This article is about our shopping trip to find motion sensor outdoor lighting, and it describes some of the surprising discoveries we made. After reading this article you will have an overview of some of the types and styles of lighting for both security purposes and yard illumination.
A few months ago we decided to install outdoor lighting for our new home. We had heard about motion sensor outdoor lighting, and because we were attracted by their huge energy saving advantages, we decided to go shopping for these types of units. We had not kept up with the advances in security systems over the years and had a preconceived idea of drab silver floodlights with large bulbs. So, when we looked around the lighting section of a large home supply store, we were absolutely astounded by the huge variety of types and designs of motion sensor models. It was actually quite overwhelming, and if it wasn’t for the help of a very knowledgeable and patient store assistant, we would surely have left the store without making a purchase.
The first thing that we discovered was that there were in fact two categories to choose from: those models that were intended for general yard illumination and those that were installed for security purposes. The variety of designs of motion sensor fixtures for paths, porches, decks and gardens was incredible. Many of them had brass or pewter finishes, whilst others were made out of wrought iron or framed in wood. There were also beautiful carriage style models, wall sconces as well as free-standing post lights. We purchased two of these in the old lamp-lighter style. We also bought several spotlights to illuminate the doorways of our home, the stairway up to our deck and to highlight a fountain and a beautiful flowering tree we have in our garden. One of the best things we discovered was a wireless remote motion detector. We installed this at the entrance to our driveway. Now as soon as our car turns into the driveway, the remote sensor activates all of the spotlights and path-lights around our house.
Obviously, the security lighting fixtures were not nearly attractive as the others, but I was surprised to see how energy efficient some of these powerful floodlights were, especially the LED models. We actually decided to use LEDs for both our garden illumination and our security floodlights. We chose solar floodlights for remote areas of our yard where there wasn’t a convenient electric hook-up. The solar units are just as powerful as our electric units, and they can be easily moved around. One great discovery was that all of the yard lights had a manual switch, so when we wanted to have barbecues or just spend time in the garden at night, we could over-ride the sensor and have the lighting on all of the time. Motion sensor outdoor lighting is really a great invention, for it allows you to save electricity most of the time and still be able to have constant illumination whenever you need it.