For a standard UK front door, 1981mm tall, our rule of thumb is a pair of lanterns about 500mm tall, one either side, or a single lantern of about 650mm. Fix them with the top of the lantern roughly level with the top of the door, which puts the middle of the fitting at about 1.7 metres above the doorstep. Then test it with a cardboard outline before anyone drills.
Those proportions are ours, not a standard, and the reasoning follows, worked through with the real heights of lanterns we sell, along with the wall-space and projection checks that decide whether the size you want actually fits. The clocks go back at 2am on Sunday 25 October (gov.uk), so from this week the front of the house does its job in the dark by teatime. Everything in this guide is in porch lighting and outdoor lantern wall lights.
How big should a front door light be?
Size from the door, then check the wall. The door is what the eye compares the lantern with from the pavement, so it is the first ruler we reach for. The usual UK external door is 1981mm tall (Door Superstore; Beesley and Fildes give the same standard height), and from that we work to two proportions:
- A pair, one either side: each lantern about a quarter of the door's height. For a 1981mm door, about 500mm.
- A single lantern: about a third of the door's height, so about 650mm, because one light has to balance the whole doorway on its own.
We did not invent them. Lamps Plus, a US lighting retailer, gives a third for a single side lantern and a quarter for a pair, and adds 'if in doubt, always go larger'. We agree, for a practical reason rather than a fashionable one. A lantern is chosen at arm's length, out of a box or on a screen, and then lives on a wall seen from the drive or the pavement. From the end of the path, a lantern that looked substantial on the kitchen table shrinks to the size of a house number.
Our tolerance: for a pair beside a standard door, anything from about 400mm to 550mm works. Below about 350mm a pair starts to look like two carriage clocks either side of the door. The exception is a side, back or garage door, which is seen close up rather than from the street; there, we would choose 300mm to 430mm.
Then check the rule against the wall you actually have. Measure the usable wall beside the door, from the frame to the nearest window, downpipe or corner, and compare it with the lantern's width and backplate on the listing drawing. The backplate, the bracket and the lantern body can each sit in a different part of that space. If the size our rule suggests will not fit cleanly, the wall wins: go down a size, or move the light overhead.
| Your door | Our target height | Lanterns that fit (height from the listing) |
|---|---|---|
| Standard front door, 1981mm, a pair | About 500mm each | Kichler Mount Vernon Large, 495mm; Norlys Turin Up wall lantern, 520mm |
| Standard front door, one lantern only | About 650mm | Norlys Turin Grande wall lantern, 670mm |
| Period door with a fanlight, 2.4m opening (example) | About 600mm each for a pair | Turin Grande, 670mm, where there is wall to spare |
| Front door inside a covered porch or deep recess | Scale to the porch opening, and go smaller | Astro Richmond 200, 316mm, for sheltered spots only |
| Side, back or garage door | 300mm to 430mm | Mount Vernon Small, 318mm, or Medium, 426mm |
The Kichler Mount Vernon makes the point better than any diagram, because it is the same black lantern in three sizes: the Small at 318mm (£51.65, checked 19 October 2026), the Medium at 426mm (£71.02, checked 19 October 2026) and the Large at 495mm (£106.52, checked 19 October 2026). Beside a standard front door, the Large is the one at our quarter. The Small is the one its own listing calls ideal for side doors, garages and more modest walls, and it is. The step from Small to Large is £54.87 a lantern, which is a modest price for not having to take a pair down again. Note how the projection grows with the height:
| Mount Vernon size | Height (listing) | Projection (listing) | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small | 318mm | 159mm | £51.65 |
| Medium | 426mm | 210mm | £71.02 |
| Large | 495mm | 260mm | £106.52 |
Before you order, cut a piece of cardboard to the lantern's height and width, tape it in the proposed position and look at it from the end of the path. It takes five minutes and it is the test our rule has to pass. One customer who bought the Astro Richmond 200 (£207.95, checked 19 October 2026) told us they 'had to double check sizing but website had the addition drawing which really helped'. Use that drawing: the Richmond 200 is 316mm tall, 200mm wide and 251mm deep on the listing, so its '200' is the width, not the height.
Check the projection separately, against the door swing and the route people take to the door. The Turin Up stands 330mm off the wall, which wants a proper step or porch; beside a narrow path you would be brushing it with your shoulder. A half lantern that sits almost flat, like the Elstead St Martins at 80mm deep, is made for tight spots.
How high should an outside light be by the front door?
