500w (in)Security Floodlight. Oh, Dear. No.

Security. Safety. Peace of Mind. These are words often used to sum up what 500watt Halogen Security Floodlights offer home owners. Unfortunately, they also offer glare, dazzle, light pollution and light trespass, can run up a very high electricity bill in a distressingly short time, and have a bigger carbon footprint than a herd of elephants in Doc Marten's. And they're not even good at actually increasing safety.

If you've taken a trip to B&Q or Homebase lately, or any other similar store, looking for outdoor lights for your home, you'll have noticed that the big, macho imported 500w floodlights on display are generally much cheaper than the 60w bulkhead or lantern-style fittings - usually less than £10. Looks like a great deal - you get more than 8 times the amount of light for a lower price? Result. But what about running costs? Oops. That's where things go badly wrong.

A 500w halogen 'security' floodlight (10x the power of a car headlight!) uses as much electricity as 45 low energy bulbs, a single one of which is usually perfectly adequate to light your porch area or doorway safely. In a single year, a 500w floodlight can easily run up an electricity bill of over £100 - more than ten times the energy consumption of even an ordinary 40w incandescent bulb. That's ten times the energy, ten times the carbon dioxide greenhouse gas. But at least you get the safety and peace of mind. Or do you?

Contrary to conventional wisdom, our eyes don't like very bright light (think of undipped headlights, for instance) but see much better in lower, more even levels of light. Brighter light makes the pupils contract, letting less information into the eyes, and making it harder, not easier, to see that intruder entering your garden. So, bright light can actually increase the hazard, rather than reducing it, and can lull you into a false sense of security.

Thinking of buying a halogen floodlight? Please, think again. Take a look instead at our reviews of the efficient and sky-friendly Glarebuster and Smartflood. For Bulkhead lights, you can't do much better than the Eyelid PIR Bulkhead. And, If you must have a halogen floodlight, take a look at our review of the Oval PIR Floodlight.

When it comes to over-the-top brightness, the standard domestic 500w floodlight is dazzling. And because few manufacturers include proper fitting instructions with their floodlights, and most people accept the 'bright is better' myth', the lights are generally sited in the worst possible location, and at the worst possible angle - head height and pointing straight across their garden - maximising the arc of light across the ground and into nearby properties, with much of it blasting uselessly, and wastefully into the night sky.

Instead of a safely lit garden they end up with a flood of brilliant, blinding and electricity meter-spinning white light which dazzles them, their neighbours, and any nearby wildlife unfortunate enough to live there. Not to mention the driver 200 hundred yards away who was just about to overtake that lorry when she was blinded by the floodlight switching on.

So what's the solution? You want to light your property safely, but don't want to light up your neighbourhood like Blackpool. Simple . . .

1. Buy the lowest wattage light that is adequate for your needs. Very few properties really need a 500watt floodlight, and if you really need a floodlight at all, then you'll probably find that a 150watt one will do you nicely.
2. Then mount it high, and point it straight down. Don't point it horizontally. If you have to tilt your floodlight up by more than 30º to light the area then it's in the wrong place and should be moved closer. Keep it high, point it down and you'll get better, safer light, and your neighbours will be happy too.
3. And if you make sure it's only switched on when you need it, you won't get a nasty shock next time you get your electricity bill

Better yet, unless you really need a floodlight, buy a cut-off bulkhead light instead. This will provide perfectly adequate lighting for doorways, porches and paths without costing the earth to run, or lighting half of your town. This site includes reviews of several light fittings which I hope will suit your needs.