[OP]
Member
I want brighter light bulbs to use on my garage and back door entrance. Presently, I'm using 40 watt bulbs.I would like to switch to LED bulbs. I am not going to buy new fixtures. What bulbs would you suggest I use to make my yard and rear entrance brighter? Thanks.
Moderator
I use 100 watt (equivalent) LED bulbs in some of my shop task lighting. They are pretty bright. I picked them up at Costco, and not very expensive.
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"It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone."
Andy Rooney
Contributor
It depends on the fixture. Mine is for flood lights and works fine with its motion detector. They were purchased at the Orange Borg. They have been in place for over a year.Originally Posted by James Spillman
Make sure what ever light bulbs you use are labeled for outdoor use.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Moderator
"Size matters"...so choose an LED lamp that has the higher wattage equivalent (and color) that you prefer in the format that your fixtures will accommodate.
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
You can get LED lamps that are over 100W, but as others said size matters. A 100W equivalent will probably fit the fixture will be MUCH brighter.
Member
I have a 300watt equivalent in my yard light. It replaced a Mercury Vapor one both have the same bright white color that I like.
Contributor
We have 2 60 watt equivalent in the front of the house 1 100 watt equivalent in the back, all LED. We're happy with the amount and quality of the light in both places.
[OP]
Member
Thank you for the responses. The fixtures we have use standard size bulbs. The LED bulbs I use in my shop are larger and would not fit my outdoor fixtures. I think I will go with 100 watt outdoor LED bulbs. Do you recommend a particular brand?
Contributor
I've excellent luck with Philips/Osram and Cree. Conversely I've had terrible results with Feit, out of 12 can light bulb changes to LED, two have failed in less than six months.
Dick Mahany.
Contributor
That's been my experience as well. There are so many brands of really cheap LED lamps & fixtures that have just popped up in the last few years & I haven't had good experience (we deal with a LOT of LED fixtures & lamps) with any of them. The either fail outright, lumen output drops off way sooner than it should, or their CRI is so low that they give a really weird color cast to things.
Contributor
I've changed almost all of my incandescent lighting and quite a few of my CFLs as well with LED.
Almost always I use a known brand, like Phillips. In my massive building I have 12 chandeliers each using 14 bulbs. I replaced them all in 2007 with Osram CFL units and since then, perhaps 10, total, were changed out.
Go for the quality.
Young enough to remember doing it;
Old enough to wish I could do it again.
I have not found 100 watt equivalent in an A19 size which my fixtures require. I did find 75 watt equivalent A19 size LED, outdoor, enclosed approved bulbs at Lowes. Working well.
"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".
– Samuel Butler
Contributor
B e aware that LED's have to be in open fixtures so they do not overheat and burn out quickly.
Bill D
Member
I bought a package of four Feit LED 40 watt eqv. bulbs rated for 30,000 hours of life. 6 months later 30,000 hours must have passed as they all had failed! The LED bulbs I bought at the dollar store have held up better- 6 installed and one failure in a year.
None of the 10 Phillips bulbs I've installed have failed yet.
-Tom
You can find “enclosed rated” LED bulbs at the BORG. The ones I have have been running in “jelly jar“ type outdoor fixtures without issue.
"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".
– Samuel Butler
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