Soffit Lighting

It is generally thought that having a spacing of two metres between lights on a single-storey home will give you plenty of light. Even so, the amount of external lights that you will need is a matter of personal taste and individual needs of your home. Deciding this will depend on a few factors, including:

• HEIGHT OF THE SOFFIT. Consider how high up the soffits are. If you want to install them on a low building, you might not need many lights at all; the illumination has less of a distance to shine down, meaning fewer lights can cover more area at once.
• STYLISH EFFECT. What aesthetic appeal are you hoping to create? Would you prefer light beams overlapping one another to give complete coverage of the area? Does having single-focused beams of light shining separately sound more appealing to you? One will require more lights than the other, so this is a major decision to be made at the very beginning stages of planning the project.
• CONSIDER THE ANGLES. Typically, soffit lights will shine a wide beam angle of at least 30 degrees. Knowing this, you can whip up some rough drawings using calculations to estimate just how many you may need to have.
• The number of lights you need to have may be directly proportionate to the wattage of each of them. Pay attention to the wattage amount of each bulb and the subsequent number of lumens emitted when choosing your lights.

 Some soffit areas are designed with plenty of room to install recessed lights, while others simply are not wide enough to accommodate them. Before deciding on your recessed lighting, you’ll need to check the eaves and soffits around the property. Be sure that there is a void behind them before you try installing exterior recessed lighting in soffits.

If there is not enough room, you won’t be able to sink them into the eaves. Instead, you’ll need to use surface mounted lighting. Fortunately, you can still achieve the spaced effect of recessed lights using the right kind of soffit light.

Some homeowners even prefer surface mounted lighting to recessed lighting for aesthetic reasons; certain kinds of light installations benefit from surface lighting as opposed to recessed lighting.

At the end of the day, even if you have enough room for recessed lights, you aren’t obligated to use them. The best soffit lights for you could simply come down to personal design choices.

Much like any other kind of lights, external LED downlights come in a number of different wattages. As a general rule, you can expect that one watt of LED light will output between 80 and 100 lumens. To apply this to real world wattage amounts, consider the following:

• A 3-watt LED bulb is the equivalent of a halogen bulb with 25 to 30 watts.
• A 5-watt LED bulb is the equivalent of a halogen bulb with 45 to 50 watts.
• A 9-watt LED bulb is the equivalent of a halogen bulb with 60 watts.

Simply put, you don’t have to sacrifice the brightness of a halogen bulb to reap the benefits of an LED light. The only thing that truly changes is the reduced energy output, which is a perk. LEDs can shine as brightly as halogen bulbs but with 80 percent less energy needed.

Some projects around the house can be tackled by a DIY enthusiast, but lighting of any kind is not one of them. Because of the intricate aspects of light installation and the dangerous element of electricity, it isn’t a good idea to take it into your own hands. You should always get the assistance of a qualified electrician to install outdoor soffit lights for you.

There are many reasons that one might choose to use outside LED downlights besides their primary purpose of illumination. Below, you’ll find some of the most popular reasons among them:

• ENERGY EFFICIENT. LED soffit lights are remarkably energy efficient. Because of this, you’ll save plenty of money on your electricity bill, even if you plan to keep them lit all night long. They consume much less power since no filament needs to heat up, and no energy is wasted. In fact, up to 85 percent of the energy is saved compared to typical halogen bulbs.

This can help counteract the current state of energy bills, which are steadily increasing. Their energy efficiency may also help you lessen your impact on the environment as they do not have any toxic chemicals in them; if you break a bulb, they won’t leak anything into the environment.

• SUPER BRIGHT. With energy efficiency in mind, LED bulbs consume 85 percent less energy than a halogen bulb. Even so, they can shine just as brightly.
• EMIT LITTLE HEAT. This type of lighting does not produce much heat at all. In this way, they don’t pose any sort of fire risk, even when left on for long periods.
• LONG-LASTING LIFE. Exterior LED downlights for soffits naturally have a long lifespan. Their energy efficiency helps conserve energy, which helps them burn a longer time. You’ll be able to save plenty of time and money on replacement lights when you choose long-lasting soffit lights.
• Typically, LED lights can last 15,000 and 150,000 hours. Generally speaking, you can expect LED lights to last 10 times longer than standard halogen bulbs.
• ELEVATED STYLE. From the moment you turn your soffit lights on at night, you will be adding curb appeal. These lights can enhance the overall look of your home’s exterior while also outlining the silhouette. This will give the home a stylish and contemporary look.
• ENHANCED SAFETY AND NIGHTTIME SECURITY. Having soffit lights will illuminate areas directly around the home. This includes areas close to the walls, such as walkways and other pathways. Such lights will make it easier to navigate the outdoor areas for you and your guests.

Furthermore, a well-lit exterior can serve as an additional security measure; people are less likely to approach a house with ill-intentions if there are no shadowy places for them to hide.