Choosing A Floodlight

Security Light

Floodlights are useful for many purposes, whether lighting a building, car park, driveway, garden, fountain, patio, tennis court, tree, or yard. They can be used in accent, task, or security lighting. You’ll want to choose the best floodlight for the purpose you have in mind; this article will look at various floodlight specifications and steer you towards the correct choice.

Equivalent wattages

With filament lighting (i.e. incandescent), bulb wattage and the amount of light produced are directly related. LED technology is not like that. Two LED products of equal wattage can emit different amounts of light, depending on energy efficiency. Comparing LED products by actual wattage is therefore meaningless.

Equivalent wattage addresses this problem by translating the amount of light produced by an LED (or fluorescent) product into the wattage of an equivalent filament lamp (in this case halogen). You can use the table below to choose floodlights by their equivalent wattage for various applications.

Application Equivalent (standard halogen) wattage
Small patio (9m²) 80W
Back yard of house 80W
Small garden (50m²) 150W
Driveway (10m) 150W
Medium patio (25m²) 300W
Building façade 300W
Medium garden (200m²) 500W
Large patio (100m²) 500W
Car park 1000W
Industrial loading bay 1000W

These are estimations only and may not be applicable on every occasion.

Controlling light

One aspect of floodlighting that needs attention is containment of light. If you have neighbours a short distance away, chances are they won’t appreciate their property being blasted by escaped floodlighting.

Most floodlights, as their name suggests, produce a wide beam of light. The beam angles do vary, but you can also control light by ensuring it’s only as powerful as necessary and with careful positioning. The naturally directional output of an LED floodlight helps to cut out stray light.

Choosing a colour temperature

One important specification in floodlighting is its colour temperature. If you’re looking to highlight architecture, warm white floodlights help create a cosy, welcoming atmosphere. They’re ideal for many home or hospitality applications.

A cool white or daylight floodlight is arguably a better choice for security purposes. This is because cool white light appears brighter to our eyes and hence starker and more of a deterrent. This is even more the case when it is suddenly activated by a PIR sensor (see below).

A cooler colour temperature is wise if you’re looking to buy a floodlight for working under. Not only does it look more natural, but it also stimulates alertness and concentration.

You might choose a colour temperature to emphasise garden hues. Cool white is good for water features or silvery metallic surfaces while warm white does well with brick or wooden structures, plants and shrubs. Colourful autumn and winter growth benefits from warm white light.

PIR and dusk to dawn sensors

A PIR sensor triggers light automatically when it senses movement within a given range, making it especially useful in security lighting. The duration of light can often be set by the user.

A dusk to dawn sensor is slightly less economical than a PIR sensor, because it automatically keeps light switched on for the duration of the night. This is useful if you want to create the illusion of a property being occupied and/or to enhance surveillance.

Solar floodlights

A solar floodlight is costlier than a standard luminaire to buy, but is subsequently free to run. The Suri Solar LED Floodlight with PIR Sensor combines a solar panel with a PIR sensor. It charges by day and delivers up to a 500 lumen output for 30 seconds when movement is detected.

Floodlighting versatility

Floodlights brighten up an exterior for aesthetic or security purposes, and they’re available these days with sleeker, more attractive, less conspicuous designs. Check out Lyco’s extensive floodlight range and discover how you and your property or business can benefit.

 

For more useful information and guidance see our Lighting Advice section.

 

andrew-author-bio

Andrew Evangelidis Head of Buying

Andrew is an experienced buying professional who takes an entrepreneurial approach to identify new lighting solutions and ensure Lyco have first-to-market ranges for our customers. Having previously worked for well known brands such as Wickes, Carphone Warehouse and Toys R Us, Andrew has now turned his hand to sourcing commercial lighting and ensure our customers receive top brand quality products at marketing leading prices. He manages a team of commercial and decorative buyers who travel the world finding new products that our customers don’t even know they need yet.

Security lighting – protect your premises

Whether you’re safeguarding a home or a business premises, security lighting is one of the more effective measures you’ll take against unwanted visitors. Before investing in security, try briefly adopting a criminal mindset so you can identify vulnerable parts of your building. Look for easy areas of concealment near doors and windows and trim any trees or shrubs that offer a natural hiding place or obscure vision.

As well as good security lighting, consider installing alarms, full security systems, CCTV, perimeter fencing and warning signs. Ensure your locks are sturdy. Sliding glass doors are a common unlawful entry point into homes. To counteract this, they can be fitted with dowel rods, security sensors, and shatter alarms. Screws and washers are sometimes inserted to prevent such doors being hoisted from their frame.

Lyco stocks various products to help thwart intruders and vandals, but we’ll primarily discuss security lighting.

Sensors

There are two types of sensor typically used in outdoor security lights: PIR sensor and photocell (commonly called a dusk-to-dawn sensor).

