Flood Light Guide:

How & Where to Place Your Security Lights

Having LED security lighting, like outdoor LED lood lights, is important for any commercial property. But many people have questions about how and where to place these types of lights. In this article, we will go over 1) what wattage flood light you need, 2) where to put your flood lights, and 3) how to install a flood light.

What Flood Light Wattage Do I Need?

To know what flood light wattage you should choose, you first have to figure out how many foot candles, and then how many lumens, you need. For a full overview on calculating lumen requirements, check out our blog on How Much Light Do I Need?

Using the example of a parking lot that needs 5 foot candles, and is approximately 10,000 sq. ft., you would need 50,000 lumens. That would mean 4 standard LED flood light fixtures that are about 13,000 lm each would fully illuminate your parking lot. In this case, getting 4 of our 100W LED Flood Lights would be a great solution.

Where to Put Flood Lights?

If you are installing brand-new flood light fixtures, where you put your flood lights will be determined by available mounting locations on the building. As a rule of thumb on mounting heights for flood lights, lower wattages are good for lower mounting points and higher mounting points require higher wattage/lumen output lights. A common height for mounting a flood light around 200W on a building is ~20ft.

Situations like field lighting require much higher lumen outputs to meet the foot candle requirements. High-power flood lights (450W+) are good for 30ft and up in these applications. A 900W flood light can be mounted as high as 60ft (perhaps even higher). To install flood lights away from a building, (such as in or around a sports field) you will need light poles or posts. You may want to contact us to determine the best lamp wattage, pole height, and pole type for your application.

Receiving a professional lighting layout will ensure you know exactly how many lights are needed to achieve the amount of illumination desired.

With ELEDLights, layouts are available free-of-cost to all customers who choose to purchase lights with us. Simply put in a service request to get started!

How to Install a Flood Light?

When purchasing from ELEDLights, each product should come with an install guide. We also only recommend that commercial lighting be installed by a trained professional. However, for a general overview, here are the steps in an average flood light install process.

CAUTION: Before wiring any fixtures to a power supply,
the electrical power should be turned off at the fuse or breaker box.

1. Inspect components to ensure that threads and sealing surfaces are free of burs, nicks and scratches or any foreign material.
2. Insert the threaded knuckle on the fixture into either a) a threaded mounting plate, b) a conduit, or c) a threaded junction box.
3. If the fixture is adjustable, you can change angle of the fixture at this stage.
4. Inspect to ensure that the washer is seated flat on the mounting surface.
5. Connect input power to the fixture, referencing a wiring diagram (included with fixture).
6. Supply power to the fixture and check brightness levels.
7. If you have field-selectable flood lights, you will be able to adjust the wattage and/or color temperature settings at this point to get the perfect output for your outdoor space.
8. Enjoy 5+ years of maintenance-free illumination!

How Much Are Flood Lights?

The cost of LED flood lights has gone down drastically in the past 5+ years, while their efficiency has significantly increased. The result is that they can quickly pay for themselves through the energy savings they provide alone! For example, this 100W LED Flood Light would have an upfront cost of around $150. But it will save you 60% (compared to a 250W HID alternative) in energy costs and has a payback period of less than 3 years.

Plus, if your commercial building is in the PECO, PSE&G, PNW, or select other utility areas, that 100W light would cost just $1 thanks to energy efficiency rebates – meaning virtually no payback time! We have helped a variety of customers upgrade for just $1 per fixture and there’s a good chance you could save big, too. Ask our team of experts about the incentives available near you to find out!

Get Expert Help with Your Flood Light Questions

If you aren’t sure about how much light you need, or which flood lights would be best for your application, or where it is best to place them, our experts are here to help! Just reach out at the contact info below or by filling out this simple form.