i live in a boring suburb. however tonight someone knocked on my door and rang bell. my topography is very unfriendly and i have a totally dark steep walkway to the house. in other words, you arent coming up my hill unless you have a mission.

guy asked if this was a certain address. i just said no but of course my address is on my mailbox so thats supershady. then went to our community board online and he's been doing it around here.

so i need too immediately (ie as in lowes/homedepot vs amazon) get some lighting up that will also be more eco friendly and maybe get a ring doorbell? do you recommend them?

my house has lighting in front but its the old 150 watt floods from the 80s. and normally i dont have the 2 of them on because would add about 15 amonth to my bill plus i wouldnt know how to put a timer on them.. they are at either end of the house and about 75 ft apart. the front door is about 1/4 way from the one edge of the house. and there's a normal incandescent coming out of my ceiling of my porch with a black metal cover on it with glass

so basically i need to convert 2 floods that are on a single switch and an incandescent thats on one switch into lighting that comes on at night, this would involved keeping the switch in the house on at all times then some kind of nighttime sensor in each fixture i guess? the problem is the light at the front door has a light in and outside and both come on and off together so i gotta unscrew the bulbs in the foyer cause cannot have them on all the time

it's a very large front yard of approx 50 deep by 125

i guess short term is there something like a timer that takes the place of a standard switch..or maybe wifi connected even?

any suggestions?

 

Have you considered putting your existing floodlights on motion sensors ?

 

i didnt know u could do that. but to be honest id like to keep the lights on all the time now. ive always wanted that but now i have a reason to. is there something like a lower wattage light that could be on a dusk to dawn sensor?

screwing into the existing fixture is a must. i dont wanna play with wiring on all the fixtures..they are likely a mess and not touched since 1952

i guessi could if there really was a better solution though.

 

ive been reading thru ring doorbell review and see theres a delay on the camera end. i'm relaly not worrying about packages being stolen as i'm far off the street and high up so you really cannot see them but i do like the idea of being able to see someone who rang and let them know i'm home. i do think he would have broken in tonight and thats scary. i mean, thats what they do right? knock and then break in

 

They make replacement LED floodlight bulbs that will replace what you have.
They draw 13 watts and should be equivalent to an incandescent 100w floodlight bulb.

 

thats great to know. a friend told me they had dusk to dawn screw in sensors and their bulbs had a short life. supposedly an electrican said its the sensors. that make any sense?

but the sensors sem the best way to make sure dusk to dawn. . even if i had a switch on a timer or wifi in the house what could adjust it with the changing daylight

 

i guess if i can have success with the box/wiring, this would be the best kind of thing an most reliable than another sensor/light combo?

https://www.lowes.com/pd/All-Pro-2-H...ight/999985976

 

ancient..these are just 2 of what i'm dealing with. guess only way to figure out is take it off and see. nice 16 degrees out today too

that porch light is rear of the house and just over my head a bit. so i know would be weird place for a 2 or 3 headed light but i'm tempted to do it. i do have one 3 triple light on a porch post but the fence attached to it makes it a stupid position for a light. i may try to relocate it by drilling thru the vinyl post

 

let the ******* come back.. lights and recording!

i love the light i got at lowes, looks like daylight out there. def will try to figure out wiring for rest of the yard. using the existing wiring of course.