LED yard light how big can you go

fixerupper

Well-known Member
A few years I put up a new 36 watt LED dusk to dawn yard light that puts out about 5000 lumens on a pole by the new shop. It’s bright underneath but fades quickly the farther away from the light I get.

A week ago the yard light on the bin across the road conked out so I shopped around on the net and found a 7800 lumen LED from econolight. Today I put it up on the bin. Tonight when I checked out the amount of light it puts out I was fairly satisfied but not awe struck.

The 20 year old mercury vapor light here at home is putting out only a fraction of the light it used to and while I still have my friend’s scissors lift to use I decided to pull the trigger on another light to replace the mercury vapor one. This time I went to another website and found a 10,000 lumen 80 watt light that puts out a 5000 k color. I sent away for it and of course it cost more but more light is welcome the older I get.

This leads me to the question; do any of you guys know of a regular dawn to dusk yard light that’s brighter than 10,000 lumens? I’m just curious.
 
I just researched this. The 80 watt, 10000 lumen is about as bright as you can go unless you go to commercial/streetlight lighting and then the price goes way up. We went with a 36 watt, 5000 lumen and I am disappointed. I would have rather gone with the other light, but the guy paying the bill has the say. BTW he ended up paying the same for the lesser light as the brighter light. Let us know what you do and how it works.
 
I was an "early adopter" of LED lights.


That being said, I'm not sure how much credence can be given to the watt draw and lumens emitted specs of LED lamps for sale on the 'net that come from "The Land off Almost Right".
 
I prefer the Sodium Vapor lights. They use less power than mercury vapor and cut through the dark very well.
 
It's asking a lot to get a 1 for 1 replacement for a old yard light that was drawing 150 or 200 watts and get the same light out of a single LED at less than half the wattage.

Any chance you can add a second LED light to the post? 2 lower lumen lights might be an easier solution.

I just replaced the light on my garage with an LED motion detecting / dawn to dusk that I really like. But yes, I had to spend significantly more than the old incandescent cost 20 years ago when I first put it up.

Grouse
 
About 10 years ago I put a 60 w compact fluorescent on pole barn. It's about as
bright as a 180 w mercury vapor light near house. I keep a spare bulb. It lasts
about 5 years, very bright white light.

Yes LED shop lights are the way to go. Very bright. Not sure about life of yard lights. Not sure about cost vs savings.
 

For me the color rating is important. LED and CF lights come in different colors based on a CCT (Correlated Color Scale) rating. Ultra warm white has a CCT of 2500 K (Kevin) which is a yellow light. Think of a 12 volt bulb in a 6 volt tractor. At the other end of the scale is Cool white with a CCT of 6000 K. This light appears more blue and not yellow. To me the higher CCT rated lights will appear brighter for a given lumen rating.
 
I have used high pressure sodium vapor and low pressure sodium vapor yard lights and they lasted just long enough to get through warranty. The only thing good about the is that yellow/orange light is better on foggy nights. When my mercury vapor light goes bad it will be replaced with a metal halide light. The new lEDs have have to be mounted higher in the air to light the same area as a mercury vapor or metal halide fixture.
 
(quoted from post at 23:31:29 10/15/18) I prefer the Sodium Vapor lights. They use less power than mercury vapor and cut through the dark very well.

The human eye is not as sensitive to yellow light as it is to white . A sodium lamp may have high lumins per watt however the metal Halides and LED produce more USEABLE light per watt to the human eye .
 
its not only the lumens but also the light distribution that counts--each fixture has a certain pattern and the manufacturer produces graphs on how that fixturers light is distributed--that is how fixture hight and spacing is determined for roadways and parking lots
 
Here’s another question; this is the fourth light I have put on this bin in 8 years. First light was mercury vapor, it lasted a short time then quit. Next was low pressure sodium. It didn’t last any longer. Third was halide. It was nice and bright with a white very usable light, but it went by the wayside last week. All three of these lights were purchased through and installed by an electrician who does not go cheap quality with anything. It’s not the photo eye that goes bad, it’s something internal that gives up. Light #4 is this LED I just installed.

The bin is 20’ to the eve and 36’ in diameter. The light is on the east side about 3’ down from the eve. There is no wind protection from the north and very little wind protection from the south. Here in northwest Iowa we don’t have many calm days. The bin is empty for 6 to 8 months out of the year. The only thing I came come up with as a reason for the short lifespan is vibrations from the wind, either radiating from the bin itself or turbulence created by the bin shaking the light fixture. The light is mounted on the normal arched yard light pipe that’s about 18” long. The two 10 horse radial bin fans are run about three or four weeks per year. The fans only run when the bin is full so I would think the grain in the bin would dampen any vibration from the fans. Electricity running to the bin is new and sized for double the amount of juice the fans pull. That is about all the stats I can give you. I’m thinking if the light was on a pole it would last longer. What do you think?
 
