The best outdoor floodlights are light fixtures that are strategically designed to illuminate your outdoor space; this includes your front porch, driveway, backyard, patio, and wherever else you need the light. Typically, they're powered using strong LED lightbulbs, and most flood lights have high visibility, are weather-resistant and have motion sensors for security purposes.
In addition to security and lighting your path as you walk from the car, outdoor flood lights help accentuate an enchanting landscape design and are a great way to spruce up your outdoor parties and events. They can be easily installed on exterior walls, eaves, and other outdoor layouts.
In most cases, the best outdoor security flood lights come equipped with infrared night vision, motion sensors, which also helps eliminate the need for a remote. And depending on the model, an outdoor flood light could also double as a security camera.
What Are the Types of Outdoor Flood Lights?
a) Solar Flood Light
Solar lights are powered using the sun's energy. With this form of energy, you'll never have to worry about changing the batteries on your outdoor solar lights. The installation also comes pretty easy since you won't have to wire anything into your home electrical system.
The major drawback here is the fact that they need to be installed where the sun can charge up the solar panel, which may limit where you place the light heads. Also, if the sun didn't charge these flood lights enough during the day, the light could be a little dim.
b) Battery-powered Flood Light
These outdoor flood lights give you the most freedom on where you can install the lights. The fact that they're battery-powered means that they aren't limited by your home wiring system or the availability of the sun. The major benefits include the fact that they are affordable and provide consistent performance. However, you'll incur recurrent expenses from maintaining and buying new batteries every once in a while.
c) Hard-wired Flood Light
Depending on your home wiring system, these should be the most reliable flood lights since they're hard-wired into your electrical system. In addition, with the best outdoor flood lights, you can choose high-performance security lights that come with advanced security features such as a motion sensor, light sensor, etc. These features can also be integrated into your home's smart systems for the easy programming and control of your outdoor flood lights.
The caveat here is that they're relatively the most expensive to purchase and the hardest to install, so you may need a professional electrician to install them, therefore adding to the overall expense. Additionally, they can be a little pricey to run.
Best outdoor flood lights reviewed.
1. Lithonia OFTH 300PR 120 P WH-M12 Adjustable Twin PAR Holder Flood light
- Ideal for focused illumination for outdoor use in residential...
- Made from high quality materials, these Incandescent lights are...
- Has an option for a dusk to dawn sensor to be built in, and will...
- The tool-free adjustable heads for up/down and side-to-side,...
- Rugged, weather and rust resistant die-cast aluminum canapy
If you're a little cash-strapped, this is an affordable and durable pick by Lithonia outdoor security light. The adjustable twin flood lights are great when you need to illuminate driveways, backyards, walkways, and front porches without denting your bank account.
The adjustable floodlights are strategically designed with a side-to-side aiming to help shine a bright light on those tricky dark areas. Other than using energy-conserving sensors, they also turn on at dusk and go off at dawn. Unfortunately, the light bulbs are not included.
Key features:
- Power Source: Hard wired
- Style: 2-head
- Specifications: Adjustable lamp heads, weather-/rust-resistant exterior, automatic dusk-to-dawn sensor
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2. Leonlite LED Security Flood light
- ✅ High-quality Motion Sensor: Equipped with superior motion...
- ✅ Triple Operation Modes: ON TIME mode allows manual control of...
- ✅ Durable and Lasting: IP65 waterproof rating ensures the...
- ✅ Energy Saving: 86.7% energy and costs saving by replacing...
- ✅ Reliable Quality: This ETL listed product meets all...
The Leonlite LED security lights are both bright (with 150-watt bulbs), highly sensitive, wide-coverage and adjustable motion sensor, which can detect movement at least 70 feet away. So you can be sure that these LED lights will keep your home both well-lit and secure.
For optimal coverage, it comes with malleable, waterproof and corrosion-resistant flood light heads that can rotate 360° while the adjustable knobs are serrated at 180° to help them stay in place. In addition, users get plenty of customizable timer settings, including Automatic, Manual mode, and Dusk-to-dawn.
Key features:
- Power Source: Hard wired
- Style: 2-head
- Specifications: Wide-coverage motion detection, high waterproof rating at IP65, corrosion-resistant, 360° rotating heads, multiple timer/light settings.
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3. Ring Cam Wired Pro Flood light-Best Camera
- 1080p HD security camera with motion-activated LED floodlights,...
- Upgraded with advanced security features like improved noise...
- Pinpoint motion with 3D Motion Detection to get accurate...
- Enjoy a reliable connection with dual-band (2.4 or 5.0 GHz) wifi...
- Easily hardwire to the outside of your home and connect to wifi...
The Ring Cam wired pro flood light gives you a well-lit bird's eye view of your whole yard through its HD lens security camera. This is a smart pick that's controlled through a Ring smartphone app and able to detect motion using 3D technology. This level of technology gives you quite an accurate picture of your home while notifying you of any movement in real-time).
With a built-in security siren to ward off any intruders, you also get an Alexa or Amazon Echo compatibility that you can use to view footage and also use voice control options. Additionally, it has a two-way talk and audio option and many more security perks that come with the Ring Protect plan.
