The warmer weather of summer often means that it’s time for homeowners to start planning outdoor parties. Whether you call it a barbecue, a cook out, or just hanging on the patio, most of us love to party outdoors and enjoy the warm nights.
However, one of the most overlooked aspects of outdoor entertaining is the lighting for our patios and outdoor space. Many people rely on simple citronella candles or tiki torches to light the party space. Others string up little more than Christmas lights or plastic lanterns.
While these can be quite festive, they are really just decorative lighting and not really intended to provide the ambient or main light in the party space.
So what usually happens is that a harsh porch light is left on and most people begin to congregate around it. It is, after all, a natural instinct for people to want to see clearly and not sit in the dark.
That’s where Eric Krise Electrical Contractors can help by assisting you in designing and installing a true lighting system for your outdoor entertaining area.
Just like indoor lighting, we are again talking about the three basic types of light in a lighting scheme – ambient, task, and accent lighting.
The first step is to install proper task lighting where needed.
The most obvious area is at barbecue or outdoor kitchen fixtures. For cooking, it’s best to use a white light such as LED light fixtures or a fluorescent light rather than an incandescent or halogen light. You don’t want the cooking area to be lit with pink light, which can easily lead to overcooking. Also don’t put the light behind the cook to prevent his or her shadow falling on the cooking space.
We can install the needed outdoor outlets and task lighting fixtures around your cooking space, which is one area where you’ll really want to be able to see what you’re doing.
Other task lighting areas include areas where you are changing music, getting food, mixing drinks, or eating. In addition, make sure you light anything potentially dangerous, like stairs, large obstacles, and your swimming pool.
A host of outdoor lighting options are available from decorative lantern fixtures to softer more modern fixtures that don’t cast the same harsh light as full security spotlights.
Ambient lighting in areas where people are eating or congregating can be trickier. Harsh overhead lighting can leave your guests encased in shadows.
Indoors, ambient lighting is often bounced off walls and ceilings, which aren’t present outdoors. You can, however, create ambient lighting by bouncing light off of an exterior wall, fences, trees and the ground. Lighting fixtures close to the ground or installed in low patio walls can help create a pleasing ambient effect.
Stringed lights above eye level can provide softer ambient light, especially if you use frosted bulbs. We can help install outdoor outlets and proper support for string lights.
Accent lighting highlights the features of your yard or patio that you want to accentuate. Lighting statues, plants and architectural features provides your outdoor space with dimension, improving the overall feel of your outdoor space.
A host of options are now available for outdoor accent lights from solar powered lights, multicolor lights and LED lighting. Small spotlights installed in your yard can highlight landscaping and artwork. A ground light shined upwards into a tree, for example creates specific mood lighting for your yard.
LED lighting can also outline paths and seating areas to help your guests move around safely. These accent lights also help with the general ambient lighting in your outdoor space.
For decorative lighting, there are a lot of options, from candles, torches, lanterns, and stringed party lights.
Just remember that decorative lights provide poor ambient light and shouldn’t be your main source of lighting.
Just like indoor lighting you want to create and overall scheme where task areas are lit adequately and you have a soft comfortable ambient light, highlighted by decorative accent lighting touches. Then you’ll feel like your partying in a true event space and not just stumbling around in the dark.
Do you need help installing outdoor lights? Call us at 856.769.3932.