Flood Lamp Guide: Everything You Need to Know
Choosing lighting fixtures is more than just providing your commercial or residential space with the needed illumination. It's also crucial for securing your resources, tools, products, and employees.
Flood lamps are specifically designed for this purpose as they're mainly used to illuminate a large area to decrease the risk of misplacing objects, losing tools, or even the theft of machinery and raw materials in the dark. And in our detailed flood lamp guide, we'll talk about everything you need to know regarding choosing the right LED flood lamps.
So, what is a floodlight? How does it work? What are the best applications and uses for flood lamps? Keep reading to find out.
What is Flood Lamp Lighting?
Flood lamps represent a highly versatile form of lighting that is mainly used in outdoor settings. These lamps produce high-power, diffused, soft, and non-directional light that lights up an ample space instead of casting sharply defined beams over a specific object. Floodlights create no or soft shadows, and they get their name from flooding a large area with light.
The most common application of flood lamps is to use them in outdoor settings. They're usually used to illuminate construction sites or outdoor sports fields because they produce high-intensity light that covers a wide area, increasing visibility without being eye-straining.
Floodlights are different from spotlights because they're brighter and produce light at a wider angle. Spotlights, on the other hand, produce narrow beams of light that are designed to travel for a longer distance.
What is the Purpose of Using Flood Lamps?
Flood lamps are used for two purposes: increasing visibility without natural light and improving security when incorporated with other technologies like motion sensors. These lamps are usually installed where illuminating a large area is a must because they create a soft light that reduces eye strain while providing the needed visibility.
In some cases, the rules require sports arenas and stadiums to install flood lamps even if a game has to be played during the daytime because they impact television broadcasts. For this purpose, floodlights can be installed on poles or ground mounts and directed where needed.
You can also install flood lamps in ports, garages, parking lots, and your backyard. They provide the needed visibility and also secure the property. For these applications, some floodlights come with motion sensors or video recording cameras, so you can have footage of the area for more safety.
Why Should You Install LED Floodlights?
Today, LED light applications to offer several benefits that make them excel compared to other lighting technologies. But when it comes to choosing flood lamps, LED fixtures are considered the most suitable solution because of how they tick the right boxes while providing you with needed illumination.
Energy Efficient
LED lights are energy-efficient, and when used to illuminate a large space, this becomes a crucial factor to consider. For example, using a 30W LED floodlight will provide you with the same illumination you get from a 100W metal halide lamp but with an energy consumption reduction of 70%.
High Brightness
LED floodlights are designed to produce brighter lights for the same wattage. So, you won't have to install as many lamps to illuminate your space.
Wide Angle
Because of the way they're designed, LED flood lamps produce high-intensity light at a wide angle. They're designed to cover a wide area, and when installed correctly, you can illuminate a sports stadium or a theater using a fewer number of bulbs compared to other lighting fixtures.
Cooler Output
Installing incandescent fixtures can significantly increase the temperature in your space and if you have to touch the bulbs for maintenance or replacement, they'll burn your hands. However, LED flood lamps produce the needed light without getting too hot. So, they're suitable for commercial and residential applications where the increasing temperature can be an issue.
Versatile
LED floodlights come in different shapes and types, as some can be waterproof, specifically designed for outdoor use, or change colors.
So, they can be used as a primary or supplementary source of light in several commercial and residential settings. You can also choose dimmable LED light based on your needs.
Eco-Friendly
LED flood lamps are eco-friendly because they don't contain toxic elements like mercury and usually last for long. As a result, they'll help you reduce your carbon footprint because you don't have to worry that much about replacing them.
Outdoor and Indoor Applications of LED Flood Lamps
LED flood lamps are available for both outdoor and indoor applications, and the main difference is that outdoor bulbs are designed to be more weather-resistant. Moreover, some technologies will come in handy when choosing outdoor flood lamps like motion detecting and 360-degree light distribution.
For indoor applications, when used in a garage or a warehouse, floodlights don't have to be that bright and are usually warmer to be easier on the eye. Luckily, there are different types to choose from to suit all your needs.
How to Choose the Best LED Flood Lamps
Choosing LED flood lamps can be a little challenging because of all the different options out there. However, there are a few factors that you should take into consideration.
· Think of your space and its design. The ceiling height, safety standards, glare, and presence of obstacles will affect the light output, so you need to think about these before buying an LED flood lamp.
· Don't forget the light range because, in some cases, your flood lamps can illuminate another area like your neighbor's backyard or another part of your industrial facility.
· Choose a wide detection zone if you want to illuminate a large area. For residential settings and smaller areas, a wide detection zone won't be needed.
· The color temperature will affect the visibility and comfort when you install your lamps. For a cozy feeling, you can choose warm 3000K flood lamps. 6000K lamps create a crisp and clean light that shows more details in industrial and commercial applications.
· Think of the nature of your space, and determine the lumens or brightness accordingly. For example, 2000 lumens might be enough to illuminate your driveway or garage, while a public parking lot needs at least 20,000 lumens for better visibility.
· Choose a maneuverable lighting fixture that you can move to minimize light waste. For example, the light pointing upwards is usually wasted, so it should be avoided.
Conclusion
Flood lamps are designed to create a soft and diffused light with no shadows to illuminate larger areas, and LED lamps are suitable for this purpose because they provide the needed brightness for less energy consumption. There are several factors to consider before choosing floodlights for your indoor or outdoor application, so make sure that you study your space and pick the right LED fixtures depending on your needs.