Our rule of thumb: line the top of the lantern up with the top of the door frame, or just below it, measuring from the surface you stand on at the door rather than the path below. With a lantern sized by our rule, that puts the middle of the fitting at about 1.7 metres: high enough to light the face of whoever is at the door and the lock, low enough that the light lands on the step rather than on the top of their head. Here is the arithmetic on a 1981mm door, with the top of each lantern level with the top of the door:
| Lantern | Height (listing) | Middle of the fitting above the doorstep |
|---|---|---|
| Mount Vernon Large (a pair) | 495mm | 1.73m |
| Turin Grande wall lantern (a single) | 670mm | 1.65m |
| Mount Vernon Small (a side door) | 318mm | 1.82m |
US guidance lands in the same place: Lamps Plus suggests slightly above eye level, about 66 inches (1.68m) above the threshold. Our guide to outdoor wall lights for a garden works to 1.8 to 2 metres to the centre on a general wall, where there is no door to line up with. At the front door, we let the door set the height.
It is a planning guide, not a regulation, and the maker's instructions come first. Check where the bulb and the lit glass sit on the drawing as well as the centre of the overall fitting, because a long bracket can put the light well above or below it. Tape the cardboard up at that height, then stand at the lock and look for glare. A lantern with a built-in sensor may have a specified mounting height of its own; our PIR guide covers that.
If there are steps up to the door, measure from the top step. If the cable comes out of the wall in the wrong place for the lantern you want, we would usually move the cable rather than compromise the lantern, but talk the backplate and cable entry through with the electrician first and put the cost of making good the brick or render into the decision. Fitting or moving an outside light is a job for a registered electrician, and our guide to lighting a driveway and path explains when outdoor electrical work needs one.
One light or two either side of the door?
Two, whenever the door has wall on both sides to take them. A pair frames the door, lights both sides of the step and looks intended from the street. One lantern is the right answer in three situations:
- the door sits tight against a corner, a window or a downpipe on one side, where a second lantern would be squeezed or off-centre;
- it is a side, back or utility door, where the job is finding the keyhole;
- the door is under a porch with a ceiling, where one light overhead does the work of two on the wall.
If you are fitting one beside the door, put it on the handle side, so the light falls on the lock and on the face of whoever you are opening the door to, then check from the step that it really does reach both. By our rule, size it up to about a third of the door's height. Beside a double door we would fit a pair where the wall allows, because one lantern on one leaf leaves the other in shadow. With a pair, fix both at exactly the same height and the same distance from the frame, far enough out that each backplate fixes into solid wall rather than the frame, and check neither bulb glares straight at people walking up.
For a pair at our quarter, the Norlys Turin Up wall lantern (£139.95, checked 19 October 2026) is a classic coach lantern at 520mm, projecting 330mm, with a 15 year anti-corrosion warranty on the listing. One reviewer wrote that 'they look great on our Georgian style property'. For a single lantern on a standard door, the Turin Grande wall lantern (£214.95, checked 19 October 2026) is 670mm, close to our third, and projects 460mm, so give it a wide step.
Should a porch light go on the wall, the ceiling or hang as a pendant?
Decide by what is over the door. No canopy: wall lanterns. A canopy or an open porch with a ceiling: a flush lantern fixed to that ceiling, which lights the step and faces from above and stays out of the rain. A tall portico or a deep open porch: a pendant lantern.
| Option | Best for | Watch for | One we would fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wall lantern | Fronts with no canopy | Wall space, projection, and the maker's installation conditions for an open wall | Mount Vernon Large or Turin Up, as above |
| Flush porch ceiling light | Low canopies and enclosed porches | Depth: keep it shallow under a low ceiling | Hinkley Monte flush, 305mm square and 159mm deep, IP44 |
| Porch pendant | Tall porticos and deep open porches | The bottom of the lantern must not hang below the top of the door | Astro Calvi 305 porch pendant, 226mm square, IP23, sheltered only |
Our rule of thumb for a pendant: the bottom of the lantern hangs no lower than the top of the door. Anyone who fits through the door then fits under the light. In practice that needs a tall porch ceiling, so measure it before you fall for a hanging lantern, and check the door swing too. The Calvi 305 (£218.73, checked 19 October 2026) has a 226mm square body on an adjustable suspension of up to 1800mm; use the technical drawing to work out its shortest and longest installed height, because the overall drop on a listing is not the height of the lantern itself. Under a low canopy, the Hinkley Monte (£112.10, checked 19 October 2026) sits 159mm proud of the ceiling and takes two E27 lamps behind cross-braced glass. Measure the ceiling and the clearance it leaves rather than assuming any flush light suits a low porch.
