Installing garden lighting for the summer
Tuesday 07 June 2022
Installing atmospheric garden lighting for the summer in your garden? The warm summer evenings are approaching and you would like to enjoy your back garden for as long as possible. Or maybe you have a nice roof, which makes you want to spend cosy evenings in the garden all year round. Whatever the reason, garden lighting brings a lot of atmosphere to your backyard. In addition, garden lighting also offers many practical benefits such as deterring burglars or illuminating walkways.
In this blog article, we'll explain the options you have when it comes to choosing the right garden lighting and, of course, how you can install it. After reading this article, would you rather have a professional do your garden lighting?
Why garden lights?
There are several reasons why you might want to light up your garden. It's worth thinking about why you want to use garden lighting. Is it mainly to create atmosphere? Then draw up a lighting plan. This will ensure that you don't put all sorts of lighting in your garden that doesn't create atmosphere and may not live up to your expectations. Further on in this blog article, you will find tips on how best to draw up a lighting plan.
It is also possible to install garden lighting for practical reasons. To light your driveway, or your walkways. In that case, it is less important to create a cohesive look and a few LED spots in a row are usually sufficient. Did you know that you can make your garden look bigger by using garden lighting? Or, for example, spotlights that illuminate a beautiful tree. The options for garden lighting are endless!
Different types of garden lights
When you think of garden lighting you might think of a wall light next to your front door that switches on when you walk past. This is indeed very popular, but there are many other types of garden lighting. Think of floor lamps, spotlights, recessed spotlights, pond lights, recessed spotlights, surface mounted spotlights and many more. Recessed spots you will probably be familiar with. Recessed spots are usually placed in the ground so that they shine upwards. This gives a luxurious look to your garden and is also perfect for illuminating trees or shrubs.
Recessed spots are also good to use under a veranda, for example. Surface-mounted lights are even less well-known, but are no less beautiful. The name says it all: surface mounted spots are placed on the ceiling of a roof, for example, or the underside of a beam that runs across your garden. The surface-mounted lights therefore shine downwards. You can also opt for outdoor lighting with a motion sensor, which switches on when movement is detected. This way, you always have light when you need it and you avoid having your outdoor lighting on when it is not needed.
Creating atmosphere in your garden
Installing garden lighting to create a nice atmosphere in your garden? Then it's a good idea to make a lighting plan. If you simply place lights in your garden without a plan, you may miss the mark. The garden lighting can then become very bright or only illuminate certain parts of your garden. And, of course, you want it to be beautiful. Creating a lighting plan doesn't have to be difficult once you know how. To create a lighting plan, start by making a sketch of your garden (preferably to scale). Then think about exactly what you want to light. Do you have a pond? Or a beautiful bush? Take a walk around your garden and write down what you want to light. The next step is to decide what type of light you want to use. Finally, choose the light fittings. Pay attention to the type of light source, the colour and the system.
Installing garden lighting
Have you decided on the purpose of your garden lighting and do you have all the materials you need? If so, yes! Then it's time to install your garden lighting. For safety's sake, turn off the power. This may sound obvious, but we'd like to mention it anyway. Also make sure you have the right tools for the job: rubber soles, a voltage detector and the right tools.
When installing your garden lights, it's important to know how many volts your garden lights are. Do you have a bulb that runs on 12 volts? Then you need a transformer. However, most garden lights operate on 230 volts. The same as your indoor lamps. If you are going to install electricity outside, you cannot use "normal" lamps, switch material, sockets and wire. There are special (splash-)waterproof versions available for this purpose, for outside. Outdoor lighting is usually connected to a junction box in your garage or kitchen. However, it is wisest to do this from the meter box, because then it is easier to look for the cause in case of a short-circuit, for example due to moisture.