How to Light an Outdoor Patio Area

September 12, 2021 jake ovenden 0 Comment

An outdoor patio area usually resides at the rear of the home and is used for a multitude of purposes. Although outdoor entertainment areas are used mainly for one task, entertainment, their lighting needs a layered approach. Including safe, secure and entertainment lighting. To cover each of these scenarios the 3 main types of lighting will need to be used in unison; task, general and ambient lighting. Once you have covered each of these main areas, you need to find out how bright does the patio area need to be? What are the best exterior lights? And where can I get the best deal on lights? Once you have discovered each of these areas, your back yard and patio will be lit perfectly!

Entertainment Area Lighting

The patio is a place to relax and entertain. This means the 3 main forms of lighting will be used across this area. Whatever you’re doing at that exact time will determine which category of light will be most prevalent. This is why it is best to light entertainment areas such as decking and patios with multiple adaptable lights. What do we mean by adaptable lights? Large and small scale RGB Floodlights provide the most options for outdoor lighting. Using a range of exterior floodlights, you can create and alter your entertainment lighting effects. 

3 Applications of Lighting to Entertainment Areas

The three types of lighting covering a patio area, would promote safety, ambience, and entertainment. Combining all three of these will create the ideal outdoor patio area.

Safety: For safety you will need either a bright overhead general light, or use of smaller hardscape lights to outline borders. Two solutions to this type of lighting would be to installed low level ground lights around the edges of the patio area, creating a border. Or you can have a general use overhead floodlight that has an adjustable brightness.

Ambience: Ambient lighting is one of the most effective styles for enhancing a yard’s look. The two most popular ways to use ambient light in an entertainment area would be outdoor string lights and or low-level floodlights used for up lighting up the edges of the fence or wall of the area.  When it comes to outdoor string lights, they can be white colored but low in brightness, able to provide overhead soft light for night time entertainment. When it comes to up lighting the hardscapes such as fencing or walls on the edge of the patio. Look for 10W or 15W RGB floodlights. These will be bright enough to be placed around the edges to provide nice up lighting effects up 6-10ft walls or fencing. Making the lights RGB just adds different options, can switch colors and not just bring white light to the area. Outdoor areas, especially at night time, do better with multicolored lighting.

Entertainment: Bright white floodlights won’t do. Anything overbearing and white overhead will flush out the area. Too much glare and too much discomfort. Entertainment lighting needs to be different, adaptable and colorful. The best way to create entertainment lighting is to combine the use of ambient string lights and RGB floodlights across the ground of wall mounted in lower brightness, in order to provide uniform colorful light. 

How many Lumens For a Patio Area?

When it comes to patio lighting as it is an entertainment area, it is usually lit by string lights, outdoor wall lights and post lights. The first thing to remember this that patios have different uses at different times and this requires a variety of light. For a small patio anywhere up to 1500 lumens could be good, this amount lighting is enough as sometimes it is layered and pointing in different directions and different applications. For larger patios 3000 lumens and slightly above is definitely comfortable as the total lighting won’t be coming from 1 overhead light. Layered approach towards patio lighting allows for a multitude of effects at slightly higher lumens as it is evenly spread. For example, if 800lumens of the lighting is used as up lighting effects on the border of the patio, you can afford a wall mounted light flooding the area from overhead. When it comes to lumens and brightness, it depends on your layout. However, for large patio areas they sometimes can go all the way up to 6000 lumens and more, if you use a multitude of applications!

What is the Best Exterior Light For Patios?

SANSI has designed and developed the ideal mix of secure and entertainment lighting for backyards. With their new wall mounted RGB floodlight. This provides multiple colors and lighting effects while being remote controlled in unison with others if needed. Due to the fact RGB floodlights have a dimming option and multiple lighting-colored effects they are one of the best options for exterior wall lighting for decking and patios.

RGB Floodlight Design

Wall mounted adjustable design with multi-applicable effects. This allows the light to be easily installed and provide entertaining light for back yard gatherings. This light works as a security light without the reactionary sensor, allowing it to be more controlled and work around your outdoor needs. The perfect entertainment light, the perfect addition.