Outdoor wall lights do not have an easy life!
Rain and hail pound against the housing, in summer the sun bears down and in winter they need to withstand temperatures of minus ten and below. And, if we are not talking about solar lights, which love the glaring sunshine more than anything else, the lights have to deal with all kinds of environmental conditions.
With...
Correct usage,
Regular cleaning,
A suitable location
The right IP code
...you can even increase the service life of your outdoor light.
But it is the material from which the light is made that determines its durability. And it doesn’t matter who you ask, everyone agrees: stainless steel wall lights are a great choice.
Let us begin with a fact: wall lights with polycarbonate or glass lampshades can also be of an exceptionally high quality and can offer a long service life. As long as you don’t buy cheap products you can generally look forward to many years of pleasure from your outdoor lights. Stainless steel lights do, however, offer many benefits and are extremely attractive to the majority of consumers as a result:
Stainless steel looks great – everywhere and at all times
Stainless steel is resistant to corrosion
Stainless steel is strong
Stainless steel is resistant to changes in temperature
Stainless steel is low-maintenance
But stainless steel does not represent a seal of quality by itself. Stainless steel comes in various grades.
The best strategy is to buy high-quality products. Branded products from STEINEL or PHILIPS make a great choice.
Whether for a garage entrance, a house entrance or a narrow alleyway: stainless steel outdoor wall lights can be used in a whole host of places. As such, they come with a wide range of different features. Here are some key aspects to take into account to make your choice easier:
Without doubt the best lighting solution. Compared to traditional light bulbs, they save up to 90 % energy; they are switch-resistant, and they offer up to 50,000 hours of service. As such, they are the best choice for most (if not all) uses outdoors.
A sensible choice whenever the lighting is being used for practical purposes. Motion detectors offer economical lighting. In other words, the light only shines when you need it to. As a result, they save energy and protect the bulbs.
Do not opt for compact fluorescent lamps in this case, however. They require a warm-up period to reach maximum brightness. As such, they are not suitable for lights that need to shine immediately as and when required! By contrast, LEDs shine at 100 % brightness immediately (just like traditional light bulbs and halogen lamps). Thus, they are equally suited to illuminating house entrances and protection against intruders.
A light that shines both upwards and downwards can also be used for decorative purposes. It is important to remember that reflective surfaces do not have much impact outdoors. As a result, if the light shines upwards onto the wall of the building, it may look fantastic, but it won’t light up the adjacent path.
Use stainless steel wall lights with a two-sided light output to enhance the look of your external wall. You should also avoid motion detectors in this case. After all, the external wall will look its best when the light shines all the time. Luckily, LED lighting technology also helps you to save electricity.
Stainless steel wall lights need a mains connection on the external wall, unless they are solar-powered. You should, ideally, hire an electrician to install the light. Your parcel from Lights.ie will include assembly instructions for your specific light.
However, it is possible to work out where best to place the wall light prior to installation. This also includes how high the wall light should be installed. We cannot provide any specific figures here as every property is different (as are the people who enter them), but we can provide a few basic guidelines:
This is the most important tip when it comes to installing them – be it indoors or outside. If the wall light at the house entrance dazzles you so much as you approach the door that you have to look away, it is not fulfilling its purpose. If you cannot see your surroundings properly (because you are being dazzled by light), you can easily trip, miss steps or walk into a plant pot.
To avoid this, install the light around 5 cm above eye level, in other words higher than 1.70 m to 1.80 m. Of course, it also depends on the light emitted (whether it shines towards you) or whether it has a diffuser to prevent glare, made of polycarbonate, for example.
Wall lights shouldn’t be obstacles in your path
Needless to say, there shouldn’t be a risk of catching your woollen jumper on a corner of the light housing and it shouldn’t be possible to hit it with bags full of shopping either. Even if this wouldn’t cause you any harm, it could damage the light. Both can be avoided. The easiest way is to install the lights higher up.
Protruding lights can restrict already limited space in narrow alleys for example. In this case, it is worth opting for a light with a lower protrusion or depth.
Lights.co.uk provides the depth information for each product within the product details.
Do you need to talk to someone about lights for your property or do you want some advice? Simply call our team of experts on 020 3514 3658 or use our contact form. We look forward to helping you to illuminate your property efficiently and impressively with our products!
The strike-through prices correspond to the manufacturer's RRP.
All prices include 20% VAT, delivery costs excluded.