mm wrote:

snip

barely illuminates the yard when its on.

Thanks a lot.

Ah, you asked the right person!

I own a townhouse in an HOA and "they" (well "we") installed the halogen
lamps with the "cigarette" shaped bulbs you refer to. The bulbs are
expensive, don't last long, and are a pain to change (have to open the
fixture, while up on a high ladder). When I lived there I would change
the bulbs. Now they pay someone to do it.

At my house I have four of the Heath/Zenith halogen motion detectors
that use the G8 bulbs. The bulbs are expensive and don't last long. Two
of the units don't work properly any more (one doesn't ever turn off).
It's a pain to change the bulbs as the gaskets fall off, and the pin
spacing on the replacement bulbs (even the genuine Heath-Zenith bulbs)
doesn't match the holes on the socket so you have to bend the pins.

If I were you, I'd get the ones that use standard PAR38 floodlight
bulbs. Use the outdoor fluorescent or LED replacement flood lamps if you
can live with the reduced brightness. If you need the incandescent at
least those round flood lamps are cheap and easy to replace.

It probably costs the HOA $100 every time someone comes out to change a
bulb, so the cost of an LED PAR 38 might be worth it if it's bright
enough, but it probably won't be.

Choose the right fixture with PAR38 lamps and you can use a commercial
PAR38 light bulb changer, i.e.

"http://www.budgetlighting.com/store/agora.cgi?&p_id=12655&xm=on&product=Light%20Bulb%2 0Changers&ppinc=search2&TROD=Light%20Bulb%20Change rs"


plus the extensions

"http://www.budgetlighting.com/store/agora.cgi?&p_id=12660&xm=on&product=Light%20Bulb%2 0Changers&ppinc=search2&TROD=Light%20Bulb%20Change rs|Rite-O-Lite|Incandescent"

which will save a LOT of money.