Why You Should Use Outdoor LED Lighting in Your Garden

Why You Should Use Outdoor LED Lighting in Your Garden

Why You Should Use Outdoor LED Lighting in Your Garden

Outdoor lighting brings a whole host of benefits to your garden. Whether you want to highlight particular features in your garden, have a security feature to deter burglars,  illuminate potential hazards at night, or create a cosy outdoor space for entertaining guests, outdoor lighting is an absolutely essential element in your garden decorations. 

However, not all outdoor lighting is created equal. Older lighting options are prone to overheating, breaking and lacking brightness, whereas LED lighting eliminates all of these issues and more. If you want to discover why you should be using outdoor LED lighting in your garden, and LED festoon lights in particular, just keep on reading.

What Are the Benefits of LED Lighting?

LEDs (light-emitting diodes) have been around for many decades, but developments in recent years have started to make them more appealing than traditional lighting options such as incandescent bulbs.

Gone are the days when LED lights were an overly expensive lighting choice that didn’t provide enough brightness to compete with other light bulbs. Here are just a few examples of their many benefits:

  • No heat or UV emissions. Since LED lights don’t produce heat, they’re much safer to handle. Additionally, LEDs don’t produce UV radiation either, which means they won’t degrade the colours in paintings if you use these bulbs indoors.
  • Eco-friendliness. Their energy efficiency is one of the main reasons why LED bulbs are eco-friendly, but they also help the environment by not containing harmful substances like mercury, which can be found in other light bulbs.
  • Variety. LED lights come in many different styles, including strip lights, pendant lighting, globe bulbs and outdoor LED festoon lights. LEDs also come in a wide range of colours, making them extremely versatile and customisable.

Should LED Lights Be Used Outside?

Yes, absolutely.

If you’re thinking about purchasing new lights for your garden, then LEDs are the way to go. Here’s why:

  • They’re very bright. Although LEDs weren’t so bright in the past, LED lights are now one of the brightest lighting options, making them perfect for safety and security purposes.
  • They work well in cold conditions. Older lighting options become dimmer and require a higher voltage to turn on when it’s cold, but outdoor LED lighting performs even better in these conditions. This means LEDs can be used outdoors even in winter.
  • They’re durable. LED bulbs are made using plastic rather than glass, making them more durable and less prone to shattering than older bulb types. This means LEDs are better for outside use as they can withstand stormy weather much better.

Since there are so many different types of LEDs, you can easily find the perfect outdoor LED lighting for any purpose. Recessed LED lights are fantastic for illuminating paths in the dark, motion sensor LED lights can be used as a security feature, and LED festoon lights are the best choice for festive lights and garden party decorations. 

What Are LED Festoon Lights?

Festoon lights, also known as café lights, party lights or string lights, first became popular in the US in the 1950s. Since then, their popularity has exploded around the world.

LED festoon lighting consists of a series of large LED bulbs hanging from a cable, which can be wrapped around trees or pergolas or attached to fixing points (such as wooden poles and fences). 

In the past, festoon garden lights used traditional glass bulbs, which meant that these lights could often overheat or shatter. However, now that plastic LED bulbs are commonly used, festoon lighting is much more durable and therefore more suitable for outdoor use all year round.

Why Should I Use Outdoor LED Festoon Lights?

If you’re interested in installing LED lights in your garden, then you should consider outdoor festoon lights to fulfil all your outdoor lighting needs. 

Festoon garden lights are perfect if you want festive lights or lighting for an outdoor event, but they’re also so much more than just party lighting. LED festoon lights could be your all-year-round outdoor lighting solution, and here’s why.

1) Festoon lights are easy to install

To install LED festoon lights, all you have to do is plan where you want to hang them, attach the cables to the fixing points, and plug your festoon lights into an outdoor power source. There’s no complicated wiring involved, so you could have your new LED festoon lighting ready to go in no time. 

