Flood Light Reccomendations

One of my fall projects is to install lighting on one side of our house. From the peak of the eaves (where I want to mount it) to the ground is ~24 ft. So - if anyone has lighting installed that high I would appreciate hearing what type and wattage bulbs you are using, etc. I don't need it lit up like daylight, but don't want it terribly dim either. Brighter rather than dimmer, I suppose.
 
Thanks for any comments.
 

I use 120W floods at heights between 15-20' from the ground.
More than enough illumination.
 
I'm sure they could be mounted higher with little loss.

Thanks.
Think I will go old-school and get a standard 2 light fixture. I can control via Zwave via a wall mounted switch.
 
Walked into our local Menards - that was a mistake - as there was a wall with about ~60 different styles to include LED/variable brightness ones, etc. Sometimes too many choices isn't good for me!

I use the old school incandescents.
They aren't on that long to suck up much power.
I use the twin fixtures at several locations around the perimeter of the house.
They are connected to UPB switches.
I rewired the motion sensors to trip a UPB module, I also placed the motion sensors in locations remote from the lights so they are in a better detection location.

The lights can go on manually via UPB commands or via motion detection.
When on manually the sensors are bypassed so they. Ant turn the lights off.
The different areas turn on via the various motion sensors individually, or I can turn the entire group of security lights on all at once.

Do you happen to have any write-ups on what you did?  That is exactly what I was trying to figure out!
 
--Dan

I've had the following running for almost two years and they have been phenomenal.  The LED bulbs are very bright and have not had any failures in two years.  Two lights bathe the area in front of a 3 car garage with plenty of light.  Regarding the motion sensor flood light fixture, I am also really impressed with the RAB Super Stealth.  After having gone through several other motion lights over the years from the big box stores, the RAB motion sensor is definitely a step above.  Also, the one I linked below has a far motion sensor as well as one that senses motion right under it.  So for us, when we come out of the garage underneath the light, it turns on immediately and when we're coming down the driveway, it turns on at a distance.  Very happy with both and highly recommend both.  The only issue is the ability to link them in to an automation system but I'm sure there is a way to do it, I just haven't prioritized that yet.  And take a look at the other RAB motion sensors as they might have something that will integrate with a security/ha system.

Motion sensor flood light fixture
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000W3YI26/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

LED flood light bulbs
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003QPHK5E/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have several more fixtures I need to wire up and install.
I'll take some pics and post it.

I have never been happy with the motion sensor flood lights from the big box stores.  They fail after a few years but even before that it is hard to get them to come on when I want - either they go out halfway through a job and I have to go over and wave my hand in front of them or you have to turn them off briefly and then on again to force them on (which doesn't always work). 
 
I just got an optex LX402 motion sensor.  My plan is to hook it to an arduino board that reports motion to my automation system.  The automation system controls X10 to turn the lights on and off.  I am just going to bypass the motion sensors on the lights.  I may use a small transformer or power supply to provide a signal to the arduino so I can flip the switch off and on to force the lights on.  Still goes through the automation so I can time out after an hour (or whatever I decide).  And I can control the lights based on other inputs.
 
Eventually may switch to something more reliable than X10 but I have them already so plan to start with that.  I have X10 for other things and it seems to work ok.

The actual units I use, the Heath/Zenith DualBrite, have some pretty poor reviews in the reliability category.
Mine have been installed for 4 years so far with no problems.
I am wondering if the fact that I rewired the sensors so the PIR sensor isn't directly driving the lamps has helped the longevity of these fixtures.
 
Essentially the PIR energizes a 5VDC wall wart when it senses motion, that 5VDC is hooked into a UPB I/O module that sends a UPB on/off signal.
The lamps themselves are controlled by SA US-240s.
This gives me direct control, I can manually turn them on or off.
When they are turned on manually I have a relay (also on the I/O module) that opens and interrupts the 5VDC signal from the PIR sensor.
That way when I turn them on manually they stay on and the motion sensor cant turn them off.
 
