Solar Post Lamps

Product Review: LED Deck Lighting

Five years ago, Baltimore deck builder Dave Lombardo would buy 10 packs of LED deck lights from The Home Depot, string them together, and then tiptoe off the deck lest one flicker out. But in the past few years, LED deck light technology has been transformed. Not only are they more energy efficient than halogens and incandescents, they come in hundreds of styles, don’t usually require an electrician for installation, and offer one surprising perk for homeowners: Bugs don’t flock to them.

“One or two different options for deck lighting have now become hundreds,” says deck builder Mick Feduniec of Deckscapes in South Carolina. “When we show clients, they’re just wowed by them. It’s without a doubt becoming more popular.”

Feduniec switched from incandescents to LEDs a year ago and since then, he says demand for lighted decks has quadrupled.

Until recently, LEDs posed challenges in terms of cost and light color, says Mike Onderko, senior product manager for Trex, which recently added deck lights to its line of composite decking and railing. “[They were] very bright white, almost like the old generation of compact fluorescents,” he says. Now, most LEDs create a yellow glow.

In addition to warmer tones, manufacturers of LED deck products are making installation a snap. For example, as compared with a traditional incandescent system, StairLighting System cuts installation time in half with its “plug-and-play” wiring, and Trex 1-inch-by-3/4-inch light fixtures install with a 1-inch Forstner bit, doing away with hole saws and jigsaws.

“Instead of having to cut, tape, all that stuff, you just find ‘A’ and then that plugs into ‘A’ on the other one,” says Feduniec. “Our [contractors] love it; it takes a lot less brain work to put together and has a much cleaner look.”

1. Hide the light source or use fixtures that shroud the LED. “The primary rule is you do not ever want the bulb to be seen,” says architect Joseph Rey-Barreau.

2. Post-cap fixtures are the easiest to install and are often all you need because they use high-wattage lamps.

3. You also can install rail lights, or “eyeballs,” on posts instead of cap lights or in addition to them to define stairways—one on the top post and one on the bottom.

4. Install riser lights for safety on steps and level changes. Codes require them in many locales. 

5. Embed recessed deck lights in the deck board every 5 feet around the perimeter for an elegant accent or to outline a low deck with no railing.

2 Pagoda Solar Post Lights - Dock Light 96-25sf | Solar Dock Lights

2 Pagoda Solar Post Lights

2 Pagoda Solar Post Lights, BIG BUCKS OFF! NO wiring! These modern Solar Lights install easily… perfect for shedding brightness on your deck, fence and more. A Close-Out means a bright BIG BUCKS OFF! Stylish duo: Sunlight recharges fixtures by day, lights automatically go on at night; New technology means brighter white light; Long lasting. Illuminate up to 8 hrs. on a full charge; Rechargeable AA battery included; Copper finish, molded construction; 4 x 4″ fence post mount, plus deck rail mount included; Each is 6″ square, 5″h., Set weighs 3 lbs., 10 ozs. Order Now!

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Post-Launch Calibration of Satellite Sensors, Proceedings of the International Workshop on Radiometric and Geometric Calibration, December 2003, Mississippi, USA.