One of the best places to install your outdoor festoon lights is around a patio or seating area, as this will create an inviting atmosphere for your guests. Using hooks and cable ties, you can attach your connectable festoon lights to the outside of your house, a fence or a sturdy post, or if you have trees near your patio, you can simply wrap the lighting cable around the trunks. Equally, if you have a pergola or gazebo in your garden, you could wrap your festoon lights around these structures to create a magical atmosphere when the sun sets.

For an even easier installation process, you can purchase solar-powered festoon lights. These solar festoon lights store energy from the sun during the day and automatically turn on at night, meaning they don’t need to be plugged into a power source.

2) LED festoon lighting can be left outside

Not only are festoon lights easy to install but they can also be left outside throughout the year. This means you won’t have to worry about constantly taking them down and putting them back up again.

Of course, this all depends on whether your LED festoon lighting is waterproof or not. To determine this, all you have to do is check the IP rating on the box. A rating of IP44 shows that you have weatherproof festoon lighting, which means it can withstand light rain. Higher ratings (such as IP65) indicate that the lighting is waterproof and can withstand heavier rain.

If you have IP44 festoon lights, you should take them down before heavy rain or ensure that they’re partially covered. For example, if your LED festoon lighting is wrapped around a tree or pergola, it’ll have some extra protection from the elements.

3) Outdoor LED festoon lights are incredibly versatile

One of the main benefits of festoon lighting is that it fits any occasion, function or mood. Most commonly, LED festoon lights are used for outdoor celebrations and events (e.g., party lighting and wedding lighting), but this doesn’t mean that they can’t fulfil other roles. In fact, since they provide high-quality illumination, festoon lights can also deter intruders and light up potential safety hazards, such as ponds, steps and uneven garden paths.

The versatility of LED festoon lights can perhaps be attributed to their wide range of customisation options. By shopping LED festoon lighting on sites such as Ultra LEDs, you can select your preferred bulb colour (such as cool white, warm white, red, blue or green), string length, bulb shape and more. 


How Can I Use LED Festoon Lighting in My Garden?

As mentioned above, festoon lights are incredibly versatile. Thanks to their many customisation options, these outdoor LED lights can truly match any occasion and fulfil any purpose in your garden. 

Here are some ideas on how you can make use of LED festoon lighting in your outdoor space:

  • Party lighting. A summer garden party isn’t complete without outdoor LED festoon lights. These festive lights add a sense of fun and playfulness to any outdoor space, and since they can also be found in a wide range of colours, they’re also fantastic for decorating children’s birthday parties.
  • Alfresco dining. In addition to being fun and festive, festoon lighting can also evoke a sense of intimacy. By adorning an outdoor dining area with twinkling, warm white festoon lights, you can create a romantic atmosphere to complement an amazing al fresco dining experience.
  • Spending time with friends and family. Warm white festoon lights create such an inviting and soothing ambience, which means they’re perfect for decorating and illuminating your outdoor seating and dining areas. Thanks to the soft glow of these lights, you’ll be able to sit outside and spend time with family and friends well into the evening.
  • Safety and security lighting. By hanging up cool white LED lights, you’ll get very bright illumination in your outside space, which means you’ll clearly reveal all potential hazards and also deter intruders. For example, you can hang connectable festoon lights along a pathway using shepherd’s hooks, preventing falls and accidents at night, or you can hang them by steps or other safety hazards like ponds to alert people to their presence. 

Where Can I Buy Festoon Lights and Outdoor LED Lighting?

Outdoor LED lighting is an absolute necessity in any garden. In particular, LED festoon lighting is long-lasting, durable, easy to install, eco-friendly and endlessly customisable, which means it can fulfil all of your outdoor lighting needs.

If you’re hoping to buy the best festoon lights and outdoor LED lighting, look no further than Ultra LEDs. At Ultra LEDs, you can buy all kinds of LED lights, festoon lights, festoon accessories and easy-to-use lighting kits for indoor and outdoor use. Visit the Ultra LEDs website today to discover high-quality LED lights for an amazing price.