Tailgating season is a festive time in the US, with people hosting different party themes before the big game. If you’re planning your tailgating event, it’s important to consider a key element that will brighten up the atmosphere - the lights. You can make the most of your party by using various types of tailgate lights in both indoor and outdoor settings.
It is also essential to understand the power consumption of tailgate lights, incorporate different ideas for your party, and pick the right type of lights to make the event a success. Moreover, to let your party run till night, you may consider using solar-powered generators like Jackery. They are ideal for charging multiple devices and can be easily controlled through a mobile application.
Key Takeaways
While getting your pre-game party organized with the help of tailgate party lights, this comprehensive guide informs you about the following pointers:
- A tailgate light is used to illuminate your party before a big game, festival, or concert.
- Lumens (lm) measure the amount of visible light from its source, and wattage is the energy required to produce that light.
- Tailgate lights are important, as they include having fun in the evening, maintaining safety, celebrating team spirit, and setting the ambiance of your event.
- You can use tailgate lights around your grill and speakers in the living room and kitchen.
- You can learn how to use the different capacities of Jackery Solar Generators to charge tailgate lights.
- Consider the wattage, power source, color temperature, utility, and durability of your tailgate lights when choosing the right type.
What Is a Tailgate Light?
A tailgate light sets the ambiance of a party or event right before a football game, festival, or concert. With tailgate season on, you can expect to host or be invited to many social gatherings. A typical tailgate party includes food, drinks, music, and the right lighting setup to make it memorable.
Tailgate lights play a huge role in setting the tone of your gathering. Since these parties can carry on till the evening, you need lights to keep your space illuminated for long hours. To understand how to choose the best tailgate party light, you need to pick the right one:
String Lights
String lights are available in various colors and are a great option for indoor and outdoor setups. They are versatile and usually used for festivities. You can string them from one corner of your venue to the other. They add the necessary glimmer to the evening, especially before football season.
You can also opt for LED string lights to lower your power consumption while hosting your tailgate party.
Neon Lights
Neon lights are customizable and look great in LED neon banners. You can make your favorite decal, logo, or signage and hang it behind your car or truck. You can also choose the back of your garden or the front of an open space to hang a neon tailgate light. It can serve as a great truck tailgate light from the evening till midnight.
Rope Lights
These types of tailgate party lights are great for lighting up food placements. You can use rope lights for your table to let your guests admire your plating. They are dim and just ideal for small spaces. You can also hang these lights outside your balcony to give it a beautiful look at night.
Grill Lights
Having a barbeque in your backyard is a great way of sprucing up your tailgate party. For that, you will need to invest in grill lights. You can easily stick them to the side of your grill to see how you cook your meat and veggies. This will also keep your guests on their toes as they witness you preparing food for them promptly.
Light Centerpieces
You can set up your tables for the evening using light centerpieces. Placed in the middle of a large or small table, these types of tailgate party lights are ideal for watching experiences in the dark.
Importance of Tailgate Lights
Before throwing a tailgate party, you must understand the importance of hosting it before your big game or festivity. Tailgate lights are primarily used for decorative purposes and can also be used for the following situations:
Have Fun In The Evening
Football season calls for games held in the afternoon that can prolong till late evening. With tailgate lights, you can enjoy your party by setting up an atmosphere with the right brightness.
Assured Safety
Tailgate lights provide a sense of direction in parking lots of football events. They brighten up the space, making navigating in the dark easy for you and your guests.
Celebrate Team Spirit
You can choose your team’s colors for your tailgate party lights. This is great for celebrating your team and boosting their mood at your event.
Set The Ambiance
The right types of tailgate lights can make your party inviting. You can opt for an intimate event with close friends using string lights. In comparison, grill lights are brighter, making it easy to host a party in the dark.
Understanding Light Lumen & Wattage
With so many varieties of tailgate party lights, you should consider how much power they consume. To understand this, you must know about light lumen and wattage.
Lumens (lm) measure the amount of visible light from a source. They can also be referred to as an appliance's lighting output. The brighter your lighting appliance, the better its lumen rating.
LED lights consume less energy than other types of lighting but still produce brighter light. For instance, a 4-watt (W) LED strip light would provide 360-400 lumens. To achieve similar brightness, you would need approximately 3 halogen string lights, each consuming 25W, for a total of 75W of consumption.
The table further highlights the relation of lumens with different types of lights, including standard lights, LEDs, halogen lights, and CFLs.
|
Lumen |
Standard |
Halogen |
CFL |
LED |
|
450 |
31W |
22W |
9W |
5W |
|
800 |
56W |
39W |
17W |
9W |
|
1100 |
76W |
53W |
23W |
12w |
|
1600 |
111W |
78W |
33W |
18W |
5 Tailgate Light Ideas
If you’re wondering how to make your next tailgate party spectacular, you can host it at your place or throw a party outdoors using tailgate lights. Here are a few ideas that can make your party a success.
