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Black outdoor lanterns are a surefire way to add modern charm, elegance and functionality to your outdoor living area or garden. This type of exterior wall lighting is versatile and easy to incorporate into any existing garden wall lighting you may have. In this article, we will explore porch lanterns and general outdoor lantern lights as well as their potential.
What Are Outdoor Lantern Wall Lights?
Among the many types of LED outdoor lighting are outdoor wall lights. Among them are modern outdoor lanterns. Lanterns are lights confined within a metal frame that often have glass sides to allow you to see the light more easily.
Modern lantern outdoor lights put a contemporary spin on this classic source of lighting. When used as a wall lamp, outdoor spaces are given instant charm. The main difference between outdoor wall lights and outdoor wall lantern comes down to style and aesthetics.
How to Choose the Right Outdoor Wall Lantern for Your Space
LED outdoor wall lanterns can make your outdoor space into a place you love to be. Different outside wall lighting ideas work better for different gardens, as no two are the same. Consider the following as you shop for your new outdoor wall lamps.
The first thing you’ll want to take into account is the size of the garden. Smaller gardens should have more compact lanterns. Larger areas can get away with bigger fixtures. By ensuring the scale is appropriate, you’ll create a well-balanced looking space.
You’ll also want to consider the purpose of the lights. Are they purely decorative, or are they primarily for security? This will help determine the light colour and lumen counts.
For example, security lighting needs to be brighter and cooler to accurately capture imagery on security cameras. Decorative or mood lighting, on the other hand, works best when it consists of warm lights with a lower brightness.
In order to ensure a seamless integration, be sure your lights match the existing garden decor. For example, if you have a more industrial style, opt for wrought iron lights. Farmhouse aesthetics will benefit from materials like wood and rattan instead.
No matter what you end up going with, you need to ensure that you are choosing weather resistant garden wall lights. Since these lights are exposed to the elements, they need to be protected from wind, rain and dirt.
Common Mistakes When Choosing Outdoor Wall Lighting Lanterns
It can be easy to make mistakes when installing wall lanterns for gardens. By learning about the most common of these mistakes, you can stay one step ahead and avoid them altogether.
- WRONG LANTERN SIZE. Ensure that the size of your outdoor wall light fitting is appropriate for your garden’s size. Small gardens need smaller fixtures to not look cluttered. Larger gardens, on the other hand, can have larger fixtures and statement lights.
- FORGETTING IP RATINGS. IP ratings are critical when choosing your new lights. Since the fixtures are exposed to weather, it is recommended you choose waterproof varieties to keep them safe from the elements. IP65 rated lights and above are required.
- IMPROPER PLACEMENT. Placing the lights incorrectly can be a detriment to your outdoor space. They can cast shadows where you do not want them, or cause a glare if at the wrong height. To avoid this, consider the areas you want to highlight and hang them around five to six feet from the ground.
How to Use Garden Wall Lanterns as Part of Your Landscaping Scheme
Exterior wall lanterns can be used for practical purposes as much as decorative. By strategically and thoughtfully placing the lights, you can make them work for any garden space.
Perhaps the most popular way to use them is to enhance architectural details. Wall lights can accent alcoves, arches, columns and any other architectural element you want to show off. When used as accent lighting this way, they will also create soft mood lighting and atmospheric ambiance.
Wall lights can be used to frame pathways and entryways as well. This separates the garden into zones that are easy to find and navigate, increasing both the visibility and the aesthetic appeal of the space. Install them evenly around the garden paths to create a well-rounded distribution of light.
By layering your wall lights with other lights in the garden, you can achieve a balanced effect throughout. Your wall lights can be layered with outdoor pendant lighting, low level path lights, fairy lights and beyond to create the garden of your dreams.
Why Use Black LED Outdoor Wall Lanterns?