I put up one of these on a pole: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MRXNHP9/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

8000 lumen but it really lights things up.

I also put 3 of these on the outside of my new shop: https://www.amazon.com/Photocell-Waterproof-100-277Vac-150-250W-Replacement/dp/B01MSVY8TR/ref=pd_rhf_ee_s_cp_0_3?
_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01MSVY8TR&pd_rd_r=b5e0f9c5-f903-4ac5-abf7-05504f038624&pd_rd_w=cOL33&pd_rd_wg=mvpfV&psc=1&refRID=YRR3WXB5V1KK0ESJ7SG3

Once I put up the 4th on the old barn and replace the overhead power with underground I will eliminate the larger 8000 lumen light. The picture is two of the 3000 lumen lights. LED"s are awesome with the
efficiency and color.
a282811.jpg
 
I have used LED, sodium & mercury and no LED has reached the life span of the mercury and sodium bulbs, but I will say that the mercury and sodium fixtures are very high quality.
 
(quoted from post at 12:26:37 10/16/18) I have used LED, sodium & mercury and no LED has reached the life span of the mercury and sodium bulbs, but I will say that the mercury and sodium fixtures are very high quality.

At least LED’s have a ballast , capacitor and sometimes an ignitor. Just got into a batch of Metal Halides that are only two pin and are pulse start with an ignitor similar to a sodium vapour.
 
(quoted from post at 13:00:53 10/16/18)
(quoted from post at 12:26:37 10/16/18) I have used LED, sodium & mercury and no LED has reached the life span of the mercury and sodium bulbs, but I will say that the mercury and sodium fixtures are very high quality.

At least LED’s have a ballast , capacitor and sometimes an ignitor. Just got into a batch of Metal Halides that are only two pin and are pulse start with an ignitor similar to a sodium vapour.
K, I'll bite.................why does a LED (DC power) need or use a ballast? I see rectifier, voltage conversion, filtering, etc.
 
O.K. May sound silly, BUT, why do you need to 'light' the yard ? Seems to me it just makes it easier for an intruder. Motion sensing (with alarm) lights make more sense. If the yard is lit and you are asleep all that does is cost $$. Just sayin'.
 
This is a great time to get into the Sodium and other "hot" bulbs. I find them at auctions for pennies on the dollar as many are now
converting to LEDs. Check out government, city, county and other auctions for some great deals!

I have changed about 90% of my "hot" bulbs to Fluorescent and now to LEDs. I have had very few go bad on me and some have been on every
night for 3 years.
 
The Sodium yard lights I used were not cheap and the bulbs and photo cells were not the problem. It was the electronic boards that went out and they cost over half the price of new yard light. I like the mercury vapor for service I get ten years out of bulbs and since 1978 I have only replaced 2 photo cells.
 
Check out Lighting Ever. They have a wide variety of lights, and have them in excess of 30,000 lumens. Regardless of what specific type you get, as long as it's rated for outdoor use, you can activate it from a stand alone light sensor. Just make sure to install it over the light, otherwise it turns itself on, and off.........It sounds weird to say that, but I've heard of it happening...LOL
lightingever
 
(quoted from post at 21:52:52 10/18/18) Check out Lighting Ever. They have a wide variety of lights, and have them in excess of 30,000 lumens. Regardless of what specific type you get, as long as it's rated for outdoor use, you can activate it from a stand alone light sensor. Just make sure to install it over the light, otherwise it turns itself on, and off.........It sounds weird to say that, but I've heard of it happening...LOL
lightingever

30000 lumens! Wow! I would need sunglasses and sunscreen to walk across the yard at night. LOL thanks for the link. Will keep it in my references. On that website I saw a 20000 lumen light for the same money I paid for a 10000 lumen light. The 10000 lumen light came yesterday. Will install it today.

For those who mentioned motion lights, motion lights are great for applications where they are needed. I have motion lights inside machine sheds so a light comes on when I walk in the door. They are small single bulb units that give me just enough light to keep from banging a shin on a drawbar while I’m finding my way to the main light switch.

For the yard, the light is covering an area larger than a motion light can serve. And in the middle of the night I want to be able to look out the window at a lit up yard just to see if it rained, snowed, if a truck came in and parked, or if the neighbor’s dog is out there finding trouble.
 

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