On Saturday, 8 February 2020 22:16:48 UTC, Steve Walker wrote:
On 08/02/2020 12:17, John wrote:

People don't realise that the 'reflector' is just 'decorative' and
that LED floods are omnidirectional within the limits of the frame. I
fitted one last week and with Paul up the ladder with a spanner I went
to the effective horizon (top of the yard) and gestured down a bit up
a bit. The light has ended up tilted downwards so much it looks odd
but it still throws light to the horizon. In the past I've had to
restrict the top of the beam with strips of black tape on the glass. I
wish someone would invent a LED flood with a bit of beam control. I
realise the problem is that the light isn't a single point source.

Bill


In Theatre Lighting - luminaires would have "Barn Door Shutters" to control
spill. However, even theatres now seem to shine lights into the audience!

People aim the notional centre of the "beam" to the end of their property -
which means that 50% is going beyond.

I can happily say that the PIR light on my garage (in my back garden),
is angled so that the centre is quite close to the garage - both giving
a "worklight" in front of the garage and keeping the beam below the tops
of the 6' gates at the side of the house.

SteveW

I can happily say that our exterior lights are 2.5 watt (or very close), and timed to a pretty short period. Perfectly adequate for our normal purposes. (We do have four - front, two along the side, back.