Add Color-Changing Lights in The Living Area
Add tailgate lights to your living room on top or behind your television. Even in a dark room, one light strip can beautify the ambiance. You can also use rope lights flowing down your cupboards or walls to make the tailgating party memorable.
Make Your Kitchen a Lit Space
You can use lights on your kitchen cabinets or countertops to emphasize the food spread. Your kitchen can be a haven for your guests to serve themselves and then return to other spaces in the house to continue the party.
Use a Tailgate Light Bar For Your Car
Tailgate light bars are convenient to use, sleek, and look great when illuminating the tail of your vehicle. You can use them while reversing, flashing brakes, or switching your vehicle on and off to alert people and animals nearby. They are ideal for tailgating parties that go on till late at night.
Add Lights to Your Grill
You can use magnetic grill lights to illuminate your barbeque grill for a tailgate party. This shifts the focus on the delicious spread you make for your guests while lighting up the outdoors in the evening.
Light Up Your Speakers
You must have music for your party, which means the speakers should be put in focus. Use tailgate party lights on or around your speakers and enjoy the party experience in a dark room with your guests.
How to Charge Tailgate Lights
To keep your party running, you must ensure that your tailgate lights are illuminated for long hours. This means you need to keep charging handy. Instead of consuming more power by using an electrical socket and traditional charger, you can opt for eco-friendly solar generators that have numerous benefits. They run on clean energy by using the sun’s radiation. Hence, you don’t have to rely on a power outlet to charge your appliances.
To understand the power consumption of different tailgate lights, you can refer to the table below.
|
Tailgate Lights |
Wattage |
Lumen |
|
String Lights |
20W |
1800 lm |
|
Neon Lights |
150W |
13500 lm |
|
Rope Lights |
6W |
540 lm |
|
Grill Lights |
3W |
270 lm |
|
Light Centerpieces |
60W |
5400 lm |
Renowned as one of the leading solar brands in the world, Jackery is ideal for charging your appliances in indoor and outdoor settings. It has solar generators, portable power stations, and solar panels that are compact and portable. Jackery Solar Generators can charge different lights for your pre-game party. They rely purely on solar energy and are eco-friendly, so you can thrive on your tailgating experience from afternoon to night.
These portable power stations and solar panels help keep your party going smoothly without emitting toxic fumes or noise, especially if you’re hosting it outdoors. They feature an ergonomic design with foldable handles and are also easy to carry from one place to another.
Jackery Solar Generator 300 Plus
A small, power-packed solar generator is ideal for your tailgating event. The Jackery Solar Generator 300 Plus is ideal for keeping your lights charged, including your devices like your phone and speakers. This eco-friendly generator is sufficient to keep most appliances running for long hours from sunset until late at night. Its compactness makes it easy to carry outdoors and even fit in your backpack.
Appliance Running Time:
- String Lights (20W): 2H
- Neon Lights (150W): 6H
- Rope Lights (6W): 40H
- Grill Lights (3W):6H
- Light Centerpieces (60W): 4H
Customer Review
“Easy to use! Very good form, fit, and function! Overall, a great solar generator!” - James Grgurich.
Jackery Solar Generator 600 Plus
If you’re using a handful of devices and appliances, including tailgate party lights, the Jackery Solar Generator 600 Plus is a great choice. It runs smoothly to charge them throughout the night and still has enough power to last for another party. You can use it to charge different types of tailgate party lights in indoor and outdoor setups. With an adequate battery capacity, it is ideal for charging many lights.
Appliance Running Time:
- String Lights (20W): 8H
- Neon Lights (150W): 5H
- Rope Lights (6W): 5H
- Grill Lights (3W): 179H
- Light Centerpieces (60W): 9H
Jackery Solar Generator 1000 Plus
With the Jackery Solar Generator 1000 Plus, you can keep your lights on and most small and large appliances running. Its large battery capacity allows it to charge lights, phones, laptops, TVs, and even speakers. It is the ideal powerhouse to keep a tailgate party running until late. With a compact design, ease of convenience through the application, and eco-friendly nature, this solar generator is the perfect addition to make your tailgate party a hit amongst your guests.
Appliance Running Time:
- String Lights (20W): 7H
- Neon Lights (150W):1H
- Rope Lights (6W):1H
- Grill Lights (3W): 358H
- Light Centerpieces (60W): 17.9H
Customer Review
“We've had the unit for a while now and love how rugged it is. The solar panels work great, and the peace of mind of knowing we have a battery backup for all our devices and some appliances is awesome” - John Brogan.
