In message
"john" wrote:


"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
. uk...
Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
"The Medway Handyman" writes:
Someone recently described a 500w PIR flood light as "fixing a half
bar electric fire outside".

Which has got me thinking. Especially given the unreliability of
500w halogen lamps/lights.

I fitted a 150w one about 4 years ago. It's still on its first tube.
I estimate it's powered up about 30 minutes/day max during winter
months. It would be worth trying to estimate how often it would be
triggered and how long, once triggered, it would need to stay on for.

So, given the choice between a 500w PIR halogen & an 11w CFL dawn
dusk light - which will be cheaper to run?

A 150w one?

[snip]

Get yourself off to B&Q, they sell a 500w style light which uses a
fluorescent tube.
You should be able to work out how much a light will cost to use. If
someone fitted a small 11w light as a security light for me, I would ask if
they were being serious.
You look out of a window and see how much the small 11w lamp will light a
garden compared to a 500w light. You can get a smaller 150w if you prefer.

It's surprising how well a 150w one works ... unless you need it to
cover a very large area.

Barry
--
There are two secrets to life:
1) Never tell anyone everything you know.