Wall lights are one of the easiest ways to create a stylish or cosy garden. With a beautiful wall light, you can illuminate your garden much better. Especially outdoors, there are many places where you would like to have more light, but where there are not many options for installing lighting. In these cases, it is a good idea to hang a wall light, also known as a wall lamp.

Wall lights for outdoors

Just like any other type of lamp, wall lights come in all shapes and sizes. There are modern wall lights that would look great on the wall of a new-build home. But there are also rustic wall lights that are more suited to the tranquil feel of an older house in the countryside.

An outdoor wall lamp for every garden, terrace or balcony

There are indoor wall lights and outdoor wall lights. But what is the big difference? The answer is simple: outdoor wall lights can be hung indoors, but indoor wall lights often cannot be hung outdoors.

The reason for this is, of course, that outdoor lamps need to be more durable. The United Kingdom is known for its rainy climate, so the lamps must certainly be able to withstand a downpour.

The easiest way to check whether a lamp is suitable for outdoor use is to look at its IP rating. There are dozens of different IP ratings, but the three most important ones are:

• IP20: these lamps are not suitable for outdoor use, unless they are hung under a canopy. IP20 means that they are 'dustproof', but cannot withstand water.
• IP44: these lamps are suitable for outdoor use. IP44 means that they are 'splash-proof'. So they can easily withstand a summer shower.
• IP65: these lamps are made for outdoor use. IP65 officially means that they are 'protected against water jets'. This is the best choice for lamps that are continuously exposed to the weather and have little protection from the house or trees.

How do you install a wall lamp?

The installation of a wall lamp depends on the type of wall lamp. There are basically two different types:

• Standard wall lights: connected to the mains
• Solar wall lights: powered by Solar-powered energy

Standard wall lights are connected to the mains, so you will need to connect them to the mains with a cable. There are two ways to do this:

• A hole in the wall that is connected to the mains
• With a plug

In the first case, you probably already have a hole in the wall with electrical wires coming out of it. This looks just like when you hang a pendant lamp, only in the wall. Install the wall lamp as follows:

1. Switch off the power to the circuit where you are going to attach the lamp. Then check this with a voltage tester.
2. Secure the mounting bracket by screwing the screws into the wall.
3. Connect the electrical wires. Connect the blue and Black wires from the terminal block to the blue and Black wires from the wall lamp. It does not matter which wires go where.
4. Attach the wall lamp to the mounting bracket. You do this by screwing it onto the sides of the bracket.
5. Tighten everything securely.
6. Insert the bulb. Most lamps have a GU10 or E27 lampholder. However, some models have integrated LED bulbs. In this case, you do not need to insert an additional bulb.

What do you do if you don't have a wall connection where you want to hang your wall lamp? Then you can attach a plug. This works in much the same way as described above. Only instead of attaching the black and blue power wires from the wall to the terminal block, you now attach the black and blue power wires from the plug to the terminal block.

Which light source fits in the wall lamp?

All outdoor wall lights basically have one of the three Light bulbs listed below: 

• E27 fitting : the fitting for a standard light bulb.
• GU10 fitting : this is the fitting with slightly smaller LED bulbs that you have to turn half a turn to install.
• Integrated LEDs: wall lights with integrated LEDs do not require an additional light source, as this is already included in the light itself.

If you need to insert a light bulb into the lamp yourself, you can also choose from different types of bulbs: 

• Dimmable bulbs: with these bulbs, you can adjust the light intensity with a dimmer (not included).
• WiFi lighting: a smart lamp that you can control with your smartphone for any desired colour and intensity. This turns your wall lamp into a smart wall lamp.
• Dim-to-warm: the light colour of these bulbs is 2200K (candlelight, 'extra' warm white) when dimmed and 2700K (warm white) when not dimmed. 
• 3-step dimmable lamps: the light colour of these lamps is 2200K (candlelight, 'extra' warm white) when dimmed and 2700K (warm white) when not dimmed.