Getting outdoors can be transforming, lifting your mood at any time of the year.
Of course, enjoying your garden on a sunny day is a delight, but there’s something special about enjoying it after dark too. If the weather’s good, it can even feel like a bit like being on holiday.
Still, you don’t want to actually sit in the dark (or do you?!). It’s nice to have a bit of light for lots of reasons. You might want to show off a particular feature, create a fun atmosphere or illuminate paths so no one takes a tumble. It’s also pleasant to sit out and have enough light to see your companions if you’re eating outside (in warm weather). And it’s even enjoyable to look out on a thoughtfully lit garden or outside space from indoors. As an added bonus, a well-lit garden can deter burglars.
Solar lights are a clever solution, but there’s no guarantee they’ll get enough charge on some of our dingier days to do much once night falls. That’s where mains-powered garden lights come in. Because they run off your home’s electricity, you can be sure of continuous lighting at the brightness you want any time.
There are two ways to install mains-powered garden lighting. One is to have an outdoor socket, which you simply plug the outdoor light(s) into, the other is to have underground electrical cables that run straight to the lights. In either event, only ever use lights that have been designed for outdoor use, as they will be water and damp resistant, as well as having all the safety features necessary to cope with the elements.
What kind of lights do I want?
If you’re looking for a bit of fun or want to add a Mediterranean-summer feel to your garden, a string of lights that are hung from a trellis, tree or other overhead structure are a great idea.
If it’s light for a path, then flush spotlights are a good solution, whereas to light a particular feature, lights on spikes that are pushed into the ground work well, as you can angle them to shine wherever you like. Finally, wall-mounted lights are great for illuminating whole areas.
Before you buy
The two things to do before you head off to the shops are:
- Have a think about the look you’re going for and what you want the lights to do, so you know which sort of lights to buy.
- If you don’t have an outside electrical socket, book an electrician to come and either install one or run underground cables.
Shop the best mains powered garden lights below
Aurora G-Lite 125mm Outdoor Recessed Ground Light
Best for: sturdy, hardworking lighting for a multitude of situations
Sturdy recessed mains-powered garden lights are useful in all sorts of scenarios. Think decking, for instance, or patios, gravel walkways, herbaceous borders, placed on upright surfaces such as walls and wooden fences, steps… Practically anywhere.
This one has an aluminium alloy body, a tempered glass lens to add extra safety and takes a maximum of a 35W bulb (sold separately). It’s sturdy and easy to install. Use them to light up dark corners or to add interest to all sorts of areas of your outside space. They’re a handy 10cm across and come with a one-year guarantee. One is good, several are great.
Buy now £18.28, Down Lights
Dawalight External Brick Lights
Best for: discreet lighting
How about a mains-powered garden light that’s a bit of a brick? No, not a real one, but one you could substitute for a brick in the wall? This 28 x 7 x 7.5cm ‘brick’ outdoor light comes with a three-year warranty and a 10W 3000K warm white outdoor LED so you can get going right away. It has a frosted glass panel to stop you from getting dazzled, has a powder coated, dark grey finish and is just the ticket to go into stair risers, light up a balcony or go into a wall in your garden.
Buy now £37.99, Amazon
Auraglow 50W Full Screen LED Flood Light
Best for: brightly lighting large areas
Want to give your garden the Gatwick Airport effect? Light it up like a runway with this mains-powered floodlight. It’s fully adjustable, so you can rotate it 90° vertically and 160° horizontally, to make sure you’re lighting exactly the area you want lit up. The diffuser means it won’t dazzle you, but it will certainly make your garden, driveway, courtyard, house or other outdoor area bright as day.
Its plastic, waterproof construction means you won’t get rust and it’s easy to install. It works on a simple on/off mode and comes with a reassuring two-year warranty.
Buy now £25.98, Amazon
Christmas Lights Outdoor
Best for: creating a jolly atmosphere
It doesn’t have to be the holiday season to enjoy these jolly, colourful, mains-powered garden lights. String them up any time and then leave them out to brighten up your outdoor space all year round. There are 120 bulbs on this string and they can be set to eight different lighting modes, including flashing, fading, chasing/flashing, twinkling and steadily on.
You can also adjust the brightness and set a timer so they’ll come on and go off without you having to remember to do anything. Best of all, there’s no complicated assembly. The nearly 15 meters of length means you can drape them over trees, trellis, wires, fence tops – you name it.
