Contributed by Frankie Allen
Last year, I came nose to nose with a moose on my way from the house to my home office.
The light above the garage door had stopped working the week before, but I’d been too busy to fix it and, besides, it was freaking cold. I didn’t want to install it when it was twenty below. That’s dumb. So, that morning, I’d opened the door and focused on the ice, not wanting to fall on my butt… again.
Then, I felt the whuff of her breath on my cheek.
My heartrate picked up and my breath froze in my chest as I looked up from the tailbone-busting ice to see a nose that filled most of my view. I already knew this, but moose are big.
That’s when I decided I needed to replace that light. However, it was still below zero and I wasn’t playing around in those temperatures. Time went by and I completely forgot about it and the near-death experiences the lack of it brought to my winter morning commute.
Until Lisa called me last Wednesday to tell me she needed “sunlight” in her parking lot. Remembering my own need, I headed over to her house to see what we could do. Her “parking lot” turned out to be a driveway with a gravel pad for an RV. Then, she informed me that she’d done her research, and she’d determined she needed 20,000 lumens. I looked out to see what her “sunlight” might hit and saw a covered hot tub maybe a hundred or a hundred and fifty feet away. That could be a problem. So, I told her a little bit about lumens, how far they’d go, and how much she probably really needed.
A standard flood light (the bug-eyed looking ones) are typically around 4,000 lumens. You can mount them on the side of your home and light up your driveway and front door pretty well.
But let’s say you’re in a more rural area. Maybe you have safety concerns, or you have a large area to light. Do you need 10,000 lumens? Maybe. That light will shine much further, possibly to the end of your drive. But at this point, you need to ask yourself if you’re polluting the area with excess light. We usually order lights of these lumens the front of barns that light up a large area between buildings.
20,000 lumens is typically used for parking lots, where light needs to spread over a large area. For a bit of reference, I just quoted one of these for a commercial building that was meant to light up the entire parking lot. The light is bright and hard to ignore.
I managed to talk Lisa down to 8,000 lumens. She wasn’t sure it was going to be enough, but once we installed it, she called to let me know it was a good choice. I purchased a 6,000 lumen light for myself. I have a larger area to light up, but my neighbors are a little closer. One of my guys at All Phase Electric is going to install it for me this week so I don’t forget it. Again.
The things to consider when choosing your outdoor lights are:
How much light do you really need?
How close are your neighbors and how will your light invade their house or hot tub?
Can you aim the light, so it shines on the area you need illuminated?
Winter’s coming, bringing the darkness with it. Don’t be like me. Plan now. Let’s get those lights installed while the weather’s fairly good! Have questions about what kind of lights you need? Give me a call!
All Phase Electric, Wasilla
907-376-1200