Electrical Advice Please

[needawin]

Looking for some electrical advice.
Side of my house, where the front door is, I have a spotlight with movement sensor. It only comes on when someone actually nears the door and works a treat.
When you enter my pathway from the outside there is a distance of about 2 meters before you reach the actual wall of the house. Then about the same to the door and the light. I dont want to interfere with the existing light as its fine.
What I want to fit is a sensor low down, about 3 feet above the ground and secluded at the end of the wall.
This will ensure that the separate new light associated with it that I will fit will come on as soon as anyone enters the path. I dont want any connection between the existing light and the new.
Because of the other light at the front door I do not need a particular bright spotlight, or big. Just bright enough to give the message that the person entering has been detected.
I am quite capable of doing the connecting and wiring myself. Can anyone recommend where I can get a "not over bright", light to suit. All the equivalent "new bulb" rating confuse me.

[bhg481]

You can get LED solar-powered lights which will save any wiring.

Look here:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/search?text=led+security&x=0&y=0

[Mosaic]

Trouble is, the LED lights give about as much light as a glow worm. I wouldn't use them for your purpose on the path.

[dannyk13]

I have LED lights in my spotlight and it is just as bright as the normal lit spotlight it replaced.

[paul1763]

yesterday i fitted a 30watt led spotlight in one of my sheds, its supposed to be the same as 300W halogen lamp. personally i dont think it is but its a lot better than the ordinary 100W bulb hanging alongside it.

[needawin]

Thanks for replies but think LED lights are the pits!

[Old_Geezer]

Unsure I'm clear about the issue. You can wire lights off of separate power circuits. With it's own lamp & sensor.

Bulb ratings are not that difficult. Sensibly they indicate light output rather than power input, which is what most folk are most interested in. http://lumennow.org/lumens-vs-watts/ You probably want about 800 lumens.

[The Builder]

PIR sensors are usually fitted around 2 to 2.5 metres high, as a practicable minimum. They angle downwards. Your problem is going to be nuisance triggering, particularly from animals. Also, unless you have a gate or some kind of screen, then anyone passing by in the street is going to activate the sensor.

It is possible to screen the sensor to narrow the angles. This is going to involve a load of trial and error to get it right.

I guess that what would suit you best would be a single beam emitted horizontally. Animals should then pass under it. Have a look at this ...........

http://www.westflightsecurity.co.uk/4/Gateway-PIR-Detector-with-Horizontal-Beam.asp

There are a lot of misconceptions over LED lamps, Needy. Mainly due to some of the early, cheap imports. Light strength is given in "lumens". Roughly, a rule of 10. That is, a 6w LED emits the same number of lumens as a 60w regular bulb.

I've fitted dozens of direct replacement LED lamps in pubs and houses. No one notices the difference ........... except the one who has to pay the lighting bill.

[needawin]

Many thanks all.

[alavahalf]

My own thought is that there is a bit of confusion between LED lights and LED bulbs. When described as giving off as' much light as a glow worm' .. my thought is that solar powered fairy lights are being described.
But if a LED bulb is fitted in a conventional light fitting you will receive more light than you could bare to look at .. for a fraction of the cost.

[Mosaic]

Sorry to have muddied the waters by sloppy typing. Above, I should have said 'LED solar powered lights' as suggested by an earlier post. LED lights are great, I have them over my kitchen counter.

[jomifl]

I fitted a solar powered floodlight with movement sensor that I bought from Lidl. It works a treat with an endurance of 2 hours from full charge. The wiring provided reaches from the solar panel on the roof to the lamp about 7 feet above the ground.

[naomi24]

Mosaic, I have an LED solar powered security light that works on a movement sensor in my garden. It's blinding! It cost about £25 from the local garden centre.

[Dogsbody2]

Agree with what the Builder says. A 6W LED produces the same light output as a 60W old style incandescent bulb.
However if you are replacing halogen lamps with LEDs, the ratio is not ten to one but 8:1, because halogens are more efficient than old style incandescent. To replace a 50W halogen with LED you need 7W.