Most terraces are lit as an afterthought: a bright wall lamp by the door that glares at half the table, a cable snaking to a standing lamp, maybe a string of festival bulbs sagging between hooks. It works in July, barely. But the difference between a terrace you leave at sunset and one where dinner runs until midnight is almost always the lighting — and a pergola, with its rigid frame directly over the seating, is the perfect structure to build lighting into properly. This guide covers how integrated LED works on each of our models, the principles that separate atmospheric outdoor light from floodlit patios, and how to layer light so the terrace looks as good at 23:00 as it does at noon.
What integrated pergola LED actually is
Integrated LED runs in channels built into the pergola's roof frame — not clipped on, not wrapped around, but part of the structure, positioned to wash the space below evenly. The light is warm white at around 3000 K, sealed against weather, and rated for permanent outdoor life through rain, frost and coastal air. Because the source sits above head height and radiates diffusely downward, there is no point source glaring in anyone's eyes at the table.
That geometry is the whole secret. It is the same principle as good restaurant lighting: you see the food, the faces, the glasses — never the lamp. A wall-mounted floodlight, by contrast, puts the source at eye level for half the table and turns the other half into silhouettes. Once you've eaten under both, the difference is not subtle.
Why 3000 K matters
Color temperature decides the mood before brightness gets a vote. 3000 K is the warm white of living rooms and candlelit tables — skin looks healthy, wood looks warm, wine looks like wine. Cooler temperatures (4000 K and up) belong in garages and workshops; outdoors they read as institutional and make a summer evening feel like a parking lot. Every light you add to the terrace should match this warmth — mixing cool and warm white is the most common outdoor lighting mistake, and the easiest to avoid.
How it works on each model
- Pergola Equa — included. The electric Equa comes with integrated LED as standard, controlled from the same radio remote as the louvers. Roof angle and light, one controller, zero extra installation — the lighting shares the pergola's 230 V connection.
- Pergola Equa — included. The flagship Equa likewise has integrated warm-white LED built in, with the same one-remote convenience, under its distinctive curved louvers.
- Pergola Piano — optional kit. The manual Piano stays true to its no-wiring simplicity by default, and takes a matched LED kit for each of its three sizes when you want light — you'll find it under add-ons on the Piano's product page. It is also a natural later upgrade: buy the pergola now, add the kit the season you decide evenings need it.
The three-layer principle
The integrated LED gives you the base layer — even, warm, glare-free light over the whole covered area. If you enjoy lighting as part of the design, two more layers complete the picture:
- Layer two: table level. A small rechargeable lamp on the table puts a warm centre among the plates and pulls faces into soft light. This is the intimacy layer — the difference between a lit terrace and a lit dinner. No wiring; charge it with your phone.
- Layer three: the garden beyond. One or two warm spots on a tree, a wall or tall planting beyond the pergola stop the garden becoming a black wall at night. Counterintuitively, lighting the outside makes the space under the roof feel bigger and calmer — your eye gets depth instead of a mirror-dark edge.
Skip the layer everyone regrets: bright downlights at the door. If the house wall must contribute, keep it dim and warm — the pergola is now the main event.
Light and the louvers, working together
A detail unique to louvered pergolas: the roof position changes the room's character in the evening. Louvers closed, the LED light stays contained and the space feels like a snug interior — the position for cool nights. Louvers open, warmth spills upward and you dine under stripes of night sky — the position for warm August evenings. Same buttons, two different rooms. With the electric models this becomes an unconscious habit within a week.
Practical questions, answered
- Power draw? Negligible. LED of this class consumes a small fraction of what a single halogen floodlight did; whole evenings of light cost cents.
- Rain, frost, coastal air? The strips are sealed and rated for permanent outdoor exposure — the same weather brief as the pergola itself. There is nothing to bring in for winter.
- Maintenance? None. The LEDs live in the frame profile; cleaning the pergola remains a rinse.
- Wiring? The electric models' LED shares the pergola's standard 230 V connection — one supply for motor and light, connected once by an electrician. The Piano's kit is specified per size with everything needed included.
- Insects? Warm 3000 K light attracts dramatically fewer insects than cool-white or blue-rich sources — one more argument for keeping every layer warm.
Seeing it in place
Product photos only half-capture lighting — the LED section on the Equa page shows the effect, and several installations in our projects were shot in the evening for exactly this reason. If you are planning a terrace where evenings matter — and honestly, that is what terraces are for — mention it in your quote request and we'll make sure the lighting question is settled in the configuration, not discovered after dark.