Highest lumen LED for traditional exterior fixture


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Old 11-15-18, 01:21 PM
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Highest lumen LED for traditional exterior fixture

I'm trying to find the largest (highest lumen) A19 or maybe A21 led bulb for use in an exterior fixture. It's not entirely enclosed and won't get hit with elements, but is otherwise outdoors. I'm in the northeast so it gets cold in winter and humid in summer.

I keep coming across what look to be good options, but open closer review they are either for indoor only, or require some sort of special mounting/something as they are too powerful for regular sockets (or something like that, I'm not sure, I was very confused by the instructions).

In any case, in your personal experience, have you found a high lumen (150W - 250W equivalent with over 2,000-3,000 lumens) that works well outdoors in the conditions I've described?

Thanks!
 
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Old 11-15-18, 01:48 PM
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Please show a picture of your fixture with a close up of the socket if possible.
 
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Old 11-15-18, 01:50 PM
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Can you replace the fixture with a standard LED wall pack? You can get very effective exterior lighting for under $100 in this format.
 
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Old 11-15-18, 01:52 PM
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Sorry, to clarify, this is for driveway posts, not something attached to the house. I don't have an actual pic handy, but mine looks almost exactly like this:

http://channeli24.info/wp-content/up...p-post-spa.jpg
 
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Old 11-15-18, 02:06 PM
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And you want 2000-3000 lumens in that! Are you trying to signal the International Space Station?

LED lamps are very bright for little wattage. I think you would get lots of light for a 60W equivalent at 850 lumens but you could also go to a 100 W equivalent for 1600 lumens.

Personally I really don't like bright outdoor fixtures. I use 40 W equivalent candelabra LEDs for about 300 lumens in my driveway and porch lights and they provide more than enough light to see where you are walking. I use a 15 w equivalent in my vestibule ceiling fixture.

I am in the Boston area and have had no weather or temperature related issues with the LEDs outdoors.

I recently replaced my back yard floodlight at the third floor level with a dual head 1250 lumen LED motion detector unit. When lit it looks like a prison yard.
 
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Old 11-15-18, 02:09 PM
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Thanks. My street is very dark, so while I'm not trying to signal the space station, I am trying to get as much light as I can (I have one post near the street which currently has a 1600 lumen bulb, I believe (CFL not LED) and it's not that bright (well, it's 'bright' but the light doesn't seem to 'emanate' (or reach) that far.
 
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Old 11-15-18, 02:18 PM
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I have to agree with 2John. Typically you don't want high intensity or bright light from a drive way lamp post light. It's mainly for decorative and accent lighting but enough to see where you're going. I suggest a flood light attached to the front of your house with a motion detector on it. That's what I use. You can get high lumen floods in an LED configuration.
 
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Old 11-15-18, 02:58 PM
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There are LED floodlight units (with and without motion detectors) that have adjustable heads so you can aim the light to where it is most needed.

As I said before I got a 1250 lumen one because I prefer lesser lighting, but a 1500 lumen unit was also available.

A floodlight mounted on the front of the house can be a problem if it shines into your eyes when entering the driveway. A unit that can be aimed to avoid that might help. Mounting the light as high as possible and off to one side will give you the best overall distribution and is less likely to blast you in the eyes as you approach.
 
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Old 11-15-18, 02:59 PM
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I noticed our local home improvement store had Feit 2200 lumen (150 watt equivalent) standard A-19 LED bulbs on sale for $9.99. I can't see why they wouldn't work in your type of post fixture, if you really do need that amount of light.
 
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Old 11-15-18, 05:57 PM
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I think I may have just purchased a couple of the ones that Beachboy is referring to. They are rated for damp locations (although I think your post light is likely a dry location, which is fine) I would also recommend getting the Daylight 5000K lamps as they will appear brighter.
 
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Old 11-16-18, 09:30 AM
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If you have a straight wired (no dimmer or other electronic control) post light fixture that accepts a standard 60 watt incandescent lamp base up, the fixture will also accept a 60 actual watt (perhaps 300 incandescent equivalent watt perhaps 4000 lumen) LED lamp that fits in the same socket.

The "inverse square law" as applied to lighting: If you have a light so many (call it X) feet away, then it takes four of those lights twice the distance (2X feet) away or nine of those lights 3X feet away to illuminate where you are standing at the same brightness. This is why it seems that a single post light in your yard does not seem to illuminate well a reasonable distance away where you are standing even though the bulb itself seems quite bright.
 
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Old 11-16-18, 09:52 AM
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Thanks everybody. I'll try to find the bulbs mentioned above, and understood that it's not really meant to be used to light up the neighborhood
 
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Old 11-16-18, 10:21 AM
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I think you might also need some sort of dome reflector fashioned into the post head. Maybe even as simple as some reflective spray paint. LED bulbs with Edison style bases almost always are designed to project the most light out the "end" of the bulb instead of the sides so they are more effective when installed in ceiling fixtures. Since you're installing them pointing "up" most of the light will hit the inside of the post head.
 
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Old 11-16-18, 11:58 AM
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think you might also need some sort of dome reflector fashioned into the post head.
I think Ben hit the nail on the head as to why it doesn't seem that bright. Even an old incandescent bulb disperses those 1600 lumens 360 degrees around and probably 270 degrees vertically. The same LED bulb will do 360 degrees around and maybe 200 degrees vertically. Still, that's a lot of area, and a lot of the light is 'wasted' upwards.

Spotlights or flood lights are more directional and will be brighter in a smaller area. I'm not exactly sure how best to utilize something like that on a post, but you may want to consider other alternatives.
 
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Old 11-16-18, 12:02 PM
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Thanks everyone. That's a great point and perhaps i'll look for an omnidirectional bulb (or whatever kind it is that will direct the light all around, not just up).
 
 

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