• Outdoor torches improve visibility and serve as decorations.torches image by John Sfondilias from Fotolia.com
  
  A variety of exterior home lighting types exists and contributes different qualities to the home, including increased crime safety, increased pathway safety, better plant and pathway visibility and decorative purposes. Landscapers can choose one type of exterior home lighting or combine multiple types to meet each home's specific needs.
  
  

Motion Detector Lights

• Exterior home lights can come with sensors that turn on when motion occurs near the lights. The Seattle Police Department recommends installing motion detector lights near parked cars to deter criminal break-ins. Motion detector lights also help make it apparent when a suspicious person approaches the home, and they provide convenient lighting for residents coming home at night.
  
  

Yard Lighting

• Yard lighting can help display attractive plants. According to the Seattle Police Department, it also adds an element of safety next to parked cars. Burglars are less likely to commit crimes in well-lit areas, so attractive yard lighting doubles as a safety measure. Choose small spotlights that aim up from the base of trees and shrubs to highlight plants or choose downward-facing lighting to simulate moonlight, as recommended by the University of Minnesota.
  
  

Path Lights

• Another outdoor lighting option is path lights. The University of Minnesota recommends path lights as a way to light up walkways and improve safety. Path lights usually sit low to the ground and shine on the walking area to make the path clear and illuminate any obstacles.
  
  

Specialty Lights

• Specialty lights are decorative lights, although they may also improve safety. Gardeners may choose to string lights around trees, use tiki torches to decorate at a barbecue, decorate with exterior lights for holidays or provide underwater lighting in a pond, as recommended by the University of Minnesota. Specialty lights help with artistic nighttime landscaping while improving visibility.