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When it comes to outdoor lights, driveway lights are an important and often overlooked addition. Driveways with lights not only beautify the area but can also make it safer and easier to navigate. With the right lighting, driveway areas become a main feature of your landscape lighting. Read on to learn more about modern driveway lighting ideas.
Where To Use Driveway Wall LightsÂ
Lighting for driveways offers you the opportunity to get creative while reaching your lighting goals at the same time. There are a few different ways you can incorporate driveway wall lights specifically into the area.
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- LIGHT UP THE END OF THE DRIVEWAY. If you have a fence, archway or posts that lead into your driveway, you can install wall lights onto them. Driveway gate lighting like this usually comes in the form of driveway brick lights but can also include other types of wall lights.
- ILLUMINATE THE GARAGE. The driveway spotlights, driveway in ground lights, driveway up lights and other outdoor lights driveway fixtures all lead cars down the path and end up at the garage. Why not light up the exterior of the garage or driveway wall with matching light fixtures?
- LOW LEVEL LIGHTING. Returning to the gate and entryway as well as the garage itself, you can install outdoor wall lights for houses down near the ground to better illuminate the boundaries of the driveway while improving its appearance.
Why Use LED Driveway Lighting?
Lights in driveway areas are the first thing that greets you and your guests upon pulling up. They extend the exterior lighting down to the ground of the outdoor area, offering an inviting lead in to your home. With these lights, driveway areas also become much safer and easier to see.
Beyond this, there is the added security benefits that lights on driveway areas can bring. Driveway LED lights make your outdoor space brighter and easier to see, and they ensure the proper amount of light needed for outdoor cameras while dissuading invaders from coming onto your property at night.
LED lights themselves have their own suite of benefits, including:
- Long lasting lifespan
- Environmentally friendly design
- Energy efficient
- Budget-friendly
- Many options for light levels and colour temperatures
What LED Colour Temperature Is Best for Wall Lighting Along a Driveway?
The best LED colour temperature for outdoor wall mounted lighting and garden lighting tends to be the same as the lighting you would install in the ground along a driveway. Where warm light is best saved for entertaining areas and architectural highlighting, cooler lights between 3000k and 4000k are better for driveways.
Cool light tends to be crisper and clearer than warm light. In a setting where visibility matters above all, cool lights take the crown.
What Does CCT Mean in Lighting?
CCT, or correlated colour temperature, is what indicates the appearance of the colour of an LED light. It is simply another word for colour temperature. Both of these things are defined by Kelvin units that indicate the warmth or coolness of a light.
What Does Kelvin Mean in Lighting?
Kelvin units are what indicate the colours of a light. The lower the Kelvin number, the warmer the light. The higher the number, the cooler the light. Most residential lighting is warm and falls between the 3,000k and 3,300k warm white spectrum. Conversely, you will see cooler lights between 4,000k and 6,000k in commercial areas and outdoor locations, such as outdoor driveway lights.
Why LED Driveway Lighting Is Good for Security
With outdoor lights for driveway areas, you can do more than just dress up your entryway. Quality driveway ground lights, uplights and wall lights may deter intruders from approaching your home. Burglars look for houses that are poorly lit with no obvious signs that there is security on the property. With the driveway well lit, you leave fewer shadows for intruders to use to sneak around in. This can also give you something quite invaluable: peace of mind.
What Other Options Are There for Lighting a Driveway?
There are many different types of lights for driveway areas that you can consider when illuminating your exterior. The versatile options will give you creative control over the way the space looks.
A few options you have for lighting for driveway areas include:
- Spike lighting in the ground around the driveway
- Bollard lighting on the perimeter
- Ground lights for driveways that provide low level illumination and outline the area
- Low level lighting on gates and gate posts
- Lamp post lighting
- Post top lighting
- Low level recessed step lighting
What Maintenance Does Outdoor Driveway Lighting Need?
Weather and condensation are the two largest offenders when it comes to damaging modern driveway lighting and other outdoor lighting. Condensation can form inside the light fitting when temperatures fluctuate inside of it. This generally occurs when the cool air outside of the bulb and the heat within it mix.
This can cause the metal contacts of the light to deteriorate over time and will need to be fixed or replaced. With LED lighting, there is practically no heat output like traditional bulbs. You can skip over the maintenance of adding petroleum jelly to the base of the light bulb upon installation by using LED bulbs in their place.
In general, you should do a sweep occasionally to make sure no dust and debris are clinging to the fixtures. If you see any, you should wash it away.
How To Maintain:
- In order to reduce the necessity of maintenance, you can install spotlight covers over them to prevent the accumulation of debris.
- WALL LIGHTS. Clear away cobwebs using a small broom and then wash the exterior of the fitting using mild soap, warm water and a soft brush. You can apply rust-resistant sealant to keep out the debris in the future using a small sponge brush.
- POST LIGHTS. Garden post lights are mounted on stakes and pressed down into the earth. You’ll need to make sure that every light is securely plunged into the ground and is standing upright. Homeowners should occasionally survey these lights and ensure that they remain upright.
- GROUND LIGHTS OF ALL KINDS. Over time, you may need to clear debris from the lights. This is especially true in autumn when the leaves fall on the lights or after windy days when debris in the yard is thrown around. You may also need to cut shrubbery and branches that might otherwise obscure the lights.
Where Can You Use Driveway Lights in a Commercial Lighting Installation?
