Outdoor Deck and Patio Lighting 
Why deck lighting? Decks are most likely to be used at night as much or more as in the day, deck lighting will extend the usability of the outdoor deck and patio and will bring out the beauty of the deck. Deck lighting will also add to the safety around the deck.
When designing your deck and patio lighting put your attention to the following points:
- Provide deck accent lighting for function but do not over light, you might want to experiment with outdoor lighting fixtures prior to installing them so you get a feel to how much light is required.
- Avoid glare from the deck lighting or outdoor lighting fixtures, glare is the enemy of any lighting installation, try to hide the light source and use indirect lighting as much as possible.
- Good outdoor lighting takes in consideration the natural look of the outdoors, you may use color filters to create a moon lighting effect.
- It is always a good idea to plan for the deck lighting fixtures before you start construction, that way you will be able to integrate the lights into the structure in the most beneficial way, there are many kinds of deck lights available among them low voltage deck lighting, line voltage deck lighting, step lights, outdoor lighting pendants, path lights, column lights, outdoor wall lights, and more.
- It is especially important to illuminate places that may cause a hazard like steps, level changes, paths, water features etc.
- Avoid hot spots, hot spots are created when the light on a certain area is very intense and the contrast ratio is high comparing to other neighboring areas, good deck lighting will be soft and appealing.