When it comes to lantern wall lights, black is a common choice of finish. There are several reasons why black lantern outdoor light fixtures are so popular:
- Afford a modern and sophisticated appearance
- The black hue effectively hides dirt that will inevitably appear on outdoor wall sconces
- There are a variety of outdoor porch lanterns , allowing you to get creative with their appearance
- The appearance of outdoor black lanterns offers a sleek, stylish and timeless look
Why Are Outdoor Wall Lights Good for Home Security?
A patio wall light or porch wall light does much more for the home than just beautify it; black outdoor wall lights can also add a measure of security to your home.
Having outdoor lantern lights can stop intruders with the goal of breaking in from getting near your house by giving them fewer shadows to sneak around in. With a well-lit exterior, even neighbors can notice when suspicious activity is occurring around your home.
These lights also serve as a deterrent by giving the appearance that someone is at home, even when the house is empty. All of these points combine to give homeowners something truly priceless: peace of mind.
What Is the Best LED Colour Temperature for Garden Wall Light Lanterns?
Colour temperature is important for lights both indoors and outdoors, meaning the same can be said for your black porch lights. Colour temperature refers to a light’s warmth or coolness, and different settings require different colour temperatures to look their best.
For porches an outdoor porch light lantern, it is recommended that you use lighting that is rated between 2500k and 4000k. This provides a nice, warm colour that is still clear enough to be able to easily see. It is also a colour temperature that is easy on the eyes. This range gives you the flexibility to choose warmer colour temperatures around your porch or garden seating area to make it more inviting for guests.
What Does CCT Mean in Lighting?
Correlated colour temperature, often abbreviated to just CCT, is a way to define the colour temperature of a light. It is just another way to talk about the above points and is measured in Kelvin units.
What Does Kelvin Mean in Lighting?
Kelvin is a measurement of colour temperature in lighting. The higher the Kelvin rating, the cooler the light will be. On the other hand, the lower the Kelvin rating, the warmer the light will be.
Colour temperatures below 5,000k are considered to be warm lights, including the 4,000k “daylight” colour temperature. This range is the most common in domestic settings, usually hovering between 3000k and 3300k. Anything above that is considered to be cool and is commonly used in commercial or retail settings.
Can You Install Exterior Wall Lighting Yourself?
It is possible to install outdoor wall lighting yourself, though it is recommended that you consult an electrician before completing the job, or hire one to handle the job for you.
If you want to do it yourself, consider the following safety points before proceeding:
- Be sure the power mains is switched off
- Do a socket test on each circuit to ensure they are safe before working with them
- Install the lighting in accordance with the codes and regulations that apply to your building
- Turn off the breaker
How To Install Outdoor Wall Lighting
- Drill a hole in the wall where you plan to install the fixture. Put a plastic conduit inside to feed the cable into.
- Ensure the cable cores are correctly connected to the appropriate terminals.
- Adhere the light to the outer wall, and then place silicone sealant to stop moisture from getting into the light.
- Run the light cable to where you can cut it into a main lighting circuit cable box.
- Install the switch(es) you intend to use to control the light indoors.
- Run a double core and earth cable back to the junction box.
- Use a voltage tester to be sure the power is off and then isolate the circuit before cutting through the main circuit cable to connect it where it needs to go.
Where Should You Position Porch Wall Lanterns?
A general rule of thumb for placing porch wall lanterns is to put them just above eye level. This tends to be somewhere around 67 inches above the floor of the porch or the ground. This will put them at the appropriate level where guests can approach the door without the light glaring in their eyes.
It will also ensure that the light is high enough to provide illumination to the porch as well as the steps near the door. Many professionals recommend having two lights and placing one on either side both for aesthetic purposes and to ensure an even wash of light.
Taller doors can have the lights positioned a bit higher, but in cases like these, it is generally recommended to simply use larger lights and attach them at the same height.
Do LED Outdoor Porch Lanterns Need Any Maintenance?
Outdoor wall lights of most kinds will require a bit of maintenance. Of them, porch lights are arguably the most low maintenance. Usually, they will collect cobwebs and dust. It is easy to clear them away using a small broom.
