Yard Light Opinions Needed

Kerwin

Member
I'm looking for opinions on the yard/securiy lights that are currently available.

I need to add lighting around workshop doors and for a couple of animal yards. I currently have a 150W (?) Mercury Vapor for the main yard light, but that style of fixture isn't available anymore in my area (WI).

What are the opinions on the Sodium and Fluorescent lights available? I see 65W fluorescents for sale, but wonder at the amount of light that they would put out and if they work well in the cold.
 
I use security lights from Home Depot around my home front and rear. They will only come on when someone approaches that area. You can set a time
for them to go off. I use 2 spot light bulbs in each light. I also have a camera mounted at the rear and a VCR to record what's going on. The camera bulb looks like a spot light. I have it wired so a picture is displayed on the TV screen.
Hal
 
I want to replace my security light with a motion detector light. If something comes on, then I'll know to look, maybe save a few pennies on the light bill.
 
Depending on fixture design, the fluorescent may not achieve full brightness in the cold. And as the lamp ages it may not even start in extreme cold.

My recommendation is for a 100 watt high pressure sodium dusk to dawn fixture. It'll throw more light than your old 175 watt merc. And sodium is totally unaffected by the cold.

Or if you don't need continuous light go with a motion detector + 300 watt halogen flood.
 
I am also happy with high pressure sodium. Starts and runs at -30F without issue. On a dawn to dusk set up at 75watts bulb I get about 3 years life. If recall correctly fixtures run around 50$
 
LED floodlights of various types are getting more readily available, brighter, and cheaper.

They use MUCH less power than the other alternatives mentioned, and are NOT affected by cold.

MAY be something to consider.
 
I would forget the fluorescent ones. I have installed a dozen of them and I don't know of anyone who liked them compared to the mercury or High pressure sodium lights. As was stated earlier, I would go to an LED fixture. Usually 25,000 hour rated fixtures that use less juice and no bulbs to worry about. Also they start in the cold and come on instantly unlike the HPS.
 
I agree.

I went from a mercury vapor to a high pressure sodium light and my electrical bill went down $15 per month.
 
I have been putting in the 50W-85W LED's, they are a bright white light and should not burn out for years.
 
I have a 150 watt mecury vapor and replaced a bulb and was told by electrical supplier that the bulb is all you can buy and can't get a complete fixture an more. They told me if I have to replace it that a Metal Halide gives off good light. I tried low presure and high presure sodium . They are cheap to run but fixtures did not hold up ( would just get out of warranty and go bad.
 
I put up a 48 watt LED all night light on a pole a couple of weeks ago and I'm still trying to evaluate it. This light is in a location that never had a light before so I don't have anything to compare it to right there. It gives off more usable visual light than the 175 watt mercury vapor by the barn but it might not quite give off as much as the 150? watt metal halide on the grain bin. The metal halide is a white light like the LED. If a person needs enough light to work under I'd say the metal halide is a little better. The LED gives off plenty of light for walking around, fueling the tractor, etc. but I get the idea it falls short of giving enough light for changing points or something like that. Like I say, I'm still evaluating it. This LED cost $160 plus shipping. It's supposed to last 50,000 hours but the literature made it sound like they really don't know for sure. It's too new yet. I had a sodium light on the bin for awhile and it was OK too, but the halide's white light seems to be in a more usable spectrum. Jim
 
(quoted from post at 09:25:59 12/19/13) I'm looking for opinions on the yard/securiy lights that are currently available.

I need to add lighting around workshop doors and for a couple of animal yards.

What are the opinions on the Sodium and Fluorescent lights available? I see 65W fluorescents for sale, but wonder at the amount of light that they would put out and if they work well in the cold.

I purchased a fluorescent security light 3 or 4 years ago. I like it. The color temperature is cool white, not blue or orange. It takes a few minutes to achieve full bright, better than mercury did. It got it at either Lowes, Home Depot, or Menards (don't remember which). We can get down to sub-zero and it still works.
 
I have a 400 watt metal haylide light ant it puts out plenty of light. Never has given any problem in 19 years. I did replace the bulb 2 times because I thought it was getting a little dimmer. 2nd time was back in the summer. don't need any other lights on. I built my house in 1994 and did not put any flood lights on it. Hate them, even thought I made a lot of money putting them on new houses I wired.
 
Every 5-7 years I was replacing my mercury light. Granted, they were not that expensive.
Last time, could not find one.
Had no choice but to buy a 65W floro.
Been up about 2 years. Dusk to dawn, blueish kinda light. So far, so good, north central Ill-noise.

HTH....don t. ....
 
I have halogen lights on all four sides of my large shed with two above front and back walkin doors of the shed that face the house.. I also have one on a smaller shed in back over the slide doors.. WHen all are on I can light up everything I need to. When I ran the power to my building I ran a switch wire along with the wiring so I could turn off the main side door light on the building on and off from the basement door. Didnt like the auto ones, I like to sit out in summers without light on. And this way I have it when I need it.
 
LED is the most efficient. It is getting cheaper and has an extremely long lamp life.

Mercury vapor and fluorescent are pretty much the same thing. The old style fixture and lamp were about as inefficient as it gets. The newer versions with electronic ballasts work well down in the temperature range at pretty good efficiency.

High and Low pressure Sodium (HID)the Low pressure puts off a narrow band or yellow light making color rendition near impossible. The High pressure units cause strobing effects on the highways(tires turning backwards) but have much more efficiency than the Low units and better color.

It's what you want that matters.
 
(quoted from post at 23:21:20 12/19/13)
(quoted from post at 09:25:59 12/19/13) I'm looking for opinions on the yard/securiy lights that are currently available.

I need to add lighting around workshop doors and for a couple of animal yards.

What are the opinions on the Sodium and Fluorescent lights available? I see 65W fluorescents for sale, but wonder at the amount of light that they would put out and if they work well in the cold.

I purchased a fluorescent security light 3 or 4 years ago. I like it. The color temperature is cool white, not blue or orange. It takes a few minutes to achieve full bright, better than mercury did. It got it at either Lowes, Home Depot, or Menards (don't remember which). We can get down to sub-zero and it still works.

Yeh - I replaced a mercury-vapor bulb with a florescent one several years ago - like it!
 

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