Have you installed aesthetically pleasing and durable fences around your property? White-painted fences or other trendy fence designs can add beauty to the surroundings during the day, but the nighttime story is different.
How will you show off your fence to guests and neighbors when it’s dark? Fence lighting is a great way to add charm to your home’s curb appeal. Even a little lighting can make a big difference.
If you have already invested in fencing, now is the right time to hire lighting specialists or electricians to make your property stand out. In this post, we’ll provide you with the best fence lighting ideas.
What Type of Fence Lights Should You Choose?
You can choose different types of fence lights for your property based on your needs.
- Task lighting: Use task lighting to light up the area around and below the fence.
- Overall lighting: Overall lighting illuminates the yard or other outdoor spaces.
- Accent lighting: Floodlights and spotlights are very popular accent lights. For instance, you may use an uplight accent for highlighting wooden fences.
Fence lighting can be categorized in several other ways:
- Spotlights: One-direction spotlights are best for creating beautiful uplight effects. You can point these lights upwards against a fence or wall.
- Floodlights: Choose a special light fixture for floodlights. Most commonly, floodlights are used for patios and driveways.
- Garden lights: Though many people consider outdoor lights, they think of decorating their decks and patios with lights. However, you can combine these lights with string lights for your garden fence.
- Step lights: Some backyards have stairs. You can install step lights to make the path more visible.
- Bollard lights: Bollard lights are bulbs (mostly LEDs) that are placed on the top of your post. You can illuminate the path inside your premises.
- String lights: Hanging string lights can be another alternative to keep your outdoor space well-lit.
Best Fence Lighting Ideas
Solar Lighting
Do you have a rail-height fence or a tall fence around your house? If so, solar-powered lights along the rail of your fence can be a good choice. The small, easily installable lights have a low-profile design. If the top of the fence has a flat surface, you can border the perimeter with solar lights. With basic electrical knowledge, you can manage these outdoor lights on your own.
Be sure to install the solar panel on the top of your fence. This ensures that it is positioned properly and makes optimal use of solar power. Solar rail lights are best for those who want an eco-friendly solution to fence lighting.
Downward Lighting
There is no need to stick to utilitarian lighting for your fences. Downward lighting is the perfect choice for those who love aesthetics. You will have a lot of options while installing downward lights, and modern, sleek lights with artistic and ornate designs have become highly popular.
Install the lights on every post of your fence. Downward lighting is best for people who prefer low landscaping. Elegant and beautiful lighting is available with hardwired and solar options.
Contemporary Lighting
Add a touch of sophistication to your fence with the right style, color, and artistic elements of contemporary lights. You can install these lights on your fence posts and maintain proper spacing. Glass and metal are most commonly used for these lighting fixtures. Jazz up your front yard with blue, purple, red, yellow, and other fun colors.
The overall setup is very simple, and you may not need to hire electricians for installation. It is best to turn on the hanging solar lights in the afternoon. The modern solar panel absorbs natural light during the daytime.
Uplighting
Uplighting is an outdoor lighting style that creates a dramatic effect in your outdoor space. The lighting style makes your natural or artificial landscape elements more prominent. Uplight for outdoor space can come in two forms: shining on the fence or highlighting a stone wall.
Uplighting gives the fence and the space surrounding it a vivid look. However, this light does not illuminate the overall landscape. So, you may want to add other lighting styles along with uplights. When you turn on both lighting styles, you will experience a beach-style landscape.
LED Lighting
If there are large posts on your fence, you may find a cap on the top. Rather than placing a lantern, you may simply install an LED strip lighting fixture. It is the best way to create a clutter-free, sleek look. If you love contemporary trends, we recommend LED lights.
LED strips will make your yard look elegant as they can create a warm glow.
Wall Light
If you have an Asian garden and there are wooden fences, you can choose a specially designed wall light. Mount the wall light to every fence post and make sure that the wooden fence works as a screen also.
It is a unique way to accentuate your fence design. Light rays will fill the space around your fence so everything will be cozier and warmer.
Combination Lighting
A gorgeous hourglass lighting effect can be created with combination lighting and your fence line will become more prominent with this lighting style. Combine upward and downward lights to make your yard eye-catching at night.
Illumination from combination lighting will also boost the security of your property. While downward lighting illuminates your landscape features, upward lighting defines the overall space.
