Outdoor Lights

An outdoor fitting is chosen on its IP rating before its shape. The two digits describe how well the housing is sealed: the first against solids and dust, the second against water. A higher second digit means more protection from water, and that number is what decides whether a light survives a summer outside or fails in the first storm.

Once the rating is settled, the rest is about how the light gets its power and how it attaches to something. This range covers wall lanterns and spotlights, floodlights, solar path and step lights, string lights, and rechargeable camping lanterns, so it includes both fittings that stay where they are put and lights you carry out and bring back in.

What's in this range

There are 15 products in this collection, priced from 40 to 120 AUD. Heights run from 2.4 cm on a low profile strip up to 25 cm on a lantern, and diameters from 12 cm to 15 cm. The recorded wattages run from 2 W on a small solar fitting up to 100 W, with one floodlight offered in several power options rather than a single figure.

IP65 is the rating that appears most often across this range, listed as weather resistant, waterproof or outdoor protection depending on the product, and one floodlight is listed at IP66. Housings are built for it: durable ABS, heavy duty aluminium, ABS with an aluminium alloy, and a shatter resistant clear housing on one product. Every light source recorded in this range is LED, including an integrated LED chip and a four core high performance LED on the rechargeable spotlight. Power runs three ways: mains AC, solar with an automatic night sensor, and rechargeable. Mounting is equally varied, covering surface mounted wall fittings, screw installation, a solar panel on a ground spike that needs no wiring, and a magnetic base with a foldable hanging hook. Where a socket is listed it is E27. Colour temperature is stated on several products, including warm white around 2700K, a 3000K to 6000K range and a selectable 3000K, 4000K or 6000K option.

How to choose

Start with the IP rating, not the style

Decide how exposed the position is before you look at shapes. A fitting on an open fence, a path or a garden bed takes rain directly. A fitting on a wall under an eave takes less, but it still takes humidity and, near the coast, salt air. An eave keeps rain off, it does not make an indoor fitting suitable outdoors. Read the IP rating on the product page every time.

Solar, mains or rechargeable

Solar fittings need no wiring and no power point, which is why they suit a path, a fence or a garden bed far from the house. They depend on the panel getting daylight, so a spot in permanent shade is the wrong place for one. Mains fittings give constant output and need an electrician. Rechargeable lights come inside to charge and are the answer for camping, a blackout or a table you move. The solar lights range gathers the wire free options.

How it will attach

The mounting method rules positions in or out faster than anything else. A ground spike goes into soil and nothing else. A screw mount needs a solid wall and a drill. A magnetic base with a hook goes on metal or hangs from a branch or a tent frame and needs no fixing at all. Match the mounting on the product page to the surface you actually have.

Warm or cool light outside

Warm white around 2700K suits an entertaining area, a patio or a lantern on a table, because it reads as welcoming and does not flatten the look of a garden. Cooler white suits a driveway, a side path or a security position where the point is to see clearly. Some products here offer a choice of settings, which covers both.

Motion sensors and automatic switching

A motion sensor turns a light on when someone approaches and off again afterwards, which saves the battery on a solar fitting and means nothing is left burning all night. An automatic night sensor does the simpler job of switching on at dusk. The motion sensor lights range lists the products with a sensor built in.

Frequently asked questions

Do solar lights work all year?

They charge from daylight and switch on with a night sensor, so how long they run depends on how much light the panel receives and how the product is set up. Position the panel where it gets direct sun rather than in the shade of a wall or a shrub. What each product includes is on its page.

Can I install these myself?

The solar and rechargeable products, yes. A ground spike needs no wiring and a magnetic or hook mount needs no tools. Anything hardwired into the house must be installed by a licensed electrician in Australia.

What suits a patio table rather than a wall?

A rechargeable lantern or a candle lantern, because it can be carried out, set down and brought back in. The lanterns range covers the portable options, and the step lights range covers the low mounted ones for stairs and paths.