security lights

[bdog]

Looking to put some of the of the auto on/off at night security lights over the doors on my barn. I don't need something overly bright just want to be able to see around it at night so I can walk up to the door and use the keys, etc while not in the dark.

Ideally I would like to mount it on the peak of the building which is 16' tall and is about 20' away from the the man door.

I went to home depot and they had all kind, flourescent, metal halide, sodium, etc. Also varying wattage. Any recomendations?

This seems like this might be one area where bigger is not better. If this light is going to be on all night every night I might not want to be burning up a bunch of electricty as I am not going out there every night.

Something along these lines was what I was looking at. http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200365206_200365206

65 watts does not seem bad on power consumption but I wanted to be sure it was going to be bright enough.

 

[beenthere]

Do yourself and your neighbors a favor, and put in a motion-activated light.
That way it will turn on when you approach it, save on electricity, and give added security (when a thief trips it on, they will feel detected and as well, a light on all the time allows the thief to sneak around in the shadows).

I am happy that I don't have neighbors that burn lights all night long. A sort of "pollution", if you will.

Least of all, put a cover on it so the light shines down, and not out.

 

[heehaw]

i put cf lights in my motion activated fixtures: you could even splurge an put in LED lights an really save on electricity.
heehaw

 

[Gem99ultra]

I have the kind that is day/night activated. It kicks on at night at 1/2 power, but is motion activated to full power with any movement.

And it uses the cheap 95 watt flood lamps! Smaller bulbs are available, but the 47.5 watt during 'idle time' is a nice amount of night at night. And when it kicks on, you will know that something is in the area causing it to light up.

Jim

 

[LBrown59]

1*Do yourself and your neighbors a favor, and put in a motion-activated light.
That way it will turn on when you approach it, save on electricity, and give added security
2*(when a thief trips it on, they will feel detected and as well, a light on all the time allows the thief to sneak around in the shadows).
3*I am happy that I don't have neighbors that burn lights all night long. A sort of "pollution", if you will.

1* through 2* Ive had motion-activated lights around . here for 30 years or so but they are worthless for comming on for anything under 2 or 3 feet off the ground such as a coyote .
Don't ask me how I know.
After that incident I added several more dusk to dawn lights some of which are controlled by timers .
Another control I like is those activated by sound.
3* And I can't understand people who would rather fumble and stumble around in the dark.

 

[LBrown59]

1884308]I have the kind that is day/night activated. It kicks on at night at 1/2 power, but is motion activated to full power with any movement[/U].

And it uses the cheap 95 watt flood lamps! Smaller bulbs are available, but the 47.5 watt during 'idle time' is a nice amount of night at night. And when it kicks on, you will know that something is in the area causing it to light up.

Jim

Sounds like what I could use/need.
Do you know where i can get them ?

 

[beenthere]

........
3* And I can't understand people who would rather fumble and stumble around in the dark.

No one has to, as the light can come on when needed.

 

[heehaw]

clap on; clap off???
heehaw

 

[niemeyjt]

they are worthless for comming on for anything under 2 or 3 feet off the ground such as a coyote .

The solution is to put lamp on top of shed at 16 feet high and a separate PIR lower down - use four core wire between them. A PIR switch mounted eight feet high will trigger the lights with something as small as a rabbit passes by (even at 3 am - don't ask me how I know - but it won't do it again!). With a separate PIR switch you could also wire a timer switch in parallel to the PIR switch.

J

 

[Mousefield]

We use motion activated halogen lights. We have lots of bear in the area and have seen several cougars over the past 12 years on our property. So when we are outside at night, locking up the chickens and putting the goats to bed my wife likes lots of light. Between the shop, house, cabin, barn we have 15 of them. We have several types ranging from single 100 watt, double 100 watt, single 250 watt up to 500 watt. They only go on when they 都ee something. One night at about 10 PM our driveway alert near our house went off so we went to see why and there was a mother cougar and two half grown cubs. Like I said my wife really appreciates those motion lights.

 

[Scooby074]

There are many options but i perfer wall packs. Theyre easier to change plus give good area lighting. I have these by my barn doorshttp://www.amazon.com/Hubbell-Lighting-NRG307B-PC-Pressure-Perimeter/dp/B002CZ0XJO/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1

If you want to mount something up high then this Lithonia Lighting 100W Metal Halide Flood - OFL 100M 120 LP BZ M4 at The Home Depot will light up your yard with "white" light., You'd need to add a timer or photocell.

THey have a sodium for less $69 but it gives a yellow light which i dont mind, but the metal halides give more.

You could also use a sodium "street light" (looks like the flourescent you posted except its sodium, but personally i dont like flours for yard lighting) A street light style would be spread more than the floods i posted above.ie:360*

 

[SpringHollow]

LVD lamps are great especially if you live in a cold area. They instant start at -40 degrees F and produce a white light. They are extremely energy efficient. A 40 Watt bulb is typically all you would need. They are pricey though.

Ken

 

[Mousefield]

Thought I would add to my earlier post by taking a few pics of what we have on our barn.
These halogen lights all have preset timers built in: 1 minute, 5 minutes and 10 minutes so that way they only go on for a limited time when it sees something. Barn has been up about 9 years and have not had to change many bulbs in that time period. The one at the peak is a 500 watt with the white double 100 watt on the left side. The 2 on the right side are 250 watt. You seem to just need it for seeing the door lock at night so one smaller one will be fine. Just need to put the motion sensor so it sees you as you are going to the door. Our use is more for security and peace of mind when we go out at night to the barn due to the larger animals such as bear and cougar in our area. Have found these motion activated lights will pickup small animals as well such as raccoons.