in this video we'll be looking at some common mistakes that are made when installing led flood
lights how to avoid them and how to maximize the life span of the fittings we'll be using these
brand new fittings from the BG Luceco Castro range which has been completely redesigned
from the ground up avoiding older less reliable technology now if you're interested in outside
lighting how it's covered in the building rags and how these fittings meet those requirements
then please check out our free cpd on partel over on efix.co.uk on with the video
those of us who've been in the trade for a long time will remember that our go-to
outside light fitting was this type of monster now this one seemed better days but they used to be
everywhere and they relied on old-school tungsten halogen lamps which used to dissipate so much heat
that they'd flare your fingers if you didn't let them cool down enough had the added bonus that if
you touch the lamp with bare skin you'd reduce its life and if they weren't installed pretty
much horizontally then the gas would collect at one end and again shorten the lamp life the lamps
came in various power ratings with a smaller size at 150 watts and larger ones in 300 and 500 watts
i remember when i was an apprentice fitting them i always wanted to put in the 300 watt version as
they used less power and would be better for the environment but one of the sparks i knew
always made a point of putting 500 watts in as he thought that if other people use more power
it would help him keep his electricity bills down however of course these old fittings were
wildly inefficient and we now have lighting solutions that provide light while using much
less power of course we're talking about the led floodlight there's no doubt that this type
of light fitting has increased the efficiency of our outside lighting installations however it's
also fair to say that because led floods are one of the biggest areas that adopted led technology
there is a vast spectrum of quality available out there some from the very cheapest end of
the market can be sourced from the factory at just 59 cents each which means that the quality
is very variable combining this with the fact that the technology in an led fitting is about
as far removed from the old halogen lamps as the space shuttle was from the right flyer means that
there's a few more considerations to take into account when installing them let's consider
some the first thing to think about is where the fitting is going to be installed the temptation
when you're installing is to take a one size fits all approach find the best value fitting you can
and install it however if you're installing a flood to let's say an agricultural environment
it's likely to experience much harsher conditions than one installed to the side of a house in a
sleepy suburb if the fitting has been designed to cope with the kind of environmental influences
you'll find in a domestic outdoor setting it's likely not going to be appropriate for
a harsher agricultural setting meaning that if you install it there it's likely to fail prematurely
another factor to consider is the amount of time that the fittings are intended to be used for
domestic floods are not designed to be left on permanently and using them in this way will
shorten their lifespan if a fitting is being used in a commercial or industrial application where
it will likely be used for long periods of time then using a less expensive domestic fitting is
a false economy because it just won't have the longevity that you expect of it so there's the
first point always make sure that you install the correct fitting into the correct environment
and that's going to maximize the lifespan of the fitting another thing to think about is ip ratings
sometimes you find floodlights that have been installed to illuminate a building by pointing
upwards to create a light washing effect on the wall generally speaking a flood light is not
designed to be used pointing upwards when they're being tested for ip ratings they tend to be tested
in the position that they will be used in which is from the horizontal to close to vertical but not
upside down now obviously whether the fitting is protected against splashes or jets it's designed
to take those from any direction during the ip test however the problem occurs when water starts
to pool in places that it shouldn't because it's been fitted in the wrong position pooled water
is a problem for electrical fittings especially outdoor ones because infrared heat causes any gas
inside the fitting to expand and contract and as it does so it can start to draw small amounts of
water through any seals that are in place from the water pulled on the fitting in certain places this
is obviously a problem and can lead to failure of the fitting due to water ingress this is
not down to poor seals or bad engineering it's physics and using the fitting in the wrong way
another issue with fitting floodlights upside down to shine upwards is to do with heat management now
this is a floodlight from the brand new castra range from bg lucico and as you can see it's
got these fins on the back here that help to dissipate the heat generated by the leds
this is absolutely vital to making sure that the fitting continues to operate correctly for
a long time and again it's not designed to be used upside down which means installing it in this way
can reduce the lifespan of the fitting one of the other disadvantages of illuminating buildings in
this way is light pollution that amount of light being lofted into the sky will contribute to that
hazy glow that you see over towns and cities at night big steps have been taken to reducing this
effect in our street lights and building rigs but by finding alternative ways to light up external
features we can play our part too however as well as big picture-like pollution we can also look at
it on a smaller local level as well how often have you seen it done when a neighbour mounts
a ludicrously overpowered flood light on their house that seems to illuminate your windows more
than it does their garden of course floodlights are designed to be adjusted and this new fitting
from vg actually has a really innovative ball joint connection on the back of it that allows you
to tilt it and angle it wherever you want however looking at the lens on the front here what's often
referred to as the optic it's designed to throw light forward in this direction as well as down
and that helps to cast the light over a large area and reduce clear for the end user as well
as remove the need to tilt the fitting up a lot to get a good spread of light over a large area
this will reduce the amount of light overspill that occurs onto other properties and maintain
good relations between your customers and their neighbours so there we go installed correctly
and used in the right applications the new kestrel range of led flood lights from bg lucico will give
years of service but as always we want to hear from you on this subject do you have any other
tips for using led flood lights are you looking forward to using this new range of led floods from
bg lucico and just a reminder if you're interested in outside lighting how it's covered in the
building regs and how these fittings meet those requirements then please check out our free cpd on
partel over on efix.co.uk all that remains in this video is to say thank you very much for watching