There are a few different landscape lights to choose from that serve various functions on the property. Some are what’s called “up lighting”, some are “down lighting”. Some have more focused bulbs with a narrow arc of light while some display a wider degree washing over walls or landscape foliage.
Spot Light
Landscape spot lights are referred to by many different names, up lights, bullet lights, and so on. Besides pathway lights these are the most common types of lights seen on a property. Among there advantages are distance of light projection and narrow fields of beams.
Path Light
Also know as hat lights. The goal of a path light is to act primarily as down lighting, essentially lighting up areas from knee level down. They offer more beauty to your landscape as well as increased visibility on your walking areas allowing you to have a surer foothold when getting from point a to point b. They are primarily used around pathways and in flower beds.
Bollard Light
Very similar to the path light in many ways. The bollard light offers a lot of the same features. But rather than as much direct down lighting with minimal glare towards the eyes, the light on these fixtures is meant to be seen, but is often softened by a diffused glass, white cover, or something of the like. These go good amidst the garden and flower beds even more so than the path lights that look best along paths and sidewalks.
Flood Light
Flood lights shine when it comes to washing long walls with light and lighting up shrubbery bushes. Just as the name implies they flood around an area or an object, which translates as a wider field of beam versus the narrower field of beam of the spot light.
Well Light
Another form of up-lighting like the spot lights, the well light’s advantages are that it is flush with the ground. This is great for yard maintenance because a lawnmower can go right over it without damaging it. And you can place these right out in the lawn rather than in bordered flower beds. Their versatility is second to none.
Pond Light
Water features, ponds, and fountains are beautiful to enjoy by the day and even more en-capsulizing by night. The pond light is just one more landscape lighting option that makes that possible.
Deck and Step Light
Another great light with a lot of versatility is known as the step light or deck light. These are installed into existing structures such as masonry facades, walls, and wooden steps. If done right they look great and you don’t see any wire just the light with a clean look. These provide a lot of visibility for walking paths.
Tape Light
Tape lights, also known as strip lighting or rope lighting are a good option if you want to light along straight lines on your hardscape. They could be placed along the edge of your front patio, sidewalk, or even around windows in some applications. One of the cool things about these is that some of these fixtures can integrate directly into your 12-volt landscape lighting system rather than being plugged in.
String Light
Last but not least is the trusty string light. Used as holiday lights for generations, this is now often used as a year-round light fixture as part of a general landscape lighting theme. While these are not powered by the low-voltage transformer. There’s an ok-way to install these and a great-way to install these. Waterproofing and routing the wiring in the system is key when installing these lights. Knowing how to do so is the difference. These are typically used around trees but can used in other applications as well.