LED lighting offers a more efficient way to make your home brighter on the outside or on the inside. These light bulbs provide plenty of illumination while also requiring a lower amount of energy compared to other kinds of bulbs. With LED lighting, you can brighten up your patio or deck for special occasions, light up an architectural feature at night to enhance your home, or highlight your landscaping when it’s dark out.
Different LED lighting options are available for exterior and interior use. Knowing more about these different types, including when to use them and what they’re often used for, can help you choose the right kind for your home. Keep in mind that you can also install more than one type of LED lights in different areas to create a certain ambience or environment. The following are a few main types of LED lights to think about adding to your home this year.
LED Track Lights
LED track lighting refers to lights that are attached to a rail or track mounted on a ceiling. In this case, light fixtures are attached rather than just the bulb. With this type of setup, LED track lights can be placed in different rooms or on exterior ceilings, such as patio or covered deck ceilings.
Track lights are made to be highly customizable, so that you can have them designed to suit your needs. The tracks or rails allow you to have a certain number of light fixtures added to achieve the right ambience or ensure enough illumination.
The rails or tracks these lights are on also come in different styles. Standard linear track lights offer a simple, uniform look. This type of track lighting can be arranged in a straight line or placed in a specific layout, such as at angles to brighten up a corner. Keep in mind that there are a few standard track types in North America, including H, J, and L types. These types might look similar, but they have different light bases, which means they can’t be used interchangeably.
Tracks for LED track lighting are also available in curved shapes and styles for a more visual impact. Some have gentle curves, while others have more dramatic curves. You’ll also find monorail track lighting, which features a rail that hangs from the ceiling by rods. Cable track lighting has LED bulbs that hang from cables rather than rails. Other options for LED track lighting include flexible and fixed track lights. Fixed remain in the same position, while flexible tracks allow you to adjust them as needed.
Uses for LED Track Lights
How should you use LED track lighting? This type of lighting is typically installed in interior areas where you need more light for functionality, such as in a kitchen, or interior rooms where you might want brighter overhead lighting, such as in living rooms for reading. LED track lights can also be used indoors to highlight a work of art on the wall. In this case, these lights are placed on the ceiling and shine down on artwork to draw attention to it. LED track lights used for this purpose tend to provide less illumination, since they’re not being used for functionality.
LED track lights can be used outdoors. These kinds of LED lights can be installed on the ceilings of outdoor structures, such as covered patios, decks, and porches or outdoor living areas. You can have track lighting installed to brighten up grilling areas, so you can see better while cooking outdoors. You might also choose LED track lights to go above seating areas in outdoor structures or outdoor living areas, as long as they’re not too bright.
When to Use LED Track Lighting
When should you choose LED track lights for your home? You might choose this option when you want to add brightness to a certain room or area in your home, so that you can see better while performing tasks or doing activities. If you want to showcase one or more works of art on your walls, track lighting with LED bulbs can also be a good choice. With this option, you’ll be able to softly illuminate the artwork without adding too much light to the rest of the room.
When you want to add more illumination to outdoor areas that get a lot of use, such as a covered porch or deck, LED track lights can be a great option. Whether you want to make sure you can read comfortably while sitting outside at night or ensure that you have plenty of lighting when grilling dinner when it’s dark out, consider LED track lighting.
LED Landscape Lights
LED landscape lights provide a highly effective way to enhance your home exterior when it’s dark out while also improving security and functionality. These types of lights are designed to be placed in certain areas of your property or on your home exterior to provide just enough lighting, depending on their purpose. Different types of LED landscape lighting are available, with some being made to highlight one feature or area and others being designed to brighten up larger outdoor areas.
Spotlight landscape lighting directs LED lights toward a particular feature or area. These lights can shine light upward to illuminate a tree or other tall object in your yard. Other spotlights shine light down onto shorter objects or lower areas, such as garden statues or flowers. Uplight and downlight LED lighting can range in terms of how much brightness it produces and how large of an area it covers.
Garden lights are usually decorative landscape lights that are placed in natural areas or gardens to highlight this part of your yard. These kinds of lights might have an elegant, ornamental design, a whimsical design, a vintage design, or another eye-catching design that enhances gardens or natural areas. Garden LED lights are typically designed to give off a limited amount of lighting, so multiple lights are often used to provide the right amount of illumination if needed.
Flood lights are another type of LED landscape light that’s available. These lights provide a significant amount of light in yards, making them a good choice for security purposes. Some LED flood lights shine light continuously, while others are motion-activated and only stay on temporarily after detecting movement.
