How to choose a flood light for courtyard lighting

Current owners of country houses often choose to illuminate their yards powerful spotlights that allow to cover the local area and scare off intruders. Which spotlight is best suited for this purpose?

Types of projectors

There are four spotlights – halogen, metal halide, sodium and led. The basis of halogen floodlights is an incandescent lamp with a buffer gas added to the tank, which makes these products high temperature lighting device, since the working temperature of the spiral can reach 3000K. Metal halide floodlights are based on discharge lamps, high pressure burner, which are dosed emitting additives, correcting the spectral characteristics of the arc discharge mercury vapor.

Metal halide, sodium and halogen light, unlike led spotlights, unstable to vibration.

Source of light in the sodium flood lights are sodium vapor lamps of high pressure. In the process of a gas discharge luminous heat occurs in sodium vapor that causes the monochromaticity of the radiation. The light source in led projectors consists of environmentally friendly LEDs do not contain components with mercury. Experts do not recommend to buy the first spotlight, and the first to assess its type of lamp, which is a priority when choosing this lighting device.

Some spotlight is better

Halogen flood lights have excellent light output and color rendition, and targeted illumination of a certain area of the yard. They are high capacity, made of tempered glass and work without problems at high temperature. Sodium units provide a bright yellow-orange light due to the predominant emission of sodium, however, give a satisfactory light color. The advantage of the sodium flood lights is their versatility, allowing to combine the device with other light sources.

Flood lights with poor colour rendering are commonly used for lighting industrial buildings or street lighting.

Metal halide units provide bright cool light and have a high color rendering/efficiency. They are very reliable due to the resistance to voltage drops and protection from dust and moisture, so metal-halide lamps are ideal for lighting of the yard. However, most high-quality option are the led spotlights that are fully made of strong and durable high quality materials. They provide precisely directed stream of light, instant start and stably work even at low voltage.