These are some ways to create an artistic appeal with an intricate pattern. For a hardwired lighting project, you can choose solar-powered options. You may also install lights to target low to mid-level plants.
Post Lighting
There is nothing wrong with mounting lights on your fence walls. However, you can differentiate the beauty of your property by adding light fixtures to the top of the post. This type of lighting effect lets you define your posts while projecting light outward and upward.
Post lights can be used as security lighting and landscape lighting. There are many post-light designs and most of them are easy to install. If the post has a standard dimension of 4 inches by 4 inches, you can fit the light around it.
You can choose between solar-powered and hardwired lights. Solar-powered versions are available at an affordable rate and do not draw electricity from the grid. Post lighting can be found with decorative and simple designs. So, you can create a personalized design in your front yard and backyard. Though often used for wooden fences, post lighting can also be used for vinyl and metal fences.
Bistro Lighting
Bistro fence lights create a classic look in rustic settings like warehouses or barns. They are slightly larger than string lights and are a great way to add fun to your fence. Many homeowners like to use these lights for their decks and patios. However, you can also make your fence line stand out with a strand of bistro lights.
Choose a conventional electrical outlet where you can easily plug your lights or festoon the light and add a dramatic effect. It can take a few hours to install bistro lights.
Hanging Lights
Hanging lights is a modern lighting technique for your backyard fence. Buy circular bulbs for your wooden fence, illuminate the outdoor area, and make the overall environment cozier. If you want to create the best setup for an outdoor gathering, you should install these lights.
Low-voltage Lighting
If your fence is smaller than a standard fence, you should opt for low-voltage lights. Often, smaller fences are used to separate the patio from the grassy area behind. Choose the upper section of the fence for mounting the outdoor sconces. Illuminate your patio and give it a flawless look.
If you desire an accent look on your fence, we suggest you choose low-voltage lights. Although they do not emit bright rays, they will still illuminate your small yard or patio. You may also blend them with some other outdoor lighting options to increase the brightness level.
Dim Lighting
Using dim lighting is another interesting outdoor lighting idea. Just below the wooden cap of your fence, you can install the small dim lights. They will emit a soft glow around the space where you have installed them and the best part is that you can combine this light with other lights you have mounted on the trees.
Tree lights can be installed with a black zip tie. On the contrary, fence lights are fitted into a particular place. Maintain a uniform gap between lights for the best results, but make sure there is not too much distance between lights. A wonderful yellow glow will transform a traditional setup into an eclectic one.
Which Solar Fence Lights Are Best for Your Property?
A cheaper price may not always be the right choice. So, before buying solar lights for the fence, you should consider the most common features and qualities.
For instance, your lights should have a solid assembly to hold their batteries, which reserve sunlight.
Solar lights are found in various styles, but you should check the battery quality before purchasing them.
Do Solar Fence Lights Get Charged on Cloudy Days?
Homeowners often browse through several collections of lighting to ultimately invest in LED lighting systems for their fences. However, you may have heard about solar lights if you are familiar with different bulb types and lighting fixtures. But the question many people have when it comes to solar fence lighting is whether you can charge your solar lights on overcast days.
The truth is that although you can charge the panels, there will be a slower charging speed. It happens because of the lower irradiance of the sun on cloudy days.
Interestingly, you will find a higher charging efficiency on cloudy days. On sunny days, the solar panel’s temperature is high when charging, which ultimately reduces the charging efficiency.
Should You Choose Low-voltage Lights for Your Fence?
Low-voltage lights are similar to standard lights, with the difference being the amount of voltage consumed by each type of light. Standard lights need 120V to light up, while low-voltage lights need only 12V.
There are several advantages to choosing low-voltage lights. Most of them have durable fixtures and provide consistent electricity. Some low-voltage lights are also available with automatic sensors for motion detection. Furthermore, there is no hassle of maintaining the battery of your lights – you will get a long-term solution with low-voltage lights.
However, as you need to use a transformer, cables, and connectors, you need to call an electrician for installation – you cannot manage installation on your own.
Summing up
Proper fence lighting is a way to make your outdoor space more eye-catching. To help you make your lighting project successful, we have provided some of the best fence lighting ideas.
Before buying lights for deck railing and outdoor fences, you need to create a place. Sometimes, the yard can be illuminated with fewer lights if done correctly. It can produce a relaxed and soothing atmosphere if you go for lights that create a soft glow. Experiment with different lighting styles and develop the best ambiance.
