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What Should I Consider When Buying a Flood Light?
When you choose a flood light for your home, there are several things to consider. The amount of light you need, the location of the lights and the location of the neighbors are all things to think about before choosing a flood light. Flood lights can be used for security reasons or to help illuminate your path.
If you are using flood lights for security reasons, you may prefer a dusk to dawn light or a motion sensitive light. Dusk to dawn lights automatically turn on when the daylight wanes. In the morning, the lights kick off automatically. This type of light is especially beneficial for people who leave for work early in the morning or return later in the evening. This way, you don’t have to arrive or depart in darkness, but you don’t have to leave the lights on all day.
Motion sensitive lights are very convenient. They provide a hands-free way to turn lights on and off as you enter and exit the home. They also provide an added security feature, because they will kick on automatically if someone shows up at your door. If you live on a busy street and your porch is close to the sidewalk, you may find the constant on and off of a motion sensitive light annoying.
If you are looking for a flood light that illuminates an area outside your home such as where you set out the garbage or walk up a set of stairs, the amount of light cast by your light is important. Some flood lights, such as solar powered lights, are dim. While they may work well to add some light to a dark sidewalk, they may cast dark shadows or be too dim to provide enough lighting for the intended purpose. If you require bright light from your flood light, choose a style that allows you to use at least one 75 watt bulb.
Solar powered lighting can be a good choice for flood lights if you are looking for auxiliary lighting. If you have a porch light that throws out a decent amount of light, a solar powered flood light that kicks on in response to movement can be a nice security feature. If, however, the flood light will be the sole means of providing light to the outside of your home, you will probably require something with additional wattage.
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Discussion Comments
A couple who lives in a huge three-story house down my street has landscape flood lights. They shine on the gorgeous flowers and bushes in front of the home, and they also light up the front of the house.
They even have some installed in the middle of their pond to shine on the fountain. The water shoots high into the air, and the flood light shows it off.
They even switch out the color of the bulbs for different seasons. Around the fourth of July, they put out red, white, and blue flood lights, and near Christmas, they have red and green ones.
My family has a portable flood light that we use for a variety of things. My husband uses it in his work shed, and my son uses it to light up the basketball court. I use it to do some night gardening, which is the only kind I can stand to do in the heat of summer.
This flood light can be plugged into an extension cord and run to different locations. It seems to be even brighter than daylight, because it emits an intense white light.
I even rigged it up to shine on my outdoor pumpkin display on Halloween night. All the trick-or-treaters got to see it as they passed it on the way to our front door.
@Oceana - I could not handle the suspense of a motion activated light. I have to have one that stays on all night, because I get freaked out way too easily.
I have a solar outdoor flood light that puts out enough light for me to see my way around. It’s attached to the side of the house, and it lights up the area around the door so that I can see to fit the key in the lock.
It’s not so bright that I could read a book by it or anything, but it is bright enough for helping me get to the house and to my car at night or early in the morning. That’s really all I need it for, and since it is solar powered, I save money on my electric bill.
I have a motion sensitive exterior flood light attached to one corner of my house, but in my opinion, it is way too sensitive. It comes on whenever a rabbit hops by or the wind blows hard.
For awhile after I first got it, I would get spooked whenever it would come on suddenly and no one was outside. I thought a criminal might be lurking around the side of the house. I assumed he could have gotten startled by the light and hid quickly.
Once I realized that the light would come on for just about any small movement, I relaxed. I’m sure it would work to deter criminals, but knowing that it is so sensitive eases my mind a bit when it comes on frequently.
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