Nothing says relax and enjoy the party like well-thought-out outdoor lighting in your front or backyards. Adding some lighting can improve safety, create an amazing ambiance and let you keep swimming and cooking on the grill well after dark.

There are generally three types of yard lights that people install - security and safety lights to keep the burglars out and the yard illuminated, lighting to enhance features in your yard such as bushes and trees, and accent lighting to improve vision on sidewalks, driveways or fountains. You can add lighting for anything you’d like, but having a spread of light throughout your outdoor space can make your home amazing and there’s a huge variety of choices for each category. Here are some of the best lighting options for your yard so you can choose exactly what you’d like to install for your particular situation.

Security Lighting

Generally, the brightest lighting you can install is security (or safety) lighting that illuminates large areas of your yard to deter criminals and to give you a sense of safety. These types of outdoor lights are installed high on your house under eaves, close to roofs, or above a garage with wide beams of light that cover large areas of the yard, driveways and sidewalks. 

There are several types of security lights you can install, all designed to keep your family and home safe as possible. With a wide range of options, there are a few options. 

• Motion-activated lights - Catch intruders off guard, startling them and making them think twice about approaching your home.
• Timed security lighting - Adjust the hours the lights come on and off, coming on when it gets dark and off when it gets light.
• Floodlights - Very strong, bright and directional lights that can be a great deterrent to would-be thieves. Use LED to save energy costs.
• HID security lights - High-intensity discharge lights are commercial lights usually used on buildings and lots, and sometimes residential homes with large amounts of land.
• Soffit lighting - The overhang around your home is known as the soffit. Lighting that is installed in the soffit is called soffit lights. They are usually recessed, covered and used on porches.
• Coach lights - Coach lights are lights that look like the lanterns of the 19th century. They are usually ornate and sit next to your front door. They can make a stylish addition to your porch and provide more lighting for security.

When adding lighting for security it’s important to remember that the more lights you have, generally the more a potential burglar or criminal will be deterred. If there are no areas of your home that they can get by undetected, they are less likely to choose your home as a target.

Path Lighting

Path lighting is generally soft or moderate safety lighting installed to assist you in navigating a walkway through your yard or a sidewalk from the street. There are several varieties of fixtures effective for lining and lighting walkways. Path lighting is usually installed along both sides of a walkway or driveway.

Path lighting is available in 120-volt, low-voltage and solar LED options that consist of a decorative bulb housing unit attached to a short stake you drive into the ground. The most common types put to work on pathways are garden lights, downlights, bollard lights, and flush lights.

• Garden lights - Topped with a canopy that reflects light down onto adjacent paths and garden beds.
• Downlights - Directionally focused lights affixed to a pole, usually focussed downwards.
• Bollard lights - Have a 360-degree light spread and can illuminate garden beds and walkways simultaneously
• Flush lights - Installed in the surface of a path, flush lights softly illuminate up and outwards, without the intensity of a spotlight.

String Lighting

String lighting is soft, often low-voltage lighting, similar to Christmas lights, that can be hung year-round. They evoke a warm and intimate ambiance that creates an amazing atmosphere for hanging out after dark and especially entertaining. String lights can be hung on posts, pavilions or even across trees or branches.

There are so many different choices but you should always try to find waterproof, rechargeable LED lights - solar-powered are the easiest to maintain but if you are going to use extension cords, don’t forget to buy some Connection Shields.

Here are a few types of string lights to give some ideas.

• LED festoon globe lights - Typically come in a globe shape that reminds us of the earth, moon, and other celestial objects.
• LED lantern string lights - Appear like traditional paper lanterns but are made from tarpaulin – a durable cloth-like material that can last in all seasons.
• Colorful string lights - Traditional holiday lights
• Vintage string lights - Also known as Edison bulb lights, there’s a wire instilled inside the bulb that produces warm golden light.
• Fairy string lights - Like an attractive bunch of fireflies if hung around trees or green bushes.
• Rope lights - Decorative lighting fixture that consists of tiny light bulbs enclosed in a PVC jacket.

Outdoor Wall Lighting

Outdoor wall lighting or “Sconces” are moderately bright accent or safety lighting usually installed to illuminate navigation around areas of your property such as walkways, pergolas, stairs, porches and even patios.

“Sconce” is simply a term for any wall-mounted light and they are fantastic because they can provide pretty much any type of lighting you need - ambient, accent, or even task lighting, depending on which one you select. 

There are generally three types of sconces, open-bottomed, semi-flush mount, and flush mount 

Here are a few great ideas for sconces.

• Flush-mount - Type of light that is mounted flush with your exterior wall.
• Semi-flush - A semi-flush mount is one where the actual light is attached to an arm that connects to a plate. That plate is mounted to your exterior wall. 
• Wall lantern - A semi-flush mount that looks like a 19th-century lantern.
• Barn light - A semi-flush mount that is round and tends to cast more illumination.
• Bulkhead light - Nautical-inspired bulkhead lights that offer protection for the light bulb by creating a kind of cage around the bulb.
• Spotlight - A semi-flush mount that focuses a beam of light on something specific like flood lamps do.

Deck Lighting

Deck lighting is generally 120 volt, moderate or high-intensity lighting that’s installed to illuminate a deck after dark so they can see where they are going. It can also be used to light up features around a deck.

Different from the types of lights above, here are four types of deck lights that can help brighten up your outdoor lighting spaces.

• Post, rail and stair lights - Installed on posts, rails and stairs to ensure safety when walking back and forth.
• Accent lights - Lights that add drama and style to your deck like an outdoor chandelier 
• Floor lights - Installed directing into the floor shining upward - great on decks without railings to mark a clear perimeter or separate spaces with no clear existing separation.

Spot Lighting

Spot lighting, also known as up-lighting or just “landscape lighting”, is generally standard-voltage lighting used to shine focused, moderate and high-intensity beams upwards into trees, bushes and even on the front or rear of a home.

To light trees and other tall objects, bullet-shaped lights on a base are ideal. Just drive them into the ground with a stake. Bullet lights have adjustable heads that sit above ground and cast bright, focused light at whatever you want.

There's a lighting option for every backyard.