The output wire on the PIR is fairly thin, I'd think direct driving two 120W lamps, 2 A, may cause some heating issues.
CFLs with the DualBrite sensors would be a big no no.  CFLs on a 240 isn't a problem.
 
I still use incandescents in this application.
I ramp them up (0.8 seconds) with the US-240 rather than snap them on to preserve bulb life.
 
I also use some programming logic in the Omni to stop turning the lights on if they come on too many times in a set period.
This prevents false activations when it's windy outside.

It's much easier to drive LEDs. Here is a picture showing the motion sensor light fixtures and LED floods I linked to above. It a definitely brighter than the CFLs I had previously and these have outlasted them so far. And the best thing compared to CFL is the instant brightness from the LEDs as opposed to the warm up required of the CFLs.



By the way, it does seem brighter than the picture indicates but that is what you get when you take a picture with an iPad. Convenience trumps quality in this case...sorry.

I made up some drawings to explain what I was talking about.
It may look complicated, but it's fairly straightforward.    
 
 
 
 
 
 

I know I am bumping a really old thread, but this seemed to be the best place to ask.
 
Any recommendations on a switched LED flood/security light?
 
I was planning on using exterior motion sensor that ties into my Elk and then having Elk outputs drive a RIBU1C to turn on some LED flood/security lights outside.
 
My thought was then I can turn the lights on even when there is not motion detected (I hear a bump in the night, the alarm goes off, etc.).  I can also use the detected motion to trigger other things such as cameras, play a sound, etc.
 
I am just looking for a decent quality switched LED flood/security light.  It seems like 95% of them all have motion detectors.
 
Am I going about this the wrong way?

johngalt said:

I know I am bumping a really old thread, but this seemed to be the best place to ask.
 
Any recommendations on a switched LED flood/security light?
 
I was planning on using exterior motion sensor that ties into my Elk and then having Elk outputs drive a RIBU1C to turn on some LED flood/security lights outside.
 
My thought was then I can turn the lights on even when there is not motion detected (I hear a bump in the night, the alarm goes off, etc.).  I can also use the detected motion to trigger other things such as cameras, play a sound, etc.
 
I am just looking for a decent quality switched LED flood/security light.  It seems like 95% of them all have motion detectors.
 
Am I going about this the wrong way?

Click to expand...

 
These Westinghouse flood light bulbs get good reviews. Though I haven't bit the bullet yet and given them a try

I bought 3 of these from RAB Lighting over 6 years ago and they've been outstanding.  Now these are the integrated lights with a under and wide angle sensor but they also have other lights without sensors and sensors without lights.  Based on my experience with 3 of these lights/sensors, I wouldn't hesitate to use RAB Lighting products in the future.
 
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000W3YI26/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
And here is the website.
http://www.rabweb.com/products.php

Here went to the cheapo 12VDC LED lamps on Ebay outside.  Built a zoned 12VDC outdoor lighting thing with Meanwell DIN mounted on rail power supplies connected to conventional UPB switch(s).  I do not dim them and they work fine. 
 
Weather wise they never rusted and never failed after about 2-3 years.
 
Concurrent and prior to this went to local big box stores looking.  Sitting in the isles took the LED lamps apart and the constructions was similar / same as the cheapo lighting on Ebay. 
 
Also went to a ma and pa shop that primarily sold Kichler lighting and did the same taking these apart and the built was excellent. 
 
I ended up with a mixture of lighting (Kichler and cheap no name branded).  Flood LED were the cheapo stuff.
 
Used the PVC jacketed 14-16 gauge speaker wire for indoors running of the 12VDC stuff.
 
In summary here went from 120VAC to 12VDC for outdoor stuff.  Only did not convert the 5 coach lamps from 120VAC to 12VDC. 
 
Concurrent with lighting used Optex outdoor sensors plus other wired sensors (no wireless).  The lighting schedule was on the OP2 panel and if then statements relating to outdoor motion was configured after hours (after midnight and before sunrise).  Typically make the outside daylight with motion after hours. Used inside TTS alerts initially then went to chimes; one of by land two if by sea.  (went to 4 distinct chimes  - north, south, east or west chimes).