Whether you want to host a party, get-together, or want to spend more time in your backyard but don’t have enough light, you can transform your space with ample light with these eleven ideas for easy DIY outdoor lighting without electricity. 

From slender tiki torches to ornate battery-powered chandeliers, check out our most tempting ideas that you’ll want to try today!

Outdoor Lighting Without Wiring illuminating a garden

#1 Transform Your Yard with Tiki Torches

Whether you need to light up a pathway or want to surround space with a warm glow, you can stake tiki torches into the ground wherever you see fit. The soft light illuminating from tiki torches provides your yard or porch space with an inviting feel.

#2 Decorate with Candles

Create an intimate, warm space for guests, family, and friends in your backyard with candles like these awesome DIY wooden lanterns by Steffido Tutorials.

Without strings or outlets, candles like these can give you more flexibility and freedom with your outdoor lighting designs. This makes them one of the best and easiest solutions for outdoor lighting without electricity on this list.

#3 Illuminate Your Yard with Luminaries

Light up your yard with luminaries. Luminaries create warm light, and you can reuse them as you see fit. For an extra DIY project, you can cut fun designs into the bags to add your special touch.

#4 Set Up Solar Panels

Solar panel lights come in various lighting options, from strings of Edison bulbs to single safety lights. 

Not only are solar lights energy-efficient and eco-friendly, but oftentimes you can easily set them up without professional installation.

Plus, they look pretty neat, right?

#5 Bring Light to Your Yard with Battery Powered LED Lights

When considering how to power outdoor lights without an outlet, you can string battery-powered LED lights, much like standard string lights, from tree limbs and rooftops and everywhere in between in your yard. This option can last you for years once you’ve made the investment considering how long LED lights last on average (1).

While LEDs are more expensive, they still save money because they last a long time and have very low energy use.

In addition, LEDs can also enhance the ambiance of a space and go places where you can’t put other outdoor lighting options on this list.

#6 Buy Bluetooth Lights

Resistant and portable, Bluetooth lights make our list of popular outdoor and backyard lighting ideas. From multicolored, light-up pool orbs to strings of simple bulbs, Bluetooth lights can fit any outdoor setting, and with many of them, you can fully control them from your smart device. 

#7 Pick Up a Battery-Powered Outlet

If you have string lights lying around or have your eye on a set at the store but don’t want to deal with the electric aspect of installing them, you can purchase a battery-powered outlet to plug them into instead. 

A battery-powered outlet is portable and doesn’t hook into your electrical system.

It serves as a host for your lights to plug into instead, which means that you now have outdoor lighting without wiring. This allows for a lot of creativity with your backyard, and outdoor lighting ideas.

#8 Plant Some Solar Power Lamp Posts

Much like battery-powered LEDs, a solar-powered lamp post provides a great deal of light from a singular source without the use of flames or cords tied to your electrical grid. You can set up these solar lights to illuminate pathways or strategically place them throughout your yard for light all around.

However, if you have no where to plant one, don’t fret. You can check out our guide on how to convert an existing lamp post to solar and see if that’s a viable solution for you. Where there’s a will, there’s a way!

#9 Worry Less with Wireless Motion Sensor Lights

With wireless motion sensor lights, you can set them up wherever you want, and the lights do the work as you or your guests walk by (2).

Incandescent flood lights with a photosensor and motion sensor may actually use less energy than pole-mounted high-intensity discharge (HID) security lights controlled by a photosensor.

The light will only pop up when it’s needed, so you won’t have to worry about blowing out candles or arranging lights in obscure areas. 

#10 Light Up LED Candles for Outdoor Lighting Without Wiring

Much like standard candles, you can set up a LED candle in a mason jar or wherever you see fit and create an intimate setting in your backyard. Unlike traditional candles, you don’t need to worry about fire hazards or having to blow each one out at the end of the night with this type of lighting.

#11 Battery Operated Outdoor Chandelier

Rather than stringing up tons of tiny bulbs or sticking candles everywhere, you can hang a single, bright battery-powered chandelier light fixture in the center of your space. A battery-operated outdoor chandelier is not only weather-resistant but provides ample light for backyard spaces.

Unlike typical chandeliers, one relying on batteries won’t cost too much. For DIY outdoor lighting ideas without electricity, this easy low-cost option can do wonders in making a space more inviting.

FAQs

  • What Does "Without Electricity" Mean?

    “Without electricity” means that you don’t have to plug your light fixture into an outlet or hook it up to your electrical systems, like LED candles and solar lights.

    Light sources that don’t require electricity also don’t require intense installations, hired professionals, or increased electricity bills.

  • How Much Does Outdoor Lighting Cost?

    Outdoor lighting costs will depend on what type of DIY outdoor lighting without wiring you choose.

    On the low side, a candle in a mason jar would only cost around $5. A $100 investment could net you some solar dusk to dawn lights, fairy lights, string lights, and path lights. Then, a $300+ spend could land you some major lighting solutions like automatic lighting systems, solar light fixtures, and fancy party lighting.

  • How Do You Power Outdoor Lights Without an Outlet?

    You can power outdoor lights without an outlet by using Bluetooth battery-operated, solar-powered, or good ole’ fashioned fire lit products. These outdoor lighting options operate either on their own or through technology, so they don’t rely on electricity or a traditional outlet.

    For more great outdoor lighting ideas that don’t rely on electricity or a traditional outlet, check out our homepage.

  1. Lighting Controls. Retrieved from: https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/save-electricity-and-fuel/lighting-choices-save-you-money/lighting-controls
  2. Lighting Choices to Save You Money. Retrieved from: https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/save-electricity-and-fuel/lighting-choices-save-you-money