Replacement Flood Lights?

We have some very old halogen flood lights at the front of the house under the eaves that we're looking to replace. There's also a separate sensor that never worked while we've been here.

I have heaps of questions.

  1. The current light are extremely bright; I think the previous owners may have used them to reach the street for visitors or to spot lurkers. I'm not sure what power they are (the bulb on one, about 8cm long, has burnt out and I couldn't read it, and I can't open the other housing). I'm guessing I should look at LED replacements, and see most such lights are around 15W, is that sufficient to light a path around 10m long?
  2. I presume it would be more sensible to get a separate sensor instead of lights with built-in sensors?
  3. I would like to be able to turn the lights on from inside if needed (eg to light the way for visitors before the sensor is tripped) and to override them quickly to be off (eg if they start tripping too often overnight, as they'll be outside bedrooms). Is that possible? What's needed for that to work with a sensor?
  4. Have been looking at Bunnings and Beacon Lighting - the lights look similar, cheaper at Bunnings but with shorter warranty (eg https://www.bunnings.com.au/brilliant-lighting-twin-2-x-11w-…), are these decent quality? Or should I look at places like JR Turk? Any other stores and brands recommended for good value? Would prefer to buy locally instead of mail order.
  5. Would also like to replace a light that's under the eaves on a 2-storey part of the house. Would a sensor work that far? Would it be more likely to suffer false triggers being up higher?

Thanks!

Comments

  • Hi,

    Aldi were selling some Honeywell Linkable Floodlights, it was a little while ago but have seen some of them marked down at my local Aldi's. I grabbed one from home and installed it. They have motion sensor and detect to a distance of 10-12m. They put out heaps of light (3000 lumen) and have 2 light heads that can be moved to direct the light in the directions you want. They have 3 year warranty. As far as controlling them with separate switches this can sometimes screw up sensor settings but most sensors have a way that you can switch to override sensors temporarily. I assume that your current lights are controlled by inside switches so the replacement lights should have the same functionality as pre-existing ones. The light that I purchased I added a power cable so that it could be plugged into a 240 outlet and run through a smart wifi switch and turned on and off that way. if you can find these they will set you back around $35 per unit, although have seen them as clearance in Aldi, see below link.

    https://au-catalogue-24.com/aldi/aldi-catalogue-UO6v3d3mwz-8

  • I had the exact light you linked above from Bunnings. The light output is good, but it's let down by the sensor - it was destroyed in no time at all due to sunlight making the plastic all brittle. Given the sensor was under an eave and only got a little bit of direct sunlight in the late afternoon it shouldn't have failed so soon.

    I still have several of these lights without the sensor and they're fine.

    In need of another sensor light I replaced the one above with one of these - https://www.jdlighting.com.au/eglo-faedo-30w-led-outdoor-flo…

    Bunnings used to sell this exact brand - I think they sell a similar product now. Don't bother with these either. Once again the senor part has been killed by the sun and the bolts and housing have a fair bit of rust already.

    I decided to stop wasting money on junk and buy some decent quality lights. I purchased 3x 50w and 1x 30w of these Philips flood lights. The lights have an IP rating of 65 versus 44 for the previous lights - https://reductionrevolution.com.au/products/philips-smartbri…

    I also purchased several of these Clipsal Infrascan sensors - https://www.mjselectricalsupplies.com.au/clipsal-infrascan-o…

    Just waiting for the sparky to come and wire them all up

  • In my experience

    1. 10-15w LED is enough to replace the typical halogen floodlights. I have two on our backyard
    2. Is probably get a separate sensor from a reputable supplier. Don’t cheap out on the sensor.
    3. What you describe sounds like normal wiring practice for a sensor light.
    4. Bunnings are OK but typically budget products. I purchased a ‘pack’ of floodlights off eBay. They are still going, but might just be lucky.
    5. Check the sensor specs. It should describe the range and sweep. You should be able to set the sensitivity to reduce false trigger.
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