Buy now £17.99, Amazon
Lap Coldstrip 30mm Outdoor LED Recessed Deck Light Kit
Best for: well-priced solution for lighting seating areas
Don’t these mains-powered garden lights look great? This kit includes 10 spots that will sit flush with your decking or patio, or use them on steps or a wall – wherever you want to create an understated but eye-catching impact with lighting outside. They’re a great price too.
Made of stainless steel with a brushed chrome finish, they give off a cool white light with 4.5kWh LED bulbs (supplied) which will give 30,000 hours of light – so don’t be worrying about having to replace them. The whole business comes with a three-year manufacturer’s guarantee to give peace of mind to your purchase.
Buy now £28.98, ScrewFix
Philips Hue Lily Outdoor Spotlight Extension
Best for: illuminating a feature
A mains-powered garden light that’s just the ticket for illuminating a particular feature in your garden. It needs either the Philips Hue Bridge or Philips Hue Lily Smart base unit (sold separately) to get going, but once you have one of these, you can control the light remotely and programme it to come on or go off at different times.
You can also create just about any sort of light experience you can dream up. Want a shining bright white light? You got it. Want an atmospheric soft pink? No problem. Plus, you can go on adding more of these spotlights to your garden to create all sorts of interest points and lighting schemes.
Buy now £89.99, Argos
Philips Hue Resonate Smart Outdoor Wall Light
Best for: being able to control remotely
This clever mains-powered wall light works over your Wi-Fi and can be programmed to come on at specific times or when it detects movement. It has an astonishing 16 million light variations, with everything from a cool white light right through to purple or any other colour you can think of. Operate it through Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple HomeKit or Siri.
You do need to get a Philips Hue Bridge (sold separately), but once installed you can control this wall light from anywhere via the app on your phone. It’s easy to set up and use and, depending on where you install it, this versatile light can be positioned to illuminate a path, a dining area or an entrance.
Buy now £129.99, Argos
Elipta Titan 26 LED Spotlight
Best for: using to uplight a feature
Put a mains-powered garden light on a sturdy spike and you can drive it into just about any ground. That’s what makes the Elipta Titan 26 LED Spotlight so useful. It’s made of a pleasing black-powder coated aluminium, so it looks good too. Send its powerful light up into a tree, onto a wall or perhaps a water feature.
Although it takes an LED bulb, it comes fitted with a warm white light, but just to make sure it doesn’t dazzle, it also comes with a built-in glare shield that can be locked into position so no one gets blinded by the light.
Buy now £208.80, Lighting for Gardens
Elipta Waymarker 180
Best for: lighting driveways and paths
Want a mains-powered garden light that sits close to the ground and shines its light in one direction only? If you’re wondering why this might be useful, then you haven’t considered that you might want your path or driveway lit, but not the vegetation behind it. Similarly, you might even want lights on your driveway, lighting the way in, but don’t want the lights to, say, shine anywhere else.
If this sounds like you, then the Elipta Waymarker 180 will be your go to. It sits in the ground and has two lights that give off 180° of light, so it’s perfect for specific jobs, like lighting your way through the garden to the summer house – where hopefully you’ll find either a warming hot toddy or perhaps some chilled rosé…
Buy now £134.40, Lighting for Gardens
Elipta Compact Up & Down Outdoor Wall Light
Best for: if you want a contemporary look
Made from hardwearing stainless steel for a sophisticated, contemporary look, this mains-powered garden light directs its beam upwards and downwards for a lot of illumination. It’s a 240v model, so doesn’t need an additional transformer, but can connect directly to the electricity supply.
It can be installed against a wall or on a post, and is perfect for illuminating walkways, entrance areas or to create an attractive lighting effect in your garden. It comes with a reassuring two-year warranty and takes two 240v lightbulbs (sold separately). It’s easy to wipe clean and will look great for years to come.
Buy now £109.20, Lighting for Gardens
Elipta Lunar 3 LED Spot Kit
Best for: buying on a budget
A mains-powered garden light kit at a great price. You can use these spotlights either in the garden or – stand back in case of splashing – in your pond or water feature. Yep, that’s right, even your carp can be lit up.
The kit comes with three spotlights with glare shields, three ground-mounting spikes, three white LED bulbs, a 12va Plug & Play transformer and a three-way Plug & Play connector to you can get going right away.
The five metre cabling provides plenty of possibilities when it comes to where you’ll site these shiners and because they’re easy to install, if you change your mind or feel like a different set up, you can just move them about.
Buy now £134.70, Lighting for Gardens