Watch the rating on porch fittings. Several of Astro's porch fittings, including the Richmond, Bronte, Homefield and Calvi, are IP23, which protects against water sprayed at up to 60 degrees from vertical, where IP44 covers splashing from any direction (DigiKey's IP code table). They are porch products, so keep them under a roof or in a recessed doorway. The Mount Vernon and St Martins are IP44 and the Turin is IP54. Those two ratings share the same water digit, 4; the 5 in IP54 is about dust, so do not read it as more rain-proof. Neither number on its own settles whether a lantern suits an open wall: check the maker's installation conditions for that exact fitting. Our IP rating guide for outdoor lighting explains exposure and the tests behind the numbers, and if the house is near the sea, read which outdoor lights survive by the sea before you choose a metal.
What colour light is best for a porch light?
Our recommendation is warm white: 2700K, and 3000K at most. Secured by Design, the police crime prevention initiative, recommends LED at no more than 4000K and ideally below, to cut blue light (SBD Homes Guide 2024, section 27). We go further at the front door. 2700K sits comfortably with warm indoor lighting seen through the hall window, flatters brick, stone and painted doors, and makes the house look lived in rather than floodlit. Cool white belongs on a security light, if anywhere.
With a clear-glass lantern you see the bulb, so it is part of the look. The Vintage Tubular E27 LED bulb (£12.95, checked 19 October 2026) is 4W, 2700K and 300 lumens, 110mm tall and 45mm across, and dimmable. It is one decorative option, provided it fits: check the cap, the bulb sizes the lantern allows and whether the bulb is suitable for an enclosed fitting before you rely on it. Brighter is not always better in clear glass, because a bare bulb you can see from the path gets uncomfortable to look at. For which cap your lantern takes and what shape suits it, see what bulbs your new light needs.
Should porch lights be on all night, and what does it cost?
Our view: yes, if it is a low-wattage LED on a dusk-to-dawn photocell, and no if it is an old bulb on a switch you forget. A photocell switches the light on at dusk and off at dawn without anyone remembering, and the running cost of a modern LED is small enough to stop worrying about. Whether it suits your house all night also depends on the neighbours, the street and how you use the door; a timer is the other sensible control.
The sum uses the Ofgem price cap unit rate for 1 October to 31 December 2026: 26.32p per kWh, the average for customers on a standard variable tariff paying by Direct Debit across England, Scotland and Wales (Ofgem, published 26 August 2026). Ofgem notes that VAT has been removed from electricity bills from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027, so that figure carries no VAT. We have allowed 12 hours a night as a round average across the year: winter nights run longer, summer nights shorter. The yearly column is an illustration that holds that rate constant, not a forecast. It covers the bulb's electricity only, not any photocell or timer, and the standing charge is not an extra cost caused by the light.
| What is in the lantern | Power | Cost per 12 hour night | Yearly, at that rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| One 4W LED, such as the Vintage Tubular above | 4W | 1.26p | £4.61 |
| A pair of lanterns with a 4W LED each | 8W | 2.53p | £9.22 |
| One old 60W incandescent bulb, the maximum many of our lanterns are rated for | 60W | 18.95p | £69.17 |
Working for the first line: 4W for 12 hours is 48Wh, or 0.048kWh; at 26.32p that is 1.26p a night, and £4.61 over 365 nights. The cap changes every quarter, so repeat the last step with your own tariff's unit rate.
What we would not do: leave a light on day and night. At the front door our preference is a steady, low light rather than a bright motion-triggered one; our guide to PIR security lights covers where sensor lights earn their place and how to set them. Keep the porch light pointing down at the step, too. One that glares into the bedroom opposite becomes a neighbour problem, which the driveway and path guide deals with.
Do porch lights deter burglars?
The police guidance leans that way, but we could not find a UK study that measures a porch light on its own, so we will not claim one proves anything. Avon and Somerset Police recommends lighting at entrances and exits and, in most locations, dusk-till-dawn lighting over lights that react to movement, noting that motion sensors are easily set off by animals and visitors. The Secured by Design Homes Guide 2024, written for new developments, requires lighting on every elevation with a door; it has not specified PIR-activated lighting for a number of years, citing concern about repeated activations raising the fear of crime, and states that a constant level of light is more effective.
So treat the front door light as one layer of security. It lets you see who is at the door, it lets anyone passing see the door, and the guidance points to a steady, low light rather than a sudden bright one. Good locks and a good door do the rest.
Which wall lanterns suit a period front door?
