Outdoor barn light question

[BeezFun]

Want to hang light on outside of barn to light up yard area. Looking for pros and cons of the 4 types I saw at Menards:
1. Fluorescent
2. Metal Halide
3. Low Pressure Sodium
4. LED (yikes, expensive)

Found this table that shows Low Pressure Sodium to be cheaper per lumen to operate. But I don't know if there's any other problems with Sodium, like long start time, or problems in cold weather. I'm in Chicago climate so winters are cold. Thanks for advice and suggestions.

 

[KennyG]

How much light are you looking for? If you only want enough to keep from stumbling, it's hard to beat the CFL because the initial cost is so low. I think the sodium lights can give you a lot more light but isn't the cost of the fixture and bulb a lot higher? I have cheap Menards CFLs and they've been working great for several years.

 

[yelbike]

Also how on time are you looking at? A standard cfl should start down to about 20 degrees CELSIUS. Sorry for the Canadian conversion also 500 watt halogen can be had for $15, at that price its hard to beat the efficient over cost discussion.

 

[bcp]

Your power company may put one up for you for very little.

I recently had one installed. Cost was $0. Monthly charge is $8 for 5 yrs, then $5. Light is before the meter, so monthly charge includes power. They do any maintenance needed.

Bruce

 

[Scooby074]

Hard to beat Sodium wall packs. I assume your wanting to flood a small area? Maybe less than 1000sqft? Under $100 and not that hard on electricity for the lumens produced.



Think of LEDs as an investment. Yes they are money up front, but you save both maintenance and electricity costs for YEARS after install. We just put one of these RAB 52W Led's up to light up the church parking lot and keep kids out. $350 IIRC. But no ongoing maintenance and low operating costs. It really throws the light.RAB WPLEDFC52N | LED Wall Pack - 52 Watt There's the 2 extremes.

 

[Deere Dude]

I have had a 60 Watt HP Sodium for 13 years. Paid about $50. On every night from dusk to dawn and keeps plugging away and lights up an area a couple hundred feet away, enough light to walk around easily and being able to see what is around. It is bright enough to do minor work outside like changing 3pt attachments on the tractor when within 50 feet. I have it about 18-20 feet off the ground and over the peak of my pole shed on the overhead door end.

It starts quickly in Wisconsin weather and doesn't make a buzzing sound like some other type I have had.

When I bought it I took a chance because 60 Watts seems like a drop in the bucket but worked out very well. We just bought a place in the boonies in TN and there is no yard-light, and I am going to put up the same exact thing. When it is dark outside it doesn't take much wattage to shine a good sized area up.

I don't know what it costs to run monthly, but I am assuming it would be a lot cheaper than a 150-300 watt light the power company would put up. $50 for the fixture over a 13 years period is cheap.

 

[BeezFun]

How much light are you looking for? If you only want enough to keep from stumbling, it's hard to beat the CFL because the initial cost is so low. I think the sodium lights can give you a lot more light but isn't the cost of the fixture and bulb a lot higher? I have cheap Menards CFLs and they've been working great for several years.

Barn is about 100' from house and I'd like to be able to see well enough to walk from house to barn at night without falling over a wheelbarrow. Prices of the fixtures I looked at were all comparable, except LED which was off the charts.

 

[BeezFun]

Also how on time are you looking at? A standard cfl should start down to about 20 degrees CELSIUS. Sorry for the Canadian conversion also 500 watt halogen can be had for $15, at that price its hard to beat the efficient over cost discussion.

You must mean -20C if you're living in canada. That would be about the temp we have around here in the winter. It doesn't need to start fast, it takes me a while to get going. The table I pointed to shows halogen being 10 times more expensive to operate than low pressure sodium, initial cost on all these except LED seems insignificant compared to long term operation.

 

[BeezFun]

Your power company may put one up for you for very little.

I recently had one installed. Cost was $0. Monthly charge is $8 for 5 yrs, then $5. Light is before the meter, so monthly charge includes power. They do any maintenance needed.

This barn is at the end of a long aerial run, about as far away from the meter as you could get, it would be a major construction project to get another power run back there from upstream of the meter.

 

[BeezFun]

Hard to beat Sodium wall packs. I assume your wanting to flood a small area? Maybe less than 1000sqft? Under $100 and not that hard on electricity for the lumens produced.

Yes, they had these at menards, I think that would be sufficient for what I need.

Think of LEDs as an investment. Yes they are money up front, but you save both maintenance and electricity costs for YEARS after install. We just put one of these RAB 52W Led's up to light up the church parking lot and keep kids out. $350 IIRC. But no ongoing maintenance and low operating costs. It really throws the light.

I'm confused about the efficiency of LEDs. That table I found shows LEDs are about 2-1/2 times more expensive per lumen to operate than low pressure sodium, which was counter to everything I've heard about LEDs. Also, after my experience with CFLs, I'm skeptical about life expectancy claims from manufacturers. I've had CFLs that didn't last any longer than an incandescent. I don't think that's the case with LEDs based on my own experience with LED trailer tail lights, but man these fixtures are expensive.

 

[BeezFun]

I have had a 60 Watt HP Sodium for 13 years.

