Choosing outside security light

A

amstel

Joined
19 Dec 2010
Messages
132
Reaction score
1
Location
Cheshire
Country
United Kingdom
Sponsored Links
Don't use a 120W halogen floodlight.
A 10W or 20W LED flood will be more than adequate and will save you money on running cost.

Cannot advise on separate or combined unit. Would nee details of layout. application, etc.
 
Don't read the good reviews, read the bad reviews . I think you'll find they're criticised for being oversensitive , we had to tape over part of the lens on the 400watt version
 
I would also say using LED with maybe a daylight sensor is better than using a PIR with a large halogen bulb. What you want is to stop the intruder entering the area not light him/her up once there. I had a light between our house and next door. It was handy if I went around the back but tended to come on too late. So replaced with an 8W CFL which was enough to see my way without tripping over. What I really wanted is for it to go off when an intruder comes so he will trip over.
 
Sponsored Links
LAP do make some surprisingly good light fittings.

Fitted an IP flurry of theirs a while ago and it was just one of those fittings where clearly some thought had gone into it, not like a lot of tosh you see.

I wouldn't buy anything other than an LED though.

A separate PIR with a lux sensor in it might work better than a built in unit, but depends on how the cabling is
 
I think I need to explain a bit more detail,... at the front and rear of the house there are lights, each controlled by their own individual photocell, and each wired up through individual fcu's, no problem.
I am retired now and spend some of the winter months away, this light is all about when we are not there,...anybody can easily walk up the drive to the back of the property, and this is where I need this light,...to react to movement.
I was thinking of the light in my link from screwfix, with a 80w eco halogen tube, maybe should go for a stand alone PIR and a separate light? cheers.
 
Thanks for your help everyone,..ok I will go for LED, 10w will do, and a stand alone pir, now which one? cheers.
 
I've seen too many failed built in PIRs that mean you have to change the whole fitting to really recommend a combined unit, even if they're going close together. It's a little more outlay initially but it will pay you back when one or the other fails
 
Last edited:
That's a pretty good price. I would recommend the Steinel one TTC recommended in the post before mine over that, but you can't really go wrong for £9. The only thing I will say about that style of PIR (many makes use the same body shape) if you're trying to get more than a couple of cables in there, it gets very full very quickly, so plan your wiring out - if you want to use more than one PIR in parallel you're gonna struggle I think
 
I had the same decision to make recently. How much more expensive are LED floodlights, and what's their lifespan vs a traditional floodlight.

I also roughly counted the electricity savings. Ours is mainly used for security and taking the bins out so it's on a short timer of about a minute. There's not much animal traffic etc to set it off either so I estimate a couple of mins per day. Bear in mind it's probably more like 4 mins in winter and none in summer.

Say it was on 5 mins per day = 35 mins per week = 1820 mins per year = 30.33 hours per year.
Say you had a 120 watt traditional tungsten bulb, then you'd get 8.33 hours of light per Kwh of electricity used.
30.33 hours of light divided by 8.33 hours per Kwh of electricity = 3.6 Kwh
Our electricity is about 10 or 12 pence per Kwh, so it would cost about 40 pence per year to run it. If an LED equivalent was running 10 watts it'd be a twelfth of that, so about 3 or 4 pence.

How many years of 36 pence savings do you need to spend to buy the expensive light? Weigh that up against using an electric kettle (for example). You know that few seconds when the water is boiling and it's not switched itself off yet? 10 seconds ten times per day equals about 10 hours per year. A 2Kw kettle boiling for 10 hours per year is 20Kwh, or around 6 times what your garden floodlight costs.

This "save shed loads of cash by changing to LED lighting" thing is out of proportion IMHO. You'd be far better off financially by not letting guests use your shower ;)
 
D

DIYnot Local

Staff member

If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.

Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.


Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Sponsored Links

Similar threads

S
How and where to wire in an outside PIR on back of garage
2
Replies
28
Views
2K
deadshort
D
N
Energy efficient bulbs for external security lights
Replies
10
Views
4K
hairyben
H
T
Security / Garden Light wiring
Replies
10
Views
2K
techno492
T
D
Exterior security light not working
Replies
7
Views
6K
Dundee_Stokie
D
D
Help in choosing an outside security light/movement sensor
Replies
6
Views
1K
winston1
W
Back
Top