On Thu, 31 Dec 2020 08:20:30 -0800 (PST), trader_4
wrote:

On Thursday, December 31, 2020 at 9:58:20 AM UTC-5, wrote:
On Thu, 31 Dec 2020 05:08:25 -0800 (PST), trader_4
wrote:

On Wednesday, December 30, 2020 at 10:55:07 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On Wed, 30 Dec 2020 14:30:04 -0500, Clare Snyder
wrote:
On Wed, 30 Dec 2020 12:43:55 -0600, Dean Hoffman
wrote:

On 12/30/20 12:12 PM, trader_4 wrote:
I'm replacing two motion activated outdoor lights. The old ones were
Heath- Zenith halogen with the dual bright feature. That's where they
come on at dusk for 4 or 6 hours at maybe 30% intensity to provide
accent lighting. At night if there is motion anytime, they come on full.

So, I'm replacing them with LED. First problem is that almost all the
LED ones just put out 5000 temp harsh light, even if they put out less
than full, it's still harsh and ugly. Next is that these have to go under
a soffit and while some of these lights claim to be mountable either
on a wall or under a soffit, they really don't point right when mounted
under a soffit. They wind up pointing to the ground close to where
they are mounted, at best, instead of lighting an area 25 ft out.
Next problem is the ones that are allegedly usable
under a soffit are meant to be installed on a 90 deg soffit and my
soffit follows the roof pitch, which is 22 deg on one roof. The other
is less, maybe 15 deg. After searching, the best light I found
are these, that Lowes stocks:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Enbrighten-...mer/1000478503

They allow you to adjust the color of the low accent lighting, which
sounds really nice. And the heads are adjustable for use under
a soffit as much as any are adjustable.

So, I'm looking for an adapter that can go as an interposer between
the fixture and electrical box so the fixture mounts horizontal, 90 deg
instead of 90 - 22 deg, etc. One box is 4" round, other is std
rectangular type. I could replace the rectangular one if needed.
The interposer needs to have an angle of at least 22 deg. If it's
more, like 33 deg I think it would work better, helping make it so
the light heads can be positioned facing out, away from the house
more.

I haven't really started to look for the interposer widget, but thought
I'd ask here is anyone knows of ones that would work. White or
paintable white, angle of 22 min, more maybe 33 to even 45 might
be better. If there was something you could cut to whatever angle
you want that might be good too. Anyone know of a good candidate?

Thanks.

My dad had a carpenter's tool to copy angles. No idea what it's
called. There are all
sorts of adjustable brackets that lets one set the angle. One type is
for flag poles. Another is for trail cameras. What about using mirrors
or some other reflector to divert the light? Convex trucker's mirror?
Are there any barn or yard lights that would fit the
bill?
Whst about a block of wood on the table saw to "adjust" the angle of
the soffit where the loght is mounted. Mabee a bit of trim to make it
less blockyand obvious?
My thought but I would use Trex or Azek, not wood.

My first question is what is the light for?
If it is for people you are NOT trying to scare away, I would find
other options beside spot/flood lights.
You can just buy the motion heads and choose more pleasant lights. I
only have 2 flood fixtures here and over 20 motion activated lights.
You can have your whole house and yard be lit when you get there and
be dark when you leave. Then you find you want soft light everywhere
instead of the Stalag 13 Klieg Lights in a few spots and flipping
switches everywhere else..

Did you look at the link? They provide accent lighting at a low level at dusk
and if anyone walks by they come on full. And the color temperature of the
accent lighting is adjustable. So they are a combination of accent lighting,
security lighting, and convenience lighting.


They are still spot/flood lights. You can buy the Dual Bright sensors
and get the same effect with other lighting plans.

I wouldn't expect a motion sensor with dual bright to work with LEDs. In fact,
since I had Heath-Zenith halogen before, I was ready to order their LED light
version. That is until I read the reviews. Many people were saying the same
thing, the low level accent lighting isn't low level, it's like 90% of full brightness
and almost indistinguishable. So if they couldn't get that right on a packaged
unit, I'd expect similar would happen if you tried to use a separate dual bright
motion sensor with some LED lighting you pick out. Which is why the ones
I selected that offer a color temp adjustment seemed like they were well
suited to the application. Also, unless LEDs are specifically designed to offer
a color change like that, just reducing a dimmable LED, you wind up with the
same horrible, harsh color temp as full brightness. It's dimmed but ugly.



I don't really use the dual bright thing in most places. The full
power lighting is still pretty soft with lots of lights instead of a
couple bright ones. There are 16 15w sign bulbs in my screen cage but
they are on a dimmer. That is plenty of light to walk around in and in
the places where I need task light, it is separately switched. The
whole house pretty much works that way. The walking around light in
the bathrooms, kitchen and hall is rope light, hidden so it is
indirectly lighting the ceiling and under the toe kicks.