How to Choose The Best Tailgate Lights
Your pre-game event should be the talk of the town. To make that happen, you must choose the best tailgate party lights. You should consider some factors to make the right pick while limiting your power consumption.
Wattage
The higher the wattage, the more power your lights will consume. Depending on the type of tailgating party you host, you must consider the wattage.
For instance, you can choose a 2ft string light to illuminate a closed space like your living room. That should be sufficient to light up the whole room. For illuminating outdoor spaces, opt for a grill light or a tailgate light bar that you can power on until late at night.
Power Source
The power source is also a key factor in choosing the right type of tailgate light. If you have battery-operated lights, they will not consume electricity. You only need to change the batteries and keep some handy. If you want an eco-friendly alternative, you can use solar-powered generators or panels to charge your lights.
Color Temperature
The light source's color temperature can make a space look brighter or dimmer. Choose warm white tailgate lights for a cozy ambiance. For an energetic party atmosphere, you can choose cooler-colored lights. If you have color-changing lights, you can put them up for parties before festivals.
Utility
Different types of tailgate lights offer unique utility options. String lights are ideal for indoor and outdoor scenarios since they are weatherproof. In comparison, grill lights are more suitable for nighttime experiences outdoors. Getting heat-resistant grill lights will enhance their functioning and longevity.
Durability
You must invest in durable lights to make tailgating an experience. Look for weatherproof light options to make them sustainable for outdoor parties, especially in rainy or windy weather conditions.
Essential Components for a Tailgate Party
Your tailgate party lights are essential to set the mood of the hour and provide a memorable experience for your guests. To ensure its success, keep in mind the following factors:
Choose The Venue
If you are hosting a football viewing experience, pick an open space for an evening of good food, music, and lights. You can rent out a space for a private party to host your guests. The venue should suit the ambiance of your event and the type of lights that will enhance the experience.
Establish The Mood
Choose the type of mood you would like for your event. You can go for a more energetic ambiance if it's a party. You can choose a dimly lit experience if it's a movie night. You must choose lights that determine the mood for a successful event.
Arrange The Seating
Whether your event is indoors or outdoors, you must make sure that your guests are comfortable. Gather chairs for the outdoors and lay them out in your garden area. If you’re hosting a party inside your house or a closed space, arrange small chairs, a sofa set up, and even throws and cushions for people to sit on the floor.
You can also opt to remove the couches to make more room for your guests. That way, everyone can utilize the floor with a carpet and some pillows.
Mix & Match Tailgate Lights
Always choose versatile tailgate party lights, including LED centerpieces, rope lights, grill lights, and even customizable neon signs. You can also choose string lights in different colors.
Use High-Quality Products
Ensure that your tailgate lights are of high quality. This means that they should be resistant to water or dust during outdoor parties. This will determine their durability; hence, investing in these lights would be worthwhile.
Tailgate Light FAQs
What size of solar generator do I need for my tailgate party lights?
To power up your tailgate lights with the correct solar generator size, you need to consider how much power your lights would consume and the number of lights you will require for your party.
For instance, let’s say you are using the Jackery Solar Generator 300 Plus to power up an LED string light for your tailgate party drawing 20W. You can calculate the running time of the solar generator using the following formula:
Working Hours = Battery Capacity in Wh × 0.85 ÷ Operating Wattage of the Appliances = 288Wh × 0.85 ÷ 20W = 12.24H.
Note: We multiplied the battery capacity by 0.85 since changing appliances face some power loss.
How do you light an outdoor party?
If you’re hosting a tailgate party outdoors, you can set the ambiance using LED rope lights, grill lights, and even tailgate bar lights. These can illuminate the space in the evening and last until the night.
How do you get the perfect tailgate?
To get the perfect tailgate for your party, you should consider the lights' wattage, power source, color temperature, durability, and utility. These are essential in making your party successful before the big game or festival.
What should you not do at a tailgate?
It is imperative not to get extra guests at a tailgate party. These are exclusive to the host, and guests are counted beforehand to make the party memorable. Ensure that you maintain good event courtesy while attending a tailgate party and invite similar guests if you are the one hosting it.
What is the best color light for a party?
You can choose between warm or cold color tones while picking your tailgate lights for a party. Color-changing lights are also ideal for outdoor events and are growing more popular in various party themes.
Final Thoughts
A successful tailgate party starts from choosing the right type of tailgate lights. Make your next gathering with friends or family a noteworthy experience by understanding the importance of tailgate lights, ideas to use them for different events, choosing the right type of lights, and some tips to charge them with eco-friendly alternatives like Jackery Solar Generators. An eco-friendly, silent, and clean party is always a preference over regular events.
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