Recommendations for dusk to dawn lights

Gary Fowler · Mar 16, 2014

I mistakenly put CFL spot lights in my outdoor house corner lighting. Even in the summer it takes a while for them to get bright enough to produce enough light to see by. On my porches which I use more than the corner lights, I got the LED lights with photocell. They wont come on in daylight in case someone accidently flips the switch, they are almost instant on, burn very little electricity and will supposedly last forever. I bought them at Lowes for about the same price as an incandescent fixture (bulbs included). They don't give off light to read by as the globes have some funky spot patterns to them, but are plenty to see your way around the porch with.
I went with LED lights in all the places that I use lights a lot in, like kitchen, dining area, bathroom. I think they will more than pay for themselves in the long run. Most of the house lights I put in(19 total) were $26 each when I bought them but are now in the $13-15 range

JDgreen227 · Mar 16, 2014

Not trying to hijack the thread but I am one of those guys who hates CFL bulbs in ANY form. The main issue is that from what I have read, although they do conserve energy they have a service life that is roughly comparable to regular bulbs if they are switched on and off frequently.

tow653 · Mar 16, 2014

Just put one of these up in driveway,and I am very satisfied with it.
Lithonia OFLR 9LN 120 MO WH M2 LED Outdoor 3-Light Floodlight with Motion Sensor, White

SPIKER · Mar 16, 2014

There is a thread here about hating those new light bulbs (CFLs) and lots on them about how they dont last and have terrible light. Something I recently found out is that they also contain MORE Mercury than a 4' modern LFL (Long florescent light) and put out way less light... Something learned at the NEW JOB for a big lighting manufacture.

M

uglyboywith11fingers · Mar 17, 2014

JDgreen227 said:
Not trying to hijack the thread but I am one of those guys who hates CFL bulbs in ANY form. The main issue is that from what I have read, although they do conserve energy they have a service life that is roughly comparable to regular bulbs if they are switched on and off frequently.

Seems there are bad CFLs and good CFLs. I've had some like JDgreen says, don't last a year. But lately, they seem much better. Got four in our kitchen light fixture, and they've been in over 4 years now. (I started writing install date on the base of the bulbs, so I knew how long they lasted)
The thing about saving energy over incandescent bulbs is not such a big deal here in the north... supposedly the wasted energy goes up in heat, but that ain't a bad thing here where we heat our houses to some degree about 8 months a year. If that wasted energy heats our homes, then it isn't really totally wasted, is it?

Pete

newbury · Mar 17, 2014

uglyboywith11fingers said:
Got four in our kitchen light fixture, and they've been in over 4 years now. (I started writing install date on the base of the bulbs, so I knew how long they lasted)

I do that also - about 20 or so years ago SWMBO started buying bulbs from a "charity" that were supposed to last 5 years. After about a dozen burned out in less than a year I started dating them on the base so I could PROVE to her they burned out early. She finally "chucked" that charity. Most of my CFL's are running 3 or 4 years.

LD1 · Mar 17, 2014

I dont dislike the CFL's to the extent as others, but wish they lasted as claimed.

I dont have a single incandescent type bulb in my house with the exception of appliances. They are all CFL's. The reason for that was the local electric COOP was doing a 1 for 1 exchange. Bring in all of your old used incandescent bulbs, and they give you a new CFL.

There is no denying that they save energy. And this was 4 or 5 years ago and some are still going. OF a whole house full of bulbs, (say 50 or 60), I have only replaced maybe 10 of them. And since they are pretty cheap (under $1 per bulb on sale), I got no complaints other than the claimed 8000+hr life. No they dont last that long. But I would rate them a good 1000hrs. Similar to old incandescent. So knowing that up front a few pennies more for a CFL still is a smart choice.

But, They dont work well outside. Now I dont know about the newer ones that are supposed to. Dont have any. But the standard CFL's are dim, take awhile to come on, and dont last long in the winter outside.

I would love to jump to LED's. But at only a watt or two savings over CFL's, and $25+ per bulb, the numbers just dont add up to be more cost effective.

bucktaker · Mar 17, 2014

Are there any CFL replacement bulbs for a 175 watt mercury vapor dusk to dawn light? I have two with burned out bulbs If I cant find a cfl bulb I will change them to another type

JDgreen227 · Mar 17, 2014

bucktaker said:
Are there any CFL replacement bulbs for a 175 watt mercury vapor dusk to dawn light? I have two with burned out bulbs If I cant find a cfl bulb I will change them to another type

I have a pair of those older 175 watt Mercury bulb lights mounted on poles that I cannot find an energy efficient bulb for. I don't use either light because I have installed sodium fixtures that give less (yellowish) light but consume much less energy. The sodium bulbs (and fixtures) can be costly to buy, but the low energy cost per operating hour gives you a rapid payback. The 50 watt sodium dusk to dawn fixture on my north barn has been there close to TEN YEARS now on the original bulb and that calculates to at least 30,000 operating hours. The 35 watt bulb fixture on my garage is nearing TWELVE years on the original bulb and because it faces north instead of south, turns on earlier and off later than the 50 watt bulb that faces south. I am amazed at the life these bulbs provide.