you need to mark out a limited distance, don't hesitate to opt for solar LED spotlight kits. They're easy to install and eliminate the need for ducting. Lumihome kits are ideal for this purpose. "As powerful as 230V, our new solar kit also boasts excellent autonomy. At Lumihome, this is one of our proudest achievements," explains Christophe Coelho, President of the French brand. We've succeeded in creating a technology that's as powerful as it is easy to use".
Finally, if you already have 230V wiring installed, the Lumihome range also includes 230V LED bollards. The Pyramide model (also available in a solar version) is particularly well suited to beaconing, thanks to its limited height of 40 cm.
Safety
To ensure the safety of your home and deter intruders, we recommend more powerful lighting (minimum 300 lumens).
LED wall lights are ideal for illuminating the front door, the garage or around the house. Thanks to their diffused light, they are ideal for illuminating sensitive areas. Not to mention their practicality, making it easier to find keys and open the door!
Many sconce models are also equipped with a motion detector, which switches on or increases the intensity of the light as soon as a presence is detected.
And if you don't want to do any work, solar wall lights are the solution. For this, you can rely on Lumihome technology and the models in its solar range, which provide standby lighting for up to 8 hours, effectively preventing any risk of intrusion. Our new solar range has evolved considerably in terms of autonomy," explains Christophe Coelho. The new-generation batteries ensure effective lighting throughout the night".
Choosing the right lighting for an elegant decorative touch
Outdoor lighting also has a decorative function, enhancing trees, flowerbeds, swimming pools, terraces and much more, provided you make the right choice.
For this, the quality of the light is essential. Beware of cheap lighting with pale hues that differ from one outdoor bollard to another. For a pleasant, uniform look, it's best to choose a quality lighting solution.
Enhancing plant features such as trees, flowerbeds and low walls
To highlight this type of element, Catherine Rochetaux, manager at Lumihome, recommends LED spotlights. "The idea is to illuminate a specific area with a powerful, targeted solution that highlights the plant element. And for this, the spotlight is ideal! ". Easy to install, the LED spotlight is planted directly in a bed and connected to the 230V mains supply. Its luminous flux is highly directing for precise lighting, and it's also discreet enough to go unnoticed during the day.
Illuminating an exterior wall: using direct-fix LED wall lights
Each type of lighting has its own function, and to illuminate an exterior wall, there's nothing like LED wall lights. They can be fixed directly to the wall, and depending on the model, can even create a graphic effect, as in the case of double-flux LED wall lights.
Once again, the choice is yours, as you can also opt for solar-powered wall lamps, which, thanks to Lumihome technology, will provide light as powerful as 230 V.
Lighting a terrace
"To enjoy an evening outdoors, dining and chatting with friends, it's important to choose the right size and wattage for your lighting," says Christophe Coelho. To do this, it's essential to know the approximate dimensions of your terrace". Indeed, the aim is not to have too much intensity, which could dazzle and become unpleasant. That's why it's important to avoid overloading the terrace with lighting.
To give you an idea, if your terrace is relatively small (less than 20 square meters), opt for a wattage of around 100 lumens and discreet, elegant accent lighting.
For larger terraces, you can install lighting with more than 500 lumens, multiplying the light points to distribute the light ideally. Lumihome offers high-power recessed LED spotlights, specially designed to light large terraces. Their 60 LEDs diffuse a powerful yet balanced luminous flux (630 lumens).
To light your terrace, you can also opt for solar or 230V LED bollards from the Lumihome range. Easy to install, they bring light up to the surface and elegantly define the contours of the area.
Last but not least, Lumihome also offers terrace terminals with integrated USB plugs, ideal in summer for recharging your phone or plugging in a connected speaker.
Choosing the right color
To create the desired effect, it's important to choose the right shade for your lighting. To help you, consider the following :
- Cold light, around 6,500 K, has a bluish appearance.
- The soft light, around 4,000 K, has a neutral white appearance. It's the shade closest to daylight. It's also the light most often used outdoors, as it provides a very white, modern luminosity.
- Warm light, at around 2,700 K, is mainly used to create a cocooning atmosphere.
Our advice: opt for warm white or neutral lighting, especially if it's intended to illuminate your terrace.
What is the protection factor?
Your luminaire will be placed outdoors, sometimes sheltered from the rain, but not always. That's why you need to check the protection rating of your outdoor lamp.
Look for the letters "IP" on the packaging. One indicates protection against solids, the other against liquids. The higher the number, the more waterproof the lighting solution.
We advise you to opt for an IP equal to or greater than 44, especially if your lighting is not sheltered.
Highlight your garden in broad daylight
Outdoor lighting also has a decorative function. Indeed, the light it gives off produces an effect that flatters the eye as soon as night falls. But outdoor lighting has to look as good off as it does on! That's why the design of your bollards, the look of your spotlights and the shape of your wall lights are so important.
Lighting solutions need to blend in perfectly with your exteriors, and match the style of your home.
If you want to give structure to your garden, you need to add vertical lines. The choice of shape and type of spotlights and outdoor bollards should therefore be made with this in mind.
If your home is contemporary, it's best to keep it simple and choose clean, linear shapes for your outdoor lighting. For your facade, opt for discretion and wall lights in the same color as the facade: a gray wall light on a concrete wall, or an ochre or black lamp for a brick wall, will look great.
Finally, when it comes to lighting color, we recommend warm white for classic facades, and cool white for modern architecture or rubble stone facades. Indeed, this shade will bring out the blue of the stone brilliantly.
Choosing the right outdoor lighting is no easy task. However, by applying these tips, you should be able to create a harmonious ensemble that matches both the style of your home and your expectations.
