How to decide which LED Light to buy for an Outdoor setup?

by Blog Team on Nov 10, 2022 0 comments

LED Lights are not required for indoor purposes but they are useful & beneficial for Commercial outdoor setups as well like Parking Garage Lighting, Wall Packs, Floodlights, Canopy Lights for Gas stations and stadiums, high bay lights, and more.

LED Lights have numerous benefits:

Weather & Temperature resistant
Energy Efficient
Durable & Low Maintenance Cost
Environment friendly

There are many factors that people miss out on while deciding which LED Light to buy for an outdoor setup and have a perception that Halogen Lights are best for outdoor as LED Lights are cost-consuming. Let us walk you through some important factors to keep in mind that will help you in making the decision.

Factors for deciding LED Light for outdoor

1. Color Temperature

CCT (Correlated color temperature) defines the color appearance of a white LED and it is defined in Kelvin Degrees.

From 2700K - 3000K Warm White
3000K above to 4000K Neutral White
4000K above to 5000K Natural White
5000K above to 6500K Cool White

We recommend you to use below color temperature for different setups:

2500-2700K for architectural elements
3000-4000K for setup where there are trees & plants (neutral cooler white)
2700-3500K for outdoor social gathering places (warmer white)
5000-6000K for walks streets and gas stations (cooler white)
4000-5000K for warehouses front & backyards, stadiums, outdoor workshops, parking lots, and sheds

2. Brightness

This is the most important factor where you have to decide the appropriate brightness level for your outdoor setup. The main purpose is to ensure that brightness is enough to provide appropriate visibility to keep the surroundings illuminated with an ideal brightness – not too bright and not too dull.

We are often confused when it comes to selecting the brightness level for outdoor setup. To make it simpler, make use of a lumen that measures the amount of light a LED Light (Illumination source) produces.

Note: Lumen will be higher if an illumination source is producing more light.

We recommend you to use below lumens for your different outdoor setup requirements:

For Step Lights, use 12-100 lumens
For Outdoor Wall Lights, use 50-185 lumens
For Smaller Garden Lights, use 100-300 lumens
For Larger Garden Lights, use 600-1,800 lumens
For Accent Lighting in Garden, use around 50 lumens to primarily focus on a plant (object)
For Deck, Fence & Pergola Lights, use 5-250 lumens
For Landscape Lights, use 50-300 lumens
For Path Lights, use 100-200 lumens
For Landscape Spotlights, use around 120 lumens
For Lamp Posts, use 120-180 lumens
For Pond & Pool Lights, use 200-400 lumens
For Motion Sensor Lights, use 300-700 lumens
For Floodlights, use 700-1,300 lumens
For Residential Street Lights, use 5,000 lumens
For Roadways Street Lights, use 6,400 to 18,000 lumens
For Highways High Mast Lights, use 25,000 to 100,000 lumens

Some Vital Tips for you:

Number of Lumens will increase with the increase in height. For lower heights, fewer lumens will be required.
If you are placing light in a darker area, then you will be required to use more lumens. However, if you don’t want the light to be bright, then opt for Nothing But LEDs’ LED Outdoor LED Lights which emit fewer lumens, heat, and minimal infrared rays.
Using a 30-watt LED Bulb will give same level of brightness as a 250-watt incandescent bulb.

However, LED Bulb Illumination is much warmer and cooler, with less heat emission & more importantly it is energy efficient as it uses lesser watts and saves electricity bills by half, and cut down on operating cost which gives you maximize return on its investment.

Light Distribution

There are 6 Types of Light Distribution in which you can allow the light to be distributed and let us walk you through all types and which type is suitable to meet different outdoor setup requirements.

Type I

Ideal for paths, walkways, and sidewalks
Lighting should be placed near the center of the pathway for adequate lighting
30W to 60W LED Light is appropriate to light up these outdoor places

Type II

Ideal for wide walkways, ramps, entrance roadways, smaller streets & jogging paths(tracks)
Used for lighting larger areas and mostly placed near the roadside
100W to 350W LED Light is appropriate to light up these outdoor places

Type III

Ideal for roadway lighting, parking areas(lots), driveways, mid-sized garages, sports fields (tennis, football, basketball & volleyball)
Used to illuminate wide-spread areas where higher visibility is required
100W to 450W is appropriate to light up these places

Type IV

Ideal for mounting light on sides of building & walls, illuminating boundary & circumference of parking areas, commercial complexes, and corporate buildings
100W to 400W LED Light is appropriate to light up these places
Generally used for side-of-road mounting and produces a semi-circular distribution

Type V

It produces a 360-degree circular distribution
It has a circular symmetry of foot-candles to provide even distribution of illumination at all viewing angles
Ideal for mounting near or at the center of roadways and parkways, and at intersections in parking lots or sports track
100W to 320W LED light is appropriate to light up these places

Type VS

It produces a 360-degree square distribution illuminating at the same intensity at all angles
It has a square symmetry of foot-candles which is evenly distributed at all lateral angles
Ideal for illuminating extensive open commercial parking lots (shopping centers & malls) and places which need extensive evenly & uniformly distributed light
250W to 400W LED light is appropriate to light up these places

By going through all the above information, it will be simpler & easier for you to pick which LED Light to buy as per your requirements & needs.

Conclusion

Apart from LED downlights, we offer a large variety of LED lights for your different needs & requirements be it indoor, outdoor, or landscape lighting.

If you are looking to place the order or have any queries regarding the warranty then feel free to contact us and our customer support team will assist you with a prompt response. You can reach out to us via call at 800-414-8919 or via email at sales@nothingbutleds.com