I’m putting up new exterior lights on my barn. There aren’t any at all currently so all options are on the table. Barn is 30x36 so not huge.
I’m thinking of goosenecks … I don’t need the light to be particularly useful other than it not being pitch black in the winter when I go out to do night check. Any recommendations on fixtures that you’ve liked and have held up well over the years?
My barn is exactly the same size. It is divided into thirds and has 10 x 16 stalls on each end. One end has a vapor type street light, which I really don’t use often. At the front door, I have two motion lights. Depending on how far the barn is from the house, you can install some solar motion lights.
I have a pretty simple LED dusk to dawn wall pack type light above the man door. It gives plenty of light for those morning barn visits.
We have a dusk-to-dawn light on the barn, over the man door. I forget the brand but I will say this:
Get a yellow light.
They need replaced every 5-6 years and this time DH bought a standard white light —I hate that thing:zipper_mouth_face:
FWIW, we also have a mercury light on the power pole, at the other end of the barn. Our power company installed it, we pay a paltry monthly fee, and they are 100% responsible for its maintenance. Imagine after 18 years, we are still on the original light and we are subject to a lot of wind & lightening storms. <<< I probably shouldn’t have said that, with spring storms on the horizon:exploding_head:
Yes! I am planning on lights that are 2700 on the color scale. I just need light to see where I’m going, not to do surgery.
The mercury vapor light I have is a light green and not very bright. It was here when we bought the farm. The previous owner of the farm was a single woman had a regular street light installed in the driveway. Somebody shot it out and I think I know who it was. It seems many of our neighbors hate lights! When my next door neighbor was alive, she complained about my light at the barn because she could see it from her house and that’s why I didn’t use it much.
Have to say, I hate lights that stay on all night (dusk to dawn). Just don’t see the point, they attract bugs, and if I feel I need something like that for “security” I’d do a motion sensor type instead.
For my barn, the outside lights are on a switch that also has a remote control, so I can turn them on from my house. Back in the day where I commuted to work, I could keep a remote in my car and just drive up and turn on the lights if I want.
We just have carriage lights that are more decorative than illuminating on the front non-horse side – enough to see your way but not bright enough to read by. Then a big led flood light at the peak that lights up the front parking area (on separate switch and rarely used). On horse side, we have small flood lights that light up the paddocks (so can clean at night, or check a horse/fence - again, on its own switch). Plus another halogen flood on the back of barn on own switch that illuminates the manure area for dumping - that will be replaced with an led once I find the right light for it.
I hate the dusk to dawn lights. If you need the security, get a motion sensor and a gate. (Light pollution is a pet peeve)
Anyway, what I love, love, love. Is a wireless LED spotlight. I will have to look the brand up. It replaced a massive old floodlight that required a 40 foot ladder to reach and had one switch in an inconvenient spot. But instead of one switch inside the door of the walk in basement…it has 3, yes 3!. tap and turn on switches: one in the basement, one up the outer stairs at my Mom’s apartment door…and one 100 plus feet away at her garage door. The entire walkway is beautifully lit, or unlit, with the tap of a finger in any spot.
I just get my eyes accustomed to the dark, and then I can see fine walking to the barn.
Prolighting has great options. My electrician moved up our install and I ended up with an LED on a motion sensor and switch from Lowes as I needed it that day. On on the gable end its all I need for night check, IIRC it was all of $79. Not fancy but holding up well. I also don’t like dusk to dawn. My mare with sweet itch stays in at night and mayflies and barn lights seem to be a magnet for mayflies. Horses at the end of lighted barns are more likely to contract PHF for that reason.
Our two outbuildings have 3 headed led motion lights. We’ve been perfectly happy with them. Dusk to dawn lights are ugly imo
We can’t have motion-activated lights here, as the substantial deer population means that they go off and on all night. Know this for a fact because our house came with those, and we had to remove them asap or we’d never have gotten any sleep.
What we did was install floodlights on the barn eaves and sides that can be switched on/off at either our home or the barn. But I have excellent night vision, and used to rely on that to go out for late night bedcheck, rather than bothering to turn on the barn lights from the house.
Until the time I narrowly missed stepping on a rattlesnake, hurrying in the dark (I luckily stopped short right before, asking myself “What is that? A snake?,” why yes, it was). We were both surprised. After that experience, I always use the floods, or at least a flashlight.
There are additional stall, tack room, and aisle lights, of course.
Thanks all. I ended up ordering these for the exterior:
I got the big ones for the front and back of the barn, and the next size down for the sides of the barn. Totally agree with comments on the dusk to dawn lights. I ordered the 2700k light level.
I also ended up ordering some vaportight lights for the inside from prolighting. They were super helpful.
That Redondo light is really nice looking!
I’ve got motion lights between the house and barn which I like a lot, especially when pulling up in the dark with a loaded horse trailer. I do use a dawn to dusk light at the end of the barn where the 4 stalls open into the big dry lot. All other exterior flood lights are on a switch.
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