After this, you can wash the exterior by using mild soap, warm water and a soft brush. To protect the fixture from damage, you can clean and dry it and also apply a rust-resistant product.
Porch lights that use LED bulbs will also limit maintenance, as you will not have to change the bulbs with the same frequency that you would have to with traditional lightbulbs.
How To Use LED Lantern Wall Lights Around a Patio Area
Below are some tips on making the most of your patio area with lantern wall lights:
- Create a foundation of lights by installing them in various areas, such as on walls, fence posts, stairwells or a trellis. Place them approximately five feet from the ground so that the light is closer to the eyes without being blinding.
- Use different types of wall lanterns to create an atmosphere and enhance the overall appearance of the patio area.
- Highlight various points of interest by using uplighting to cast a soft glow onto the walls. This is ideal for illuminating archways, stone walls, statement plants or statues to create a focal point.
- May a corner cozy by adding wall lights in an area to section it off from the rest of the outdoor living space.
- Layer the lighting with ambient, task and accent lighting, just like you would in any other area in your home.
- Use wall lights on the walls beside stairs or along a driveway to provide illumination for walking, making it safer to traverse at night.
- If your patio is set up in a traditional way and attached to the back of your house, then adding wall lights to the back wall of the house is an easy way to light it up.
Do Outdoor Wall Lanterns Need To Be IP Rated?
Because outside wall lights will be exposed to the elements, it is generally recommended that you install an IP rated light capable of withstanding exposure. IP ratings, or Ingress Protection ratings, indicate how well a light is protected from both solid objects and moisture. The first digit indicates the solids protection, while the second digit refers to protection against moisture. As a rule of thumb, it is a good idea to choose outdoor lights with a minimum IP44 rating.
First Digit – Solids
0 – No protection.
1 – Protection against objects that are bigger than 50 millimeters.
2 – Protection against objects that are bigger than 12.5 millimeters.
3 – Protection against objects that are bigger than 2.5 millimeters.
4 – Protection against objects that are bigger than 1 millimeters.
5 – Dust Protected rating will protect against entry of small amounts of dust.
6 – Dust Tight ratings will protect against all entry of dust.
Second Digit – Moisture
0 – No Protection.
1 – Protects the fixture from water dripping vertically.
2 – Protects the fixture from water dripping vertically at a 15 degree angle.
3 – Protects the fixture from water spraying vertically at a 15 degree angle.
4 – Protects the fixture from water splashes from any direction.
5 – Protects the fixture from water jets.
6 – Protects the fixture from water from strong jets in any direction.
7 – Protects the fixture from complete immersion up to one meter.
8 – Protects the fixture from complete immersion deeper than one meter.
Ideas for Black Outdoor Lanterns
The LWA210 6 Watt LED Black Outdoor Wall Light is a subtler approach with its cylindrical shape, opal acrylic diffuser and black body. The light is good for placement on either side of doors and outputs a total of 430 lumens of 3000k warm white light. It has an IP65 rating.
The LWA381 3 Watt LED Black Finish Globe LED Outdoor Wall Light offers an overall softer look with its globe-shaped opal diffuser. It rests on a stark black cylindrical base. This eye-catching light delivers 300 lumens of light with a 3000k warm white colour temperature. It is protected by an IP65 rating.
Perfect for porches and modern patios, the LWA213 9 Watt LED Black Outdoor Wall Light is a stout and stylish wall light for any area. It shines its light from a cylindrical opal acrylic diffuser resting on a black base. This light shines a bright 800 lumens of 3000k warm white colour and is IP65 rated.
Add some visual flair to your porch or patio with the LWA397 20 Watt Square Black Outdoor Wall Light. This light is artistic with its up and down wall washing capability that shines illumination back on the wall above and below it. It features a modern cube-shaped design in black and shines a bright 2000 lumens of 3000k warm white colour. The light is protected by an IP65 rating.