Yes sodium looks like a good choice. What does the light look like, is it real white like a welding arc, or is it more yellow like an incandescent bulb?

It starts quickly in Wisconsin weather and doesn't make a buzzing sound like some other type I have had.

Good, that's one thing I was wondering about, I have a fluorescent fixture that sounds like a buzz box when it's running. We have a turkey that gobbles his head off any time there's a noise, I don't want him driving me nuts every time the light goes on.

 

[buickanddeere]

We are talking halogen or halide ? Metal Halide is much more efficient than Halogen and is a bright white light.Sodium Vapour gives that awful yellow light. LED is usually a crispy white light. CFL can be anything from pukey warm while , cool white or daylight.

 

[BeezFun]

We are talking halogen or halide ? Metal Halide is much more efficient than Halogen and is a bright white light.Sodium Vapour gives that awful yellow light. LED is usually a crispy white light. CFL can be anything from pukey warm while , cool white or daylight.

I wouldn't use halogen, too expensive to run. I was looking at metal halide and sodium. I didn't know sodium was yellow, did a little research, turns out the reason sodium appears so cheap to operate per lumen is because its light is at the optimum wavelength to be seen by the human eye. So it "appears" brighter in some biological sense, even though the color of the light may be less than attractive. That perceived brightness is why it comes out cheaper per lumen. I wouldn't use CFLs, I'm still angry that I fell for the BS about how long they would last. They also start fires, I've had one of those little circuit boards start smoking and turn black, so it's the last thing I want in a barn.

 

[GLyford]

In that case, avoid the LEDs, too...they also run on a circuit board built by the lowest bidder, and there have been reported issues (shorts, fires). Sad really, for such a promising technology.

 

[Iowachild]

I like these Stonco fixtures real well. I have a couple in 70 watt but they are available 35, 50, 70 and 100w. I just replaced one lamp that was over 15 years old. :thumbsup:
I guess I should mention they are high pressure sodium.

 

[BeezFun]

I like these Stonco fixtures real well. I have a couple in 70 watt but they are available 35, 50, 70 and 100w. I just replaced one lamp that was over 15 years old. :thumbsup:
I guess I should mention they are high pressure sodium.

I like those, not so industrial looking. thanks

 

[KennyG]

I wouldn't use CFLs, I'm still angry that I fell for the BS about how long they would last. They also start fires, I've had one of those little circuit boards start smoking and turn black, so it's the last thing I want in a barn.

I know there have been problems with CFLs but I've had very good luck with them recently. I have them everywhere I can. The outdoor CFL fixture I have on my pole barn cost less than $20 and has been on dawn to dusk for over two years so I think it's paid for itself.

 

[Fossil Farm]

Have had a 175 watt mercury vapor light on the big barn for about 30 years. Has worked very well every night and has come back on in many lightning storms. Replaced the sensor and the bulb once in the last 20 years. Have had a 100 watt mercury vapor on the house for about 20 years, working just fine. I had halogen lights over the man doors on both barns, but replaced them with 26 watt CFL light fixtures last fall. Just been through 1 winter, but so far they have worked well. Good light output and hopefully they will last much longer than the halogen. Halogens run hot and seem to be electric hogs. If the CFL's keep working as they are now, I will look at replacing the mercury vapor lights with CFL's when they die if they have a bulb with enough lumens for the 175 watt replacement. Let us know what you decide to purchase.

 

[ScottyChip]

I have a 75 watt HP sodium light fixture placed high up on barn, which is aprox. 150 feet from house and it throws enough light to see your way around the whole yard. It operates from dusk to dawn on a sensor same as street lights. The light has a more orange / yellow cast which I am fine with, cheaper to operate than mercury vapor. The local power company has switched all street lighting to the same HP sodium, 2 reasons cheaper to operate and they also cut through fog better than mercury. We gets lots of fog. I have replaced 1 bulb in the 20 years of operation which cost me about $30 Canadian. The fixture was about $45-50 new. I am not sure of monthly cost, the barn is powered from house, but it does what I need so not concerned. It does need a few minutes to warm up to full brightness, but with the sensor it comes on when needed, so again has not been a problem. It operates 365 days a year in all weather and temperatures, winter / summer. We can get quite cold in winter and it has never failed to start. I have tried the CFL's inside barn and they can't compare, will not light in cold, light intensity low compared to halogen or sodium, and if they break release mercury. So a no go for me, and LED's are still to expensive for initial purchase, but real cheap to operate it wait and see on these.

 

[Halftrack]

I have had a light at the peak of my pole barn for about 16 years now. Started with a 175 watt mercury vapor light which lasted about 5 years. Replaced it with a HP sodium, which was cheaper to operate and I liked the yellow tint, especially in the snow. It lasted 3-4 years. Then I went with the 200 watt equivalent CFL fixture, which was a disappointment. The sensor lasted less than a year, and the bulb six months after it. So I gutted that fixture, took out the transformer that ran that big bulb and put a new sensor in wired direct to the socket. Put a run of the mill cheap 100 watt equiv CFL in it and its been trouble free for years now. The really cold weather affects the light output but it still comes on every night. I have to borrow an extension ladder to deal with this fixture so the less time spent maintaining the better. I am willing to give LEDs a few more years to become reasonable, the same way it took CFLs.