Outdoor Post Lights

A post light is the fixture that tells people where your property starts. It marks a driveway entrance, lights a walkway from the street, and does the one job no wall-mounted fixture can — putting light out where there's no wall to mount to.

Height, and why it matters more here

Standard post lights run 6 to 7 feet to the top of the fixture, on a post set in a concrete footing. Lamp-post style fixtures for driveway entrances often go to 8 feet.

The Canadian consideration is snow. A fixture at 3 feet is invisible from December to March in most of the country — buried, or lighting the inside of a drift. If a post light is meant to work year-round, height is not a style choice, it's a functional minimum. Six feet is the honest floor.

Setting the post

This is the part people underestimate. A post light needs a footing below the local frost line, or frost heave will push it out of plumb over a winter or two. Frost depth varies enormously — roughly 4 feet in much of Ontario and the Prairies, less on the coast. Check your municipality's figure before you dig, and dig once.

Run the conduit and cable in the same trench. And call for utility locates before any digging — it's free and it's mandatory.

Wet rating and finish

Post lights are as exposed as a fixture gets: direct rain, snow load on the top, and road salt spray if it's near a driveway. Wet-rated, sealed housing, non-negotiable.

On finish, road salt is the quiet killer. Powder-coated aluminum and marine-grade finishes hold up; thin paint over steel rusts from the inside once the coating is chipped by a stone from the plow.

Down-facing shades

Choose fixtures that direct light downward. Open-top designs throw light into the sky, collect snow inside the shade, and increasingly run into dark-sky and light-trespass provisions in Canadian municipal bylaws. A shaded post light puts light on the driveway where you need it and keeps it out of your neighbour's bedroom.

Look for the CSA or cUL mark. From a Canadian company that has dug a post hole in October.

Frequently asked questions

How tall should a post light be?

6 to 7 feet to the top of the fixture for walkways, up to 8 feet for driveway entrances. Below 6 feet, snow makes it useless for a Canadian winter.

How deep does the footing need to be?

Below your local frost line, or frost heave will push the post out of plumb. That's roughly 4 feet across much of Ontario and the Prairies, less on the coast — check your municipality's figure.

Do post lights need to be wet-rated?

Yes, without exception. They take direct rain, snow load and road salt spray. A damp rating is not sufficient.

Can I install a post light myself?

The post and footing are DIY work if you're comfortable digging. The 120V circuit feeding it generally requires an electrician and a permit in most provinces.

Why choose a down-facing shade?

It puts light on the driveway instead of the sky, avoids collecting snow inside the shade, and keeps you onside with dark-sky and light-trespass bylaws.