Outdoor Lighting Reviews
Well designed outdoor light fittings can light your home or small business safely and without dangerous glare, and can help you save money and reduce light pollution too. This site reviews the best power-saving sky-friendly home security lights and floodlights available in the UK, and recommends online shops where you can buy them at the best prices.
The lighting fittings reviewed on this site are conveniently ranked to help you choose the right one for your needs and budget. They all share one feature - they have been selected as the best fittings to help you light your property safely whilst also saving money, reduce energy costs, and avoid creating glare and light pollution 'sky glow' at the same time.
Downloadable fitting guidelines are available for some fittings to help you site and use your lights wisely, and benefit from the safe, effective and low energy waste lighting they can provide. In the near future additional documents will be added showing how to use and adjust PIR sensors, etc, as well as a gallery of pictures illustrating good (and bad) usage of outdoor lighting.
Buying your lights
For each of the models reviewed, we include recommended online sellers. Recommendations include current prices and shipping details*, as well as direct links to the shop page for that light fitting. Recommendations are based on value-for-money, efficiency, and the professionalism of the selling company.
Review and selection criteria
All light fixtures for sale on this site have been assessed and ranked by me according to a range of capabilities and features. They must . . .
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Provide safe and effective lighting
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Use as little energy as possible
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Restrict light shining upwards wastefully and/or use a high quality PIR to reduce power consumption (or be connectible to one)
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Use CFL compact fluorescent power saving bulbs if practicable
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Reduce painful glare & dazzle
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Reduce light spilling into neighbouring properties
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Be durable and well made
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Be easy to mount
Background
Like many people, I have been the unintentional victim of light pollution and trespass. Recently my neighbour fitted a 500 watt 'Security' floodlight at the back of his house. Badly angled (facing across the ground instead of down) it flooded light into my bedroom and garden, the nearby car park, and a 1/2 acre of adjacent countryside. In addition, it was sited beside his central heating exhaust vent, so that the PIR (passive infra-red) sensor was triggered every time the heating system ignited - in effect every 10 minutes. All night.
Fortunately, my neighbour was receptive to the idea of using a better light fitting. Unfortunately, I found it very difficult to find a better security light fixture suited to his needs for safe home lighting and minimal energy and light waste. Most of the fittings available in the UK seem poorly designed, creating glare and light pollution, and wasting a lot of energy (and money) in the process.
I have now sourced and tested a variety of 'sky-friendly' home security lighting and have set up this review site to make it easier for you to find, choose and buy one.
*Prices are correct at time of site publication, but may have been changed by the seller since. Dark Sky Lighting is not responsible for pricing variations on third-party sites.
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