Outdoor lights are an important part of any home or business for functionality, safety and appearance. Choosing the right lights can help you maximize any or all of these things; to accomplish this bollard lights are one versatile style of light you might want to consider. While they are more traditionally used by businesses, there are a variety of new stylish models that also work quite well for residential use.

What Is a Bollard Light?

A bollard light is an architectural type of outdoor lighting that is enclosed in a short vertical post that is mounted into the ground; simply put they are a type of outdoor post light. The term bollard was originally used to describe the type of post sailors used to tie their ships to the dock or pier. You can see this in the design of many bollard light fixtures today as they have a bit of a nautical post look to them. This variety of outdoor post lights ranges from around one to three feet in height.

Bollards are often used to section off an area, for instance to keep vehicles of a certain size from entering an area, or to add protection, for instance to add a layer of protection between a road and a walkway. Lighted bollards have the added functionally of illuminating the area at night. Sometimes removable bollard lights are used so they can be moved if necessary to let vehicles through during certain events. Bollard lights are also used in specific ways to provide definition, separation or protection. They can create an attractive border. Bollard lighting is often used along walkways or you may see bollard landscape lights providing definition to the edge of a landscaped area.

Since bollard lighting was meant to be used outdoors they are built to withstand the elements. They are typically made from cast aluminum, fiber glass or brass if they are decorative bollard lights. The lamp, or light, itself is safely enclosed and protected from the elements within the outdoor post lighting structure.

Types Available

Commercial Bollard Lights

Commercial bollard lights are very popular type of commercial lighting used around businesses or offices, even apartment buildings. They are often used as path lights making it easier for people to see where they are walking when it is dark, but also to add a level of security. They can be used near entrances, especially when there is landscaping near an entrance.

Residential Bollard Lights

Residential bollard lights are used for similar reasons. They are commonly used to light pathways to improve visibility and provide safety, but they are also used help define areas of the yard, like the patio, or to help accent certain features or areas. It is becoming more common to see bollard garden lighting or bollard landscape lighting in a terraced landscape design. Because we are seeing more decorative outdoor lighting you can now find outdoor light bollards in a variety of finishes like bronze or copper as well as the traditional black.

Residential bollard lighting is often more decorative than commercial bollard lighting. As homeowners put more emphasis on outdoor lighting as a part of their outdoor home décor we are seeing new styles of bollard lights like the Kitchler Zen Garden Bollard Light.

Both residential and commercial bollard lights come in a few varieties. There are solar bollard lights, bollard LED lights or even compact bollard lights. When it comes to bollard lights solar is a great choice if you are looking for an easier installation because the solar versions don’t need to be wired for electricity; they simply use the energy they store from sun during the day to provide light during the night. LED bollard lights offer a long life using less energy. They are also great for thin or small bollard light designs.

Uses for Bollard Lighting

As mentioned bollard lighting is often used to illuminate walkways or to enhance landscaped areas. But it can also be used as security lighting. A row of these bright fixtures can help illuminate an area of a home or business enough to ward off some intruders.

These durable post lights can also be used to light specific areas. They can be used to illuminate signs or architectural designs, they can even be custom designed to emit light in the shape of a logo or trademark of a specific company. Or they can be used as step lights providing increased visibility to dark outdoor stairs.

Bollard lights have a variety of uses whether you are looking for decorative or functional outdoor lighting.