Fed up of replacing halogen bulbs, is there such a thing as a low energy flood that operates via pir? At a pinch I could live with a dawn to dusk fitting I have seen one but I thought low energy bulbs were incompatatble with more or less anything but bog standard switch.
I have only ever seen the dusk to dawn type of low energy floods. Kind of defeats the 'low energy' bit if it is on all night though, but they are quite effective for light output.
B&Q had a complete unit (PIR + 24W Energy saving bulb & floodlight housing etc.) for sale just before christmas. IIRC
screwfix:
Dave
B&Q have a load of what look like 500W floodlamps, but actually contain a compact fluorescent (not a retrofit, but a separately ballasted one). I don't recall if they had PIR or not, but I would not generally suggest using a PIR with a fluorescent, particularly outdoors where a cold lamp may take longer to warm up to useful light output. You could add a separate photocell if necessary.
I use floodlights, bought from my local electrical wholesaler, with 2 x 9w and 4 x 9w lamps, which have been running from cheap dusk to dawn photocells for many years. I also use 18w SOX lamps where the colour is not a problem, as they seem to give more light than 2 x 9w fluorescents.
I would have thought that the start-up time to full brightness would make a low energy lamp unsuitable for applications that need a PIR.
Colin Bignell
If in no hurry wait awhile. It will not be long before the new LED lights are on the market, they may well fulfil your requirement. They will certainly sound the death notes of these awful mini florescent lights.
People have been wrongly predicting that for the last 10 years.
They are on the market now, and they are complete crap.
By the time a CFL switches on you'll be back inside the house, tucked up in bed with a nice cup of hot cocoa.
Right, so rather than using a 500W halogen lamp which provides useful illumination for say ten minutes in a night, it's apparently better to have a 42W fluorescent on for 14 hours.
Can you run that one by me again?
Perhaps they should be called Low Energy Puddlelights (LOP)
In article , Andrew Gabriel writes
I would really like LED lights to succeed but if my experience with an LED head torch is anything to go by, there is a long way to go. It seems a lot brighter than a normal torch when you look at it, and it is very good for light at close range, but when you walk down a dark path there is nothing like the penetration even a small filament torch gives - don't ask me to explain the science...
I've spend many an hour walking across rough ground at night with only a LED torch for lighting, and I've found it perfectly satisfactory. Yes, the beam is more diffuse, but that's no bad thing, especially if you're having difficulty finding the route. The better LED torches now have fancy collimators for a narrow beam with an optional diffuser for a wide beam.
The problem is that the 500W lights are seldom only on for 10 minutes a night (every cat in the street will want to activate the PIR) and they rarely provide appropriate lighting levels. You do not need a 500W light on a small garden.
Adam
Right, I've got one of them b n q jobs. Low energy ,pir. I'll stick it up and see what its like. Round here, no street lamps its proper dark and its surprising how bright even 25 w bulbs are, but we have an area where guests arrive and don't want them falling into ,drain/bushes when they arrive.Also caled at wholesalers, they have a 26 W low energy with photocell about =A338 running costs about 2p for 10 hours but I'd still prefer to have as little light on as possible.We shall see or not. Thanks for all replies
If you want something reasonably bright you'll have to go to a discharge type. Most wholesalers will have them. You'd best use a PIR with a relay or add one to one without.
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