With this, you get to keep all of your recordings which allows you to view and also share everything that's happened within the last 60 days. Furthermore, this home security system is compatible with most smartphones, so you can control and see what's happening to form your phone from anywhere.
Key features:
- Power Source: Hard wired
- Style: 2-head
- Specifications: 3D motion sensor, Amazon Echo/ Alexa compatibility, real-time movement recordings and notifications, built-in security light siren
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4. Onforu 2-Pack 100W LED Flood light Set - Best Put on Trees
- 【SUPER BRIGHT＆ENERGY SAVING】100w LED Flood lights with 140...
- 【UNIQUE ANTI-GLARE DESIGN】We adopt the bead surface design...
- 【IP66 WATERPROOF】Made of Die-cast aluminum housing, the...
- 【EFFICIENT COOLING】The floodlight is designed with a fin-type...
- 【EASY INSTALLATION】 You can easily install this exterior...
Equipped with 2 flood light heads for more coverage, the Onforu 100W LED flood light uses powerful LED bulbs that deliver a 5,000 lumens white light brightness. This white light is further optimized using anti-glare lenses. These waterproof- and shock-resistant LED flood lights to have an aluminum construction and advanced cooling system.
The cooling system works to balance the light distribution and improve the unit's lifespan. It can be tilted up to 180°, and thanks to its protective rim design, you don't have to worry about damaging the bulbs. With the brightness level, they are best put in the trees to shine down on your yard. Well worth every penny.
Key features:
- Power Source: Hard wired
- Style: 2-head
- Specifications: Anti-glare lens design, adjustable beam angle, high IP66 waterproof rating, shock/vibration resistance, cooling system and protective rim
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5. Otdair Solar Security Flood light -Best Solar Powered
- ☆ [ 118LED Bright 360° Rotable Spotlights ]: Otdair 3 head...
- ☆ [ 2200mAh Eco-friendly Solar Power ]: Otdair solar motion...
- ☆ [ IP65 Weatherproof Easy to Install ]: Solar secuirty lights'...
- ☆ [ Long Time Working Time ]: Otdair solar security light has...
- ☆[SPECIFICATIONS]：Solar Panel: 1.8W, 5.5V; Wattage: 8W; LED...
With a strong lithium battery, the Otdair solar security light gives you up to 30 hours of lighting on a full charge. Not only is this security light solar powered., but it also comes with dawn-to-dusk sensors, waterproof/ weatherproof properties, PIR sensor to pick up on body heat for accurate detection.
With solar power, you can get to breathe a little when it comes to your electric bill. Thanks to the strategically placed, rotatable 3-bulb design, it gives a 270° angle coverage that will give you a 30-second shine when something enters the 120° view angle.
Key features:
- Power sources: Solar and battery-powered
- Style: 2-packs of 3- head
- Specifications: 270° light angle, weatherproof/ waterproof capability, 360° rotation that offers 30 hours of light on a full charge
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How Do You Choose the Best Outdoor Floodlights?
A) What’s the Coverage Area?
The light you install should have a large enough illumination area for efficient lighting. Always check the radius and distance that the flood light can illuminate, and this will tell you whether you'll need one light or multiple sets. Some LED flood lights come with more than one light head and are adjustable, making it ideal for you to customize how you want the light to illuminate your property.
B) What’s the Durability?
The flood lights will remain outdoors throughout the year, which means they need to be durable enough to withstand harsh climates and changing temperatures. Always look for light housing that's also highly rated waterproof to prevent water leakage that could cause a short.
These lights should also have a temperature rating which helps you know the hottest and coldest temperatures that the flood lights can operate in.
C) Is it An All-in-one Security System?
With the right customization options, the best outdoor motion detector flood light can detect movement and form an entire security system. Motion detection is a popular common feature that comes with most. Motion sensor flood lights will help deter criminals and nosy neighbors, but for a higher level of security, you'll need flood lights that are also equipped with cameras and alarms.
Frequently Asked Questions on the Best Outdoor Floodlights
1. What is the best wattage for outdoor flood lights?
LED flood lights come in wattages that range from 15 -400 watts. If you want to flood your lawn with plenty of light, then select lighting that accommodates bulbs with 80 wattages or higher. 100 watts and higher bulbs are most appropriate for institutions, pedestrian areas, parking lots and roadways.
2. How many lumens are needed to light up the driveway?
Lumens are units used to measure light. You can use lumens to help you determine how powerful the lights are and need to be. For example, outdoor lighting needs at least 50 lumens for low background light and at least 2400 lumens for ample lighting on your driveway or security lights.
3. How high should the flood lights be?
Flood light cameras work best at least 9 feet above ground level with a motion sensor that's parallel to the ground. Your flood light cam can cover a more comprehensive visual area and capture HD videos from this level. When the flood light is mounted too low, it reduces the Optimal Motion Zone.
4. Do LED flood lights use more electric power?
In fact, LEDs use much less energy compared to incandescent bulbs since diode light is much more power-efficient than filament light. LED bulbs use 75+% less energy than incandescent light bulbs. Bright LED flood lamps only use 11-12 watts for light output that can be compared to a 50-watt incandescent bulb.
