Outdoor Lighting Ideas

The Most Cost-Effective Outdoor Party Lights

Installing your own set of outdoor party lights can create a fantastic effect. They look great and add a wonderful atmosphere to your yard or patio. But they can be expensive, and people often wonder what the most cost-effective lights are.

One type of outdoor party lights that are growing in popularity is lamp-posts. These come in a wide variety of styles and can be coordinated with any home. You can even make the post with stonework and place a light on top of it. While lamp-posts are not cheap to buy, install, or build, they do spread their light out well. Since they are high off the ground, it takes fewer to cover the same area as it would a shorter light. So, they are expensive, but you need less of them.

 LED lights are another type that is popular. These are intensely bright, so you get a lot of illumination for the size of the fixture. Even tiny LED outdoor party lights are going to do a great job of lighting a path or the inside of a gazebo. In fact, these are the only string lights that give you a lot of light for your money.  


If you are looking for outdoor party lights that save you money in the long run, look into solar power. You can get path lights, wall lights, and fancy porch lights that all run off of solar power. The great thing is that these lights are no longer terribly expensive. You won’t pay much more for solar powered outdoor party lights that you would for a regular light of the same kind.

Wall lights are another type of outdoor party lights that are very decorative and provide a lot of light. You can get wall lights in silver, brass or wrought iron looks, among others. They can match the rest of your outdoor lighting nicely. One of the best things about wall lights is that they don’t take up your party space. They are most effective when the party is held on the patio or near the walls, so that their light is effective.

Ambient lighting is generally not the way you want to go if you are trying to keep your cost down for the amount of light you get. Pond lighting and torches are attractive, but they shed very little light, and only last for a short time before having to be replaced or refueled. While they are great outdoor party lights, string lights are also not generally very cost effective. The strands cost quite a bit of money, and they generally do not provide a lot of light.

Remember that a lot of lighting can be added later. Just because you can’t get accent lighting now doesn’t mean you can’t plan for it later. If you only have a little money to work with, buy lights that will really do their job right up front, and then add other outdoor party lights later.

No matter what kind of outdoor party lights you put up, they are sure to light up your yard beautifully well. Both you and your guests will love the effect and extra lighting.