Home › Lighting › Buyer's guide

Garden and Patio Lighting: What to Look for Before You Buy

Lumens, Kelvin, IP ratings, wet and damp locations, 12-volt systems and solar, explained from the makers' own pages, with seven lights that show the numbers.

By Sarah ChenBuyer's guide · Updated October 22, 2026 · 12 min read

We may earn a commission when you buy through links on this page. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Every spec below is the maker's own published figure, with the source and the date we read it. Learn more ›

A garden light is sold on a photo. The numbers that decide whether it lights the path, lasts the winter and lets you sleep sit in a spec table under the photo. This page reads those numbers, from the makers' own pages, so you can compare any light you find.

On October 22, 2026, we read the product pages of Ring, Philips Hue, Brightech and Kichler, a lighting maker's guide to IP ratings, a lighting distributor's bulletin on UL wet locations, and the ENERGY STAR page on colour temperature. Every figure below carries its source. Where a maker doesn't publish one, the table says so.

The numbers on the box

Six numbers matter. Lumens tell you how much light. Kelvin tells you what colour of white. The IP rating tells you how well the fixture keeps water and dust out. The wet or damp location rating tells you where a US lab says it may hang. The voltage tells you what wiring it needs. For a solar light, the run time tells you how long it lasts after dark.

Lumens: how much light

Lumens are the amount of light that leaves the fixture. The number for a path light and the number for a floodlight sit two orders of magnitude apart, and both are right for their job.

What the makers publish, by category:1^,2^,3^,4^,5^,6

Category	Example	Lumens
Path light, solar	Ring Solar Pathlight	up to 80
Path light, low voltage	Philips Hue Calla Large	590 at 4000K, 350 at 2700K
Step light, solar	Ring Solar Steplight	up to 50
String light	Philips Hue Festavia globe, 45 ft	800 total, 16 bulbs
String light, solar	Brightech Ambience Pro Solar	Not published
Wall lantern	Philips Hue Resonate	1,180 at 4000K, 710 at 2700K
Spotlight	Philips Hue Lily	590 at 4000K, 350 at 2700K
Floodlight	Ring Floodlight Cam Plus	2,000 each, two heads

Lumens as stated on each maker's page, read October 22, 2026. "Not published" = not on the page we read.

Two things to read in that table. A path light that marks a path needs tens of lumens, not hundreds; Ring's 80 is a bright one in its class.1 And a colour-changing light publishes two figures, because a warm white uses fewer of its LEDs: Hue's Calla gives 590 lumens at a cool 4000K and 350 at a warm 2700K.2 Compare lights at the same Kelvin.

Kelvin: what colour of white

Kelvin is the colour of the white light. ENERGY STAR's rule of thumb: 2700 to 3000K is a warmer, yellower white; 4000K and higher is a cooler, bluer white.7

The makers we read sit between 2700K and 3500K for garden fixtures: Ring's path and step lights at 3500K, its floodlight at 3000K, Brightech's solar strand fixed at 3000K, and Hue's fixtures tunable from 2000K to 6500K.1^,3^,5^,6 For a patio you sit on after dark, 2700K to 3000K is the range that reads as candlelight rather than a parking lot. The dark-sky guidance below says the same for a different reason.

IP ratings: water and dust

An IP rating has two digits. The first is dust, the second is water. Ledvance, a lighting maker, explains the scale from the IEC 60529 standard:8

IP44. Keeps out objects over 1 mm and "effectively repels rain splash." Fine under an eave.
IP65. Complete dust protection and resistance to "low-pressure water columns," so it takes a hose. Fine in the open.
IP67. Dust-tight and able to take "brief immersion," up to one meter for 30 minutes. For a fixture that sits in a puddle or a planter.

The makers we read: Ring's solar path and step lights are IP66; Hue's Calla, Lily and Festavia are IP65; Hue's Resonate wall light is IP44.1^,2^,3^,5^,6

Wet, damp and dry locations

US fixtures also carry a UL location rating, from the UL 1598 standard. A lighting distributor's bulletin quotes the three definitions:9

Dry. Not normally subject to dampness.
Damp. "Normally or periodically subject to condensation of moisture," such as a covered porch.
Wet. Where "water or other liquid can drip, splash, or flow on or against" the fixture.

A fixture under a louvered pergola roof sits in a damp location when the roof is closed and a wet one when it is open, so buy wet-rated. Hue prints "wet location" on the Lily spotlight and "fully weatherproof: yes" on the Resonate; it prints "fully weatherproof: no" on the Lucca lantern, which belongs under cover.5^,6^,10

12-volt systems

Most hard-wired garden lights run on low voltage. Kichler's guide, from a maker of these systems, describes the parts:11

The transformer is "the bridge that connects standard 120V household power to the 12V voltage required for landscape lights." It has taps at 12, 13, 14 and 15 volts to make up for the voltage lost along a long cable.

The sizing rule is one line: "the total VA value of the system shouldn't exceed the wattage value of the transformer." Add up every fixture's VA and buy a transformer above that.

