What Are Flood Lights and Outdoor Security Lights?
Flood lights and home security lights illuminate your landscape and can help discourage intruders and make your property safer. Flood lights cast a wide beam of light, so they’re common choices for security lights. Flood lights and other outdoor security lighting are good choices for:
- Entryways
- Ground-level windows
- Walkways
- Driveways
- Decks and patios
- Gates
- Storage sheds
- Pools
Also consider lighting dark areas such as shrubbery beds and gardens to limit easy hiding places.
Plan your lighting coverage. Illuminating only specific areas can make unlit parts of your landscape more difficult to see at night.
Flood Light Brightness
Lumens tell you how bright a light is and are common measurements for light-emitting diode (LED) lights. More lumens means brighter light. The higher a light is on a house, the more lumens you need to effectively light the area:
- Entryways and First-Story Roofline: Up to 1,900 lumens
- Second Story to Roofline: 2,000 to 3,900 lumens
- Second-Story Roof Peak or Higher: 4,000 lumens or more
Security lights should be high enough to resist tampering. Check your manual for recommendations.
Don’t have time to install outdoor lighting yourself? Let us install your new lighting. Shop for lighting with installation available, including:
Look for the option to add an installation purchase when you add the lights to your cart.
Types of Lights and Light Sensors
Switch-Controlled Flood Lights
- Switch-controlled flood lights are typically the most economical purchase.
- Turn them on as needed or leave them on to make your property less appealing to intruders.
- Depending on the switch location, it may take time to turn them on and check on activity.
Setup Tips:
- Position the light heads for even coverage.
- Add screw-in sensor adapters to give switch lights dusk-to-dawn or motion-sensing features.
Dusk-to-Dawn Flood Lights
- Dusk-to-dawn flood lights turn on automatically at night to deter intruders and let you see activity but turn off at dawn.
- You don’t need to leave them lit while you’re away from home.
- Switch-operated and dusk-to-dawn security flood lights conveniently stay on for activities like working on a vehicle or playing basketball on the driveway.
Setup Tips:
- Point the lights for good coverage, check them periodically and keep the sensors clear of obstructions.
- Note that lights in shade or near obstructions might turn on sooner than you expect and lights on the east side of a home might turn off sooner than you expect.
Motion-Activated Flood Lights
- Motion-activated flood lights turn on when they detect movement and turn off automatically but typically have switch-operated and dusk-to-dawn modes.
- Motion-sensor lights can alert you to activity when you see them turn on.
- They efficiently illuminate your property when you’re away from home and are useful for tasks like taking out the trash or letting a dog out in the yard.
- Some lights are better at sensing movement across the detection field than movement toward or away from the sensors.
Setup Tips:
- Pay attention to detection distances and zones when shopping for motion-sensor lights.
- Adjust the sensors to cover the desired area, set the detection distance and tune the sensor to ignore activity like passing cars.
Our motion light how-to guide and video show how to install outside flood lights with motion detection.
Other Types of Outdoor Lights
- Area lights and wall pack lights can illuminate driveways, walkways, sheds and barns.
- Landscape lighting provides general illumination for decorative appeal and to improve safety.
- Spot lights cast a tighter beam than flood lights to create a more intense field of light, such as on individual trees and shrubs.
- For more security, look for built-in security cameras in flood light and spot light fixtures.
See our landscape lighting project and our guide to outdoor lighting for more ideas and tips on illuminating your outdoor areas.
Outdoor Light Bulb Types
- LED lights are the most common security and flood light type.
- They last longer than other types, making them the best outdoor security lights where fixtures are difficult to reach.
- LEDs use less energy than other types, so they can save you energy costs over time.
- Wattage equivalents help match LED brightness with other bulb types.
- Incandescent fixtures are typically economical to purchase, compared to other lights.
- They use more energy than comparable LEDs and need more frequent replacement.
- Halogen lights are a type of incandescent light that produces bright, intense light.
- Halogen bulbs can last longer than standard incandescent bulbs.
Our light bulb guide and LED light guide tells you about different light types, brightness and color temperature so you can be sure you’re choosing the best security lights.
Power Sources
- Hard-wired security lights connect to existing wiring for consistent power but might require professional installation.
- Solar security lights offer easy installation with no need for connecting wiring but might need several hours of sunlight for optimum brightness and runtime.
- Battery-operated security lights install wherever you need them, but plan on replacing the batteries periodically.
The best solar security lights have features like high lumen ratings, long runtimes and stand-alone solar panels that give you more options to install lights where you need them.
Security Light Features
- Many smart-compatible security lights can activate other connected lights or devices, like cameras and doorbell cameras, when they turn on.
- Wi-Fi connectivity lets you control the fixtures through an app on a mobile device.
- Time-on settings let you control how long motion-sensor lights stay on after they detect movement.
- Range settings let you configure the motion detection zone.
- Dual detection zones let the sensors detect movement in front of as well as below the lights.
- ENERGY STAR® certified lights are designed to meet United States Environmental Protection Agency guidelines for energy efficiency.
- Lower color temperatures have a yellow tone, while higher temperatures available on many flood lights give a bluer light similar to daylight.
Find the Best Flood Lights and Security Lights at Lowe’s
Whether you want switch-operated lights or prefer the convenience of light- or motion-sensor lights, you can find the fixtures and bulbs you need at Lowe’s. Shop Lowes.com by lumen rating, bulb type, price range and more. Or stop by your local Lowe’s and talk to a Red Vest associate. They can help you find the best outdoor security lighting for any situation.