7 best outdoor lights (2025), including solar lights

Here are some things to keep in mind when you go shopping for outdoor lights.

Energy: For most external lighting, it is necessary to perform a cable in a power outlet, so you will want an external socket. If you don’t have an outdoor grip, it is usually a rather cheap and fast job for an electrician to install a unrehemous resistant. Just be aware of the fact that large power adapters and awkwardly shapes will not adapt external sockets, so you will probably also want a sort of unmpering resistant box. I like the great Dri-Box ($ 42) Because it has a lot of space and marks an IP55 evaluation. I also used the smallest Masterplug Weather Aox Electric Box ($ 45)And that’s okay. If an outdoor grip is not possible, take into consideration the execution of a cable inside, but it can be complicated and disordered if you have to drill a wall. Solar energy lights are a good alternative. You could also consider the use of a portable power plant in a shed or in another reason. Whatever you go, always connect the lighting and connect it via the app before installing it in any external areas.

Photography: Simon Hill

Check: Most of the lighting of the intelligent courtyard connects via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi and is controlled by an app on the phone. You need a decent Wi-Fi signal or to be inside the Bluetooth range. Although it may seem desirable that simplicity has lighting connected directly to Wi-Fi or the use of Bluetooth, there are advantages for dedicated Hub systems. With Philips Hue, for example, the lights are much faster to connect and react to the commands using the HUB Hue which through the bluetooth on the app. Hub can also allow better group control and a larger range. Most intelligent lighting can be controlled by intelligent vocal assistants, such as Amazon Alexa, Google Home and Siri, but be sure to control compatibility before buying.

Lumens: The brightness of the lighting is measured in the lumens. To give you an idea, a 60 watt standard light bulb puts out about 800 lumens.

Color: RGB (red, green, blue) is standard and mixes those three to create other colors. RGBW includes adequate white together with red, green and blue, which offers greater flexibility and it is important if you want a high quality white light. The color temperature is measured in Kelvins (K) and listed as an interval (for example, from 1200k to 6500k). This range determines how hot or cooled your lighting can be. The reds and oranges are at the lower end of the scale and the blue are at the higher end.

IP evaluation: The IP is for the protection of the entrance and determines how well a device opposes water and dust, giving a clear indication of how much resistant to atmospheric agents is. We have an IP evaluation explanation that focuses on phones, but all devices, including external lights, use the same IP scale. We have listed the IP assessments for each light we recommend. While an IP44 evaluation could be quite durable for a wall mounted light that must only face the rain, you will want IP65 or higher for a light on the ground that can be submerged or covered with snow.