The cable: "we recommend starting with 12 gauge and adjusting to a larger cable if necessary." Kichler's formula for the voltage lost on a run is two times the cable length times the total VA on that run, divided by a constant for the cable gauge, and the last fixture on the run should still see more than 10 volts.11

Philips Hue's garden fixtures use their own 24-volt low-voltage system with a separate power supply, so they don't share a 12-volt transformer.2^,5

Solar

A solar light is a panel, a battery and a lamp. The number to find is the run time after a full charge, and most makers are quiet about it.

Ring's solar path and step lights state an 18650 lithium-ion battery with a Micro USB port for a backup charge, an IP66 rating and an operating range of -4°F to 122°F; the panel size and the run time are "not specified" on the page.1 Brightech states about 5 to 6 hours on a full charge from a 1-watt panel, a full day of charging before you judge the first evening, and, on its blog, about two years of life from the panel, covered by the warranty.3^,12

Read solar as a light for a path or a fence line in a sunny yard, with a battery you'll replace. For a patio you use every evening, a wired fixture is the one that is on at 11 p.m. in January.

Light that stays in your yard

DarkSky International publishes five principles for outdoor lighting: useful, targeted, low level, controlled and warm-coloured. Its home assessment asks for a fully shielded fixture aimed down, 2700K or lower where possible, and 3000K only if the fixture is well shielded and used only when needed.13 A warm, shielded, downward light is also the one your neighbour never complains about.

Seven lights that show the numbers

Light	Lumens	Kelvin	IP	Power	Warranty	Price
Ring Solar Pathlight	up to 80	3500K	IP66	Solar, 18650 battery	1 year	$27.99
Philips Hue Calla Large	590 / 350	2000 to 6500K	IP65	24 V low voltage	2 years	$199.99
Philips Hue Festavia globe, 45 ft	800 total	2700K and 4000K	IP65	24 V, supply included	2 years	$229.99
Brightech Ambience Pro Solar	Not published	3000K	Not published	Solar, 1 W panel	2 years	$64 to $100
Philips Hue Resonate	1,180 / 710	2000 to 6500K	IP44	Mains	2 years	$189.99
Philips Hue Lily spotlight	590 / 350	2000 to 6500K	IP65, wet location	24 V, supply separate	2 years	$129.99
Ring Floodlight Cam Plus	2 x 2,000	3000K	Not published	Hardwired or plug-in	1 year	$179.99

Maker list prices and figures from each maker's page, read October 22, 2026. Ring's path light showed $27.99 with $34.99 crossed out. "Not published" = not on the page we read.

Hue's Festavia and the other Hue garden fixtures need the Hue Bridge, $149.99 on the maker's page, to run.3

See the Ring Solar Pathlight at Ring

See the Philips Hue Festavia at Philips Hue

The checklist

Questions

How many lumens does a path need?

The makers' own path lights run from 10 to 80 lumens, and a bright pedestal light at 350 lumens in warm white.1^,2 A path needs to be seen, not lit like a room; start low.

What is the difference between IP65 and a wet location rating?

IP comes from the IEC standard and rates the fixture's seal against dust and water.8 The wet location rating comes from UL 1598 and says where a US lab allows the fixture to be installed.9 A good outdoor fixture prints both.

Can I run garden lights from one transformer?

Yes, up to the transformer's wattage: add the VA of every fixture and stay under it, and keep the last fixture above 10 volts.11

How long does a solar light last after dark?

The one maker we read that publishes a figure says about 5 to 6 hours from a full charge, after a full day in the sun.3

Ring, Solar Pathlight and Solar Steplight, ring.com/products/smart-lighting-pathlight-solar and smart-lighting-steplight-solar read October 22, 2026
Philips Hue, Calla Large outdoor pedestal, philips-hue.com/en-us (046677589387) read October 22, 2026
Philips Hue, Festavia globe outdoor string lights 45 ft, philips-hue.com/en-us (046677591410) read October 22, 2026
Ring, Floodlight Cam Plus, ring.com/products/floodlight-cam-plus read October 22, 2026
Philips Hue, Lily outdoor spot light, philips-hue.com/en-us (1741730V7) read October 22, 2026
Philips Hue, Resonate outdoor wall light, philips-hue.com/en-us (046677576080) read October 22, 2026
ENERGY STAR, Downlights key product criteria, energystar.gov/products/light_fixtures/downlights-key-product-criteria read October 22, 2026
Ledvance, IP rating explained, ledvance.com/en-us (cites IEC 60529; the standard text wasn't read) read October 22, 2026
DMF Lighting, Technical bulletin: wet location luminaires (quotes UL 1598), dmflighting.com read October 22, 2026
Philips Hue, Lucca outdoor wall light, philips-hue.com/en-us (046677609603) read October 22, 2026
Kichler, Choosing the right transformer for your landscape lighting job, kichler.com read October 22, 2026
Brightech, Ambience Pro Solar Hanging with remote, brightech.com, and its blog post Solar vs plug-in string lights read October 22, 2026
DarkSky International, Advancing responsible outdoor lighting and the home lighting assessment, darksky.org site summary read October 22, 2026; the full pages didn't load