How To Choose an Outdoor Light
Your ultimate guide to choosing outdoor lighting to suit your needs.
The right outdoor lighting enhances your home’s exterior, offering ambience, safety, and a chance to showcase your space at night.
Start by thinking about how you use each zone - is it for relaxing, entertaining, or simply moving through? From garden features and alfresco dining through to paths and entryways, the right lighting defines your outdoor lifestyle.
Material Suitability
Your environment matters. In coastal or humid locations, salt and moisture can speed up corrosion. That’s why we recommend coastal-rated fittings for exposed areas - like those in our Made By Mayfair Seaside range - designed to resist wear and stay looking great over time.
All of our coastal-rated lights are backed by a 5 year-warranty.
Types of Outdoor Lighting
Each part of your exterior benefits from a different lighting approach. Here’s how to think about it:
Make a strong first impression with lighting that’s both decorative and practical. Wall lights or ceiling lights near the entrance enhance safety and welcome guests, while outdoor pendants add warmth to alfresco spaces.
House
Create contrast, texture, and depth using spike spots, bollards, and deck lighting. Highlight trees, paths, or water features and make installation easy with our DIY Quick Connect System. Choose from 12V, 24V or go wireless with solar. Plus, harness daylight to light your space after dark. Solar lights recharge during the day and require no wiring - just place them where you want soft, automatic illumination.
Garden and Solar Lighting
For larger spaces or architectural details, floodlights provide broad, powerful light. Often used for security, they offer clear visibility and peace of mind.
Flood Lights
Set colour, dim levels, or schedules with the Lucci Connect range. Control everything via the app - or go hands-free with voice commands via your smart home hub.
Smart Lighting
Exterior Lighting Voltage Explained: 12V, 24V and 240V
The right voltage for your exterior lighting makes a big difference to performance, safety, and long-term reliability. Outdoor lighting typically runs on one of three voltages - 12V, 24V, or 240V - and each is designed for different applications. Understanding when to use each helps ensure your lights perform as intended, without dimming, flicker, or unnecessary complexity.
12 Volt (12V) Outdoor Lighting
12V lighting is a low-voltage option commonly used for small to medium garden and landscape applications. It operates via a transformer that steps mains power down to 12V, making it safer to handle and easier to install.
This option is best suited to lighting shorter runs such as garden beds, pathways and feature plants close to the power source. Because 12V systems are more prone to voltage drop over longer distances, they work best when cable lengths are kept relatively short or when lighting loads are modest.
Best for: Small gardens, Pathways, Feature lighting, DIY-friendly installations
24 Volt (24V) Outdoor Lighting
24V lighting is also low-voltage but offers improved performance over longer cable runs compared to 12V. Like 12V systems, it requires a driver or transformer, but the higher voltage allows power to travel further with less loss. This makes 24V ideal for larger landscapes, long garden runs and installations where multiple fittings are spread across a wider area. It delivers more consistent brightness and helps reduce dimming at the end of the run.
Best for: Large gardens, Long cable runs, Landscape designs requiring consistent light output
240 Volt (240V) Outdoor Lighting
240V lighting runs directly off mains power and must be installed by a licensed electrician. It delivers higher output and is commonly used for fixed exterior lighting such as wall lights, security lighting, and architectural features. Because it does not require a transformer, 240V is suitable for installations where fittings are permanently wired and higher output is needed.
Due to safety and compliance requirements, it is not suitable for DIY installation.
Best for: Wall lights, Security lighting, Fixed exterior fittings, Permanent installations
Create an Outdoor Room
Use clever lighting placement to create usable outdoor spaces - day and night. Your outdoor space can be as functional and stylish as any interior. Layering lighting is key: string lights add mood, deck lights improve safety, and sconces elevate architectural detail. Together, they shape a space that’s usable day and night.
Radiant heaters use infrared waves to deliver targeted warmth where it matters most. They're ideal for patios, pergolas, and alfresco zones where consistent warmth helps you enjoy your space all year round.
Outdoor Heating
Enjoy breezy entertaining. Outdoor fans offer comfort and airflow on warm days and help deter insects. Available in coastal-rated finishes for long-lasting performance.
Outdoor Fans
Perfect for gatherings big or small, festoon lights bring charm and character. Drape them across fences, pergolas, or trees to create a soft glow that makes any evening feel special.
Festoon Lighting
Sleek and functional, outdoor-rated downlights are ideal for patios, entrances, and overhangs. They offer strong ambient light while maintaining a minimalist look.
Downlights
Your Guide to DIY Garden Lighting
Create a garden that's welcoming after dark with our DIY Garden Lighting Guide, packed with inspiration, practical advice and easy-to-install solutions for every outdoor space.
Need Help Creating an Outdoor Plan?
You’ll be amazed by the difference the right lighting design and placement can make to the look and feel of your home, but achieving the ideal balance between the aesthetic and the functional can be very tricky. So why not call in the professionals?
As lighting specialists, Beacon Lighting gives you the choice of three design services that will transform your home into a designer dream.
Perfect for a home makeover, renovation or new build, check out our inspiring lighting design services.
Your local Beacon store team can also arrange our in-home and in-studio consultations over a Zoom video call for you.