Some of the locations where driveway lights might be incorporated in a commercial setting include:
- Long driveways leading to a country hotel
- Entrance areas for a hotel
- Car park and driveway lighting in an office or hotel area
How To Control LED Driveway Lighting
There are a few ways that you can control these lights, such as:
- Lighting timers
- Smart lighting controls
- Dusk to dawn sensors
- Movement sensors
- Wall light switches inside the house
What Does a Lighting Timer Do?
A lighting timer will switch on your exterior lights at a specific time of day. You can program these timers to come on at any point, though most people will set them to come on at dusk and turn off in the morning. As the days get longer in the colder months, you can adjust the timer in seconds to reflect that and keep the lights on a schedule.
What Does a Lighting Movement Sensor Do?
A lighting movement sensor will take note of any movement in the area and turn the lights on accordingly. With this type of control, the lights will only be on when someone is in the area and will turn off when no more movement is detected. This is a great way to save energy and lessen your electric bill.
How Does a Dusk To Dawn Sensor Work?
Like the name suggests, a dusk to dawn sensor will turn the light on and off depending on the time of day. It has a photosensitive filter that is triggered by the various light levels outside. At dusk, the low level of light will trigger the light to come on. When the sun rises, the higher level of light will prompt the light to turn off.
What Height Should Driveway Wall Lights Be Mounted At?
Though there are no set rules for the heights of driveway wall lights, there are a few general tips you should keep in mind:
- Don’t place the lights too low on the wall as not to accidentally bump into them.
- The lights should be up high enough to provide plenty of light to see.
- The lights should also not be too high, so the light is not lost to all of that vertical space.
As a general suggestion, a mounting height of 1.6 to 1.7 meters is generally considered the best choice.
Do Outdoor Driveway Lights Need To Be IP Rated?
The IP rating is an indicator of whether a light is protected from debris and moisture and to what extent. Since outdoor driveway lights are exposed to sun, wind, rain and dirt, it is important that they have a minimum IP65 rating to ensure they are protected from the elements. An IP65 rating means that a light is protected from most dust amounts and is protected from water at a force of a light jet of water in any direction.
What To Do if You Have No Electricity Around the Driveway Area?
If you have no way to connect electrical lights outdoors, solar lights are an option.
Pros of Solar Lights
- No wiring or electricity needed, which gives you greater freedom in the placement of the lights
- Eco-friendly option due to the fact that they run on renewable energy
- Solar lights don’t cost anything to operate
While it is good for use with decorative lighting, solar lights don’t tend to be as powerful as other lights and should not be the main light source when at all possible. If the daytime brings rain or it is somewhat overcast, the resulting light emitted that night will not be up to the full brightness.
Cons of Solar Lights
- Illumination is not nearly bright enough to be the only light source.
- Rainy days or cloudy skies can limit the ability of the light to charge itself during the day.
- Solar lights have poor performance during the winter.
- Can be expensive when purchasing them upfront.
How Many Lumens Do You Need For Outdoor Lighting?
When shopping for your LED outdoor lights, paying attention to lumen count is important. Various parts of the outdoor area will require different lumen levels, as indicated below:
- Floodlights should be a minimum of 700 lumens.
- Path and stair lights should be between 100 and 200 lumens.
- Motion sensor lights should be between 300 and 700 lumens.
- Security lights require a minimum of 700 lumens.
- Wall lights, such as driveway wall lights, should have between 50 and 185 lumens depending on your preferences.
What Are Lumens?
Lumens are a way to measure light output. In traditional bulbs, this was indicated through wattages. Since LED lights work differently than filament bulbs, including outputting less heat, lumens are a more accurate way to define the strength of the light’s brightness.
Ideas for Driveway Lighting
Perfect for lighting up driveway gates and garage exteriors, the LWA382 Round 4 Watt Outdoor LED Wall Light provides a soft 3000k warm white light that accentuates the start and end of your driveway. It outputs a total of 400 lumens, which offers light that is bright and visible without being blinding. The light is circular in shape and has a softened look, thanks to the opal acrylic diffuser that is found on the front. The IP65 rating protects the light fitting from dust and moisture.
The LWA370 6 Watt Brass Up And Down Outdoor Wall Light is a stylish, yet practical choice for using as exterior up and downlights for your driveway wall. The garden wall lanterns have a sleek brass exterior that houses the LED bulbs within. It shines a total of 600 lumens that wash the wall with 3000k warm white light. The IP65 rating protects it from dust and moisture alike. With its size of 130 millimeters by 44 millimeters, it is small enough to fit on narrow gates and walls.
With the LWA311 5 Watt 330mm Tall Black Outdoor LED Wall Light, you can enhance the look of your exterior garage walls or gates. This elegant outdoor wall mounted lighting has a sleek black housing that holds the opal acrylic diffuser in front of the LED bulb to soften the light. It outputs 430 lumens of 3000k warm white light and has a resilient IP65 rating.
For those who want to make a statement with extra large outdoor wall lights, the LWA399 40 Watt Black LED Outdoor Up And Down Wall Light is a great choice. This oversized light makes a statement with its black, ridged body and its wall washing effects. It shines a total of an ultra bright 3200 lumens of 3000k warm white light up and down the wall behind it. This durable aluminium fixture is IP65 rated.
Easily light up the area surrounding your driveway with the LWA493 10 Watt Twin Black Outdoor LED Wall Spotlight. The double black outside wall lights shine a total of 860 lumens in a bright beam and serve as a practical choice for using as exterior up and downlights for your driveway wall. These garden wall lanterns are made of high quality aluminium with an IP65 rating and are protected from damage due to the elements.