Other types of LED landscape lights include hardscape lights, deck lights, step lights, wall wash lights, well lights, and path lights. Hardscape lights are designed to highlight hard landscape features, such as tile or brick, while deck lights are used to brighten up outdoor decks. Step lights illuminate outdoor stairs, and path lights provide light along pathways. Well lights are installed below ground, while wall wash lights are a type of flood light that offers a wider area of brightness rather than a wedge-shaped or oval-shaped area.
Uses for LED Landscape Lighting
Landscape LED lighting can provide multiple uses or singular uses, such as lighting up a certain tree or statue or offering both security and illumination. Path lights, flood lights, and similar types of LED landscape lighting can be used to make outdoor areas safer and more secure at night. Flood lights help deter intruders and provide plenty of light to see by, while path lights help guide you along pathways or walkways outdoors in the dark. Step lights can be used to make it safer to walk up and down patio stairs, deck stairs, or other steps at night.
Garden lights, uplights, downlights, hardscape lights, and similar LED landscape lighting provide a more decorative or aesthetic purpose. These types of landscape lights are mainly designed to enhance certain areas of your home exterior or your yard. They also provide some illumination, which can make it easier to see in the dark, but their brightness is often limited.
Deck lights and similar lights can provide light for practical purposes while also providing safety. These landscape lights can allow you to do activities outdoors or offer some lighting for outdoor gatherings. They can also be used to brighten up stairs and railings on decks for better safety.
When to Use LED Landscape Lights
When should you choose LED landscape lighting for your home or yard? When you want to call attention to certain landscape features or areas of your yard, landscape lights are the right choice. These lights can make sure that your landscaping can be seen and appreciated even when it’s dark out. Decorative landscape lights can also add visual appeal to your property.
When you want to add more lighting to your yard to deter intruders or make it safer to walk around at night, landscape lighting can help. These LED lights can provide plenty of brightness to all or most of your yard or brighten up certain areas as needed, such as steps or pathways. Landscape lights can also add functionality to certain areas of your yard, such as decks or outdoor living spaces.
LED String Lights
LED string lights are outdoor lights that come in strands or strings. You can hang these lights in a wide range of outdoor places and use them for different purposes. String lights can provide slight illumination or brighter lighting as needed, depending on where you put them and what you use them for. Some LED string lights have a simple or plain design with white or clear lights, while others have elaborate designs and come in multiple colors. String lights can also have other features, such as blinking on and off or lighting up in certain patterns. These lights are available in different bulb shapes and styles as well, such as lantern shapes and globe shapes.
LED string lights are made to be wound around railings or installed on walls and ceilings of outdoor areas, such as along roofs, porches, decks, and patios. You can hang them straight across, or install them in more complex arrangements for an eye-catching look. You’ll find these types of lights in various strand lengths and different bulb sizes.
Uses for LED String Lights
Why might you choose LED string lights for your yard or home exterior? These lights can be used for decorative purposes, such as sprucing up an otherwise plain yard, fence, or exterior. You can install them to use on special occasions, such as summer gatherings, or put them up to give your home a festive look for upcoming holidays. For example, you might choose orange and purple lights for Halloween or red and green lights for Christmas. You can also use different LED string light styles and colors in different seasons.
LED string lights offer a simple and convenient way to add some brightness to outdoor areas, as well as visual interest. Whether you want to give your outdoor areas some style or celebrate holidays and other special occasions, these can be the ideal LED lights to choose.
When to Use LED String Lighting
When should you use LED string lighting? While you might not want to solely rely on these lights for illumination where a lot of brightness is needed, you can use them to add a touch of light to patios, decks, or other outdoor areas. You can also use these lights on fences, trees, and other areas of your yard.
LED string lighting can be installed along the roof of your home for festive or special occasions, but you might also choose to keep these lights up all year round. Since LED string lights come in different colors, styles, and sizes, you can put your creative skills to use and brighten up your home exterior in any season.
Gemstone Lights for Your LED Lighting Needs
No matter what type of LED lights you want for your home, Gemstone Lights can help. We offer high-quality LED lighting with customization options to fit your needs. Our LED lights can be used outdoors in all kinds of weather, or you can choose to have indoor LED lights installed in your home. In addition to offering high-quality LED lights, we provide a convenient way to change their look at any time. Our Gemstone Lights can be used with our app, which allows you to change colors, set patterns, create timers, and make other adjustments as needed right from your device.
For more information on our LED lighting options for your home, please contact Gemstone Lights today.