The PIR sensor is essentially a motion sensor that detects changes in IR radiation. Any movement within a given range triggers light for a short, often adjustable duration.

A photocell measures ambient light levels and triggers light on and off at dusk and dawn, respectively. This creates the impression that a property may be occupied, acting as a useful deterrent.

Light technologies

All lighting technologies have particular advantages and disadvantages, which may affect your buying decision when choosing security lights. Here are some of the relevant factors:

  • Low-energy fluorescent lights are rarely used with PIR sensors because of their warm-up time, but this is less of an issue with dusk-to-dawn light sensors, where immediate bright light isn’t necessary. The ASD Horizon Bulkhead offers automatically tripped overnight lighting using an economical 2D fluorescent lamp.
  • LED lighting offers numerous advantages outdoors, including reliable low-temperature performance, immediate full-power light (useful with PIR sensors), resistance to shock or vibration, and a naturally directional output that reduces light pollution. The Selene Solar Spotlights, for instance, can light an area at a distance of 20 metres with minimal light wasted outside of the spotlight beam.
  • Sodium lamps are often used in security lighting. They offer incredible energy efficiency, though colour rendering is relatively poor. A SON lamp allows some identification of colour, while a SOX lamp produces a monochromatic light that forfeits colour but heightens human perception of contrast. The Dextra 400W SON Floodlight with Photocell lights very large outdoor areas with a performance that may easily exceed 120 lumens per watt. It is ideal for industrial areas, building perimeters and car parks.

Home security lights

Security lights for the home needn’t be expensive, either to buy or run. The Edit Coastal Sennen Wall Lantern is available with or without a PIR sensor. A PIR light is useful for legitimate entry into a home as well as deterring intruders, and it saves the expense of running a permanently switched fitting.

Take a closer look at the Coach Wall Up LanternThe Nemi Globe Wall Light uses a photocell to automatically light the outside of any home overnight and switch itself off in the morning. This fitting is IP44 rated, which is a good all-round specification for rain proofing and resistance to dust.

Lighting doesn’t get any cheaper to run than when it’s solar-powered, with LED development opening up a whole new market in this area. LEDs are a low-voltage light source, so they feed very efficiently off a solar-charged battery and need remarkably little power. The Evo15 Solar PIR Utility Light is a security light that is free to run and can be discreetly installed outside the home.

Business security lights

Though there aren’t any strict definitions, business security lights will often be plainer in design and stronger in output — different to residential lights in ways you’d expect. The ESP Nighthawk LED Security Floodlight with built-in PIR sensor is a robust example.

Take a closer look at the Guardcam Security FloodlightThis 12W luminaire has a 10-metre, 160° range and projects a powerful 1100 lumens of light. Its Nichia LEDs have a mighty 91 lumens-per-watt output, which makes the manual override facility all the more attractive; this is an economical floodlight for general use, too. Nighthawk floodlights can be configured in a slave system, where multiple fittings are triggered by one PIR sensor or photocell.

Also from ESP is the Guard-Cam Security Floodlight, which not only lights up intruders with a powerful halogen lamp, but also records them with video or still images. An audio mode allows playback of a pre-recorded warning to say “you are being recorded by a security camera” and also has a barking dog option. You can even record your own politely phrased messages.

Security Camera

The presence of cameras is enough to dissuade most opportunist intruders from committing crime and gives any property owner peace of mind. Lyco sells a wide range of security cameras, including ESP Guardcam LED Security Floodlight with Camera. Infrared cameras are often used, which project invisible IR light to effectively see in the dark as well as functioning normally during the day.Take a closer loko at the CCTV Combi Unit with 4 Cameras

Our CCTV security systems can be remotely monitored from PCs, tablets, or smartphones, with special apps available for iPhones or Android phones. Email alerts can also be set up, so you’ll immediately know if the security system has been set off.

Entry systems and locks

To supplement any security lighting or CCTV measures, Lyco offers a range of door entry systems, door locks, and bolts and padlocks. These help protect your property during normal hours of business as well as overnight.

A false sense of security

Most of us are guilty of occasionally leaving windows open, not bothering to switch on alarms, or concealing keys in obvious places. Contrary to the popular saying, criminals rarely return to the scene of the crime. Avoid making their job easy the first time round.

Take a look at our full security lighting range.

Looking for more news, inspiration and advice? Try our Lighting Advice section

andrew-author-bio

Andrew Evangelidis Head of Buying

Andrew is an experienced buying professional who takes an entrepreneurial approach to identify new lighting solutions and ensure Lyco have first-to-market ranges for our customers. Having previously worked for well known brands such as Wickes, Carphone Warehouse and Toys R Us, Andrew has now turned his hand to sourcing commercial lighting and ensure our customers receive top brand quality products at marketing leading prices. He manages a team of commercial and decorative buyers who travel the world finding new products that our customers don’t even know they need yet.