Wall lights are sometimes known as sconces. The name refers to lights which, unsurprisingly, are mounted on the wall; they should not be confused with wall washers which are ceiling mounted (occasionally in the floor) and shine the light on to the wall.
Domestic wall lights are different from other types such as commercial, industrial and outdoor applications. This blog tells you how and where you can use them.
Here, the main emphasis is usually decorative rather than functional. Traditional decorative styles are often referred to as “brass and glass”. However, there are plenty of other choices in terms of style and appearance. Modern houses look better with modern style wall lights but it is your choice!
Where to put LED wall lights:
It is always preferable to use more, lower wattage, wall lights than a few high-power ones which can be tiring on the eyes. The brightest indoor wall lights may not be the best ones to use in a domestic setting.
If you are installing a new wall light, remember that you usually have to channel a slot in the wall to hide the supply cable.
To avoid a direct view of the light source, you should locate them just above eye height, say 1.5m – 1.75m above the floor. This is also the best height for a wall light to illuminate people’s faces.
Remember to use a Warm light source such as 2700K. For domestic applications even Warmer sources such as 2500K or 2200K can be acceptable.
Where the actual LED light sources, “the bulbs”, are visible, remember that they are available in all shapes and sizes such as round, candle shaped, golf ball etc.
Stairwells and Landings, are very common applications, especially for large apartment blocks and social housing. This is because replacing conventional lamps like compact fluorescent for maintenance was difficult and possibly risky due to their height. The long life of LEDs makes them much better for stairwells. Link to Ledinaire wall mounted.
Corridors, controlled by movement sensors such as PIR presence detectors, absence detectors or the related “corridor hold” function (link to motion sensor blog) are also ideal applications for wall lights. The life and warm-up time of LEDs are much less affected by the frequent switching associated with movement activated switches.
High ceilinged areas, where you need light close to the ground. This can include: Industrial walkways, plant and boiler rooms.
The best LEDs to use are 4000K. This is often described as Neutral White. Higher than 4000K may be seen as too Cool.
The first requirement for outdoor wall lights is that they are weatherproof. The fixture needs to have an Index of Protection, IP, rating of IP44 or higher. Link to IP rating blog. The Coreline wall-mounted fixture is IP65 so it is suitable for all almost weather conditions.
Where damage or vandalism may occur, check the IK rating. This denotes the fixture’s impact resistance. For most applications, IK08 is suitable but IK10, or higher, may be required for more severe conditions.
Outdoor LED wall lights are usually switched on for very long periods, often all night. Controlling the burning hours is essential for saving energy. One of the advantages of the Coreline wall light is that it is Interact Ready meaning that it has an integrated wireless antenna which can connect to the Interact Pro app and dashboard. Link. The advantage is that you do not need separate control wires to switch the lights.
There are also DALI control versions available.
A simple and particularly useful version for LED wall lights has motion detection which can be grouped. This function is ideal for lighting external pathways and corridors.
For large buildings, you may have to illuminate the outside emergency escape route to a muster point or place of safety. Check if this is a requirement for your particular location. Many outdoor wall lights can be fitted with integrated emergency lighting so check if this option is available.
LED wall lights are often used in multi-storey car parks. They can be used on perimeter walkways and to highlight entrances, exits and staircases. Here, again, the ability to control groups of fixtures is a real benefit and helps you save energy.
As with indoor lights, 4000K is most probably the best choice. You may not need such good colour rendering, CRI outdoors. CRI 70 is suitable for most applications.
Remember that for domestic applications, there may not be any legal requirements to achieve a particular illumination level or uniformity.
For commercial and industrial applications indoors, you should refer to BS EN 12464 – 1.
For outdoor applications, BS EN 12464-2 applies. There are also related standards such as BS 5489.
Remember that some people have impaired vision at night. You may need to increase the illumination level.
Some LED exterior wall lights have high light output, maybe as much as 3,400 lumens. This can be useful for illuminating large areas and will reduce the number you need.