Measure the whole opening, door and fanlight together. On a Georgian or Victorian front the fanlight above the door is part of the composition, so we add it to the door height before applying our quarter. A door and fanlight measuring 2.4 metres together, for example, points to a pair of about 600mm, if the surround leaves the wall to take them.
Pilasters and moulded surrounds often leave little flat wall beside a period door, which is where half lanterns earn their place. The Elstead St Martins Large (£244.25, checked 19 October 2026) is a squared coach lantern under a stepped pediment in solid brass, 414mm tall, 302mm wide and only 100mm off the wall, so it sits beside a surround without crowding it. The standard St Martins (£160.95, checked 19 October 2026) is 305mm tall, 225mm wide and 80mm deep, which by our rule suits a cottage door, a side door or a narrow front. One reviewer of the smaller size put it plainly: 'Lantern is not very large so. check size to ensure it will suit location.' Where there is wall to spare and the opening is tall, the Turin Grande at 670mm has the scale for it.
If the house is listed, check before anyone drills. In England, section 7 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 requires consent for works that would affect a listed building's character, and new fittings on the front of a listed house can fall within that. Ask your local planning authority's conservation officer first. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules. For more period styles, browse traditional outdoor wall lights, and for a porch with a ceiling, outdoor ceiling lights.
The short version
- Our rule of thumb: a pair of front door lanterns each about a quarter of the door's height, about 500mm for a standard 1981mm door. A single lantern, about a third, about 650mm.
- Then check the usable wall, the projection and the door swing, and test the size with a cardboard outline seen from the path.
- Our height rule: top of the lantern level with the top of the door frame, so the middle of the fitting lands at roughly 1.65 to 1.8 metres. The maker's instructions come first.
- Two lanterns when there is wall on both sides. One on the handle side when there is not, sized up.
- Under a porch: a flush ceiling light, or a pendant whose bottom hangs no lower than the top of the door. IP23 porch fittings under cover only. IP44 and IP54 have the same water digit.
- Warm white, 2700K, 3000K at most. A 4W LED left on for 12 hours a night works out at about £4.61 a year at the current cap rate.
- Police guidance favours a steady, low light at the door. We found no study showing a porch light alone stops burglars.
Frequently asked questions
What's the best light for a porch?
Choose by what is over the door. With no canopy, a wall lantern either side, each about a quarter of the door's height by our rule of thumb. Under a canopy, a flush ceiling lantern. In a tall portico, a pendant that hangs no lower than the top of the door. Check the maker's installation conditions for the spot, and use warm white at 2700K.
Is a 300mm lantern too small for a front door?
For a pair beside a standard 1981mm front door seen from the street, by our rule of thumb it usually is: we would look at 400mm to 550mm. For a side door, a narrow front or a cottage door seen close up, 300mm can be right. Tape a cardboard outline to the wall and judge it from the end of the path before you decide.
What colour light is best for a porch light?
Warm white, 2700K, and 3000K at most. Secured by Design recommends LED at no more than 4000K and ideally below to reduce blue light. At the front door, 2700K suits brick, stone and painted doors and sits comfortably with the warm light inside.
Should porch lights be on all night?
Our view is yes, if it is a low-wattage LED on a dusk-to-dawn photocell, which switches off at dawn by itself. Police advice from Avon and Somerset favours dusk-till-dawn lighting over motion-triggered lights in most locations. Keep it pointing down at the step so it does not trouble the neighbours.
Does leaving a porch light on use a lot of electricity?
No, with an LED. A 4W LED for 12 hours uses 0.048kWh, which is 1.26p a night, or about £4.61 over a year if the rate stayed at the Ofgem cap rate of 26.32p per kWh for 1 October to 31 December 2026. An old 60W bulb would cost about £69.17 a year.
Do porch lights deter burglars?
Police guidance recommends lighting at entrances, and favours steady dusk-to-dawn light over motion-triggered light in most places, but we found no UK study measuring a porch light on its own. Treat it as one layer, alongside good locks and a good door.
How high should an outside light be by a front door?
Our rule of thumb is the top of the lantern roughly level with the top of the door frame, measured from the doorstep. With a lantern about a quarter of the door's height, the middle of the fitting then sits at about 1.7 metres, which lights faces and the lock rather than the tops of heads. Check where the bulb sits and the maker's instructions before fixing.
What is a porch light called?
Usually a wall lantern, outdoor lantern or coach lantern when it is on the wall beside the door, and a porch ceiling light or porch pendant when it is fixed to or hung from a porch ceiling.
