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My halogen lamp-based low voltage landscape lighting is aging. Factoring that in with the fact that some of my bulbs are 50w and can cost $5 to replace I started thinking of an alternative.
Flood lamps based on compact fluorescent lamps (aka CFL) are commonly available both in traditional and colored versions. A CFL flood lamp rated with the same output as a 100w traditional flood lamp uses only about 23w, plus they are rated to last much longer than the roughly 2000 hour lifetime of your traditional incandescent lamp. Sounded like it was worth trying to me.
My first effort was to simply put the CFL into a stake-based socket. Worked well for holding the lamp, but there is a lot of light "spill" to the sides which creates a large amount of glare. Also, I was using a colored CFL and there is a gap where the reflector portion ends and the colored lens begins, giving an unattractive ring of white light.
Wandering through the garden shop of my local mega home warehouse store, I spied a plastic flower pot that looked deep enough to house the CFL - and the Poor Man's Landscape PAR Can was born.
Flood lamps based on compact fluorescent lamps (aka CFL) are commonly available both in traditional and colored versions. A CFL flood lamp rated with the same output as a 100w traditional flood lamp uses only about 23w, plus they are rated to last much longer than the roughly 2000 hour lifetime of your traditional incandescent lamp. Sounded like it was worth trying to me.
My first effort was to simply put the CFL into a stake-based socket. Worked well for holding the lamp, but there is a lot of light "spill" to the sides which creates a large amount of glare. Also, I was using a colored CFL and there is a gap where the reflector portion ends and the colored lens begins, giving an unattractive ring of white light.
Wandering through the garden shop of my local mega home warehouse store, I spied a plastic flower pot that looked deep enough to house the CFL - and the Poor Man's Landscape PAR Can was born.
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Signing UpStep 1Gather Materials
Warning: DO NOT USE THIS TECHNIQUE WITH INCANDESCENT LAMPS. THEY ARE MUCH HOTTER THAN CFLs AND WILL MELT THE PLASTIC.
That said...
Step 1 - Gather Materials
- CFL flood lamp, color optional
- stake base flood lamp holder, one with a removable rubber grommet is ideal
- plastic flower pot
- black spray paint (optional)
That said...
Step 1 - Gather Materials
- CFL flood lamp, color optional
- stake base flood lamp holder, one with a removable rubber grommet is ideal
- plastic flower pot
- black spray paint (optional)
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Steve
http://www.instructables.com/id/Outdoor-PAR-Flood-Light-Cans/
I balked at the high price of the duct piece and the lack of local availability of the acetate gels (too impatient to wait for delivery from eBay purchase), so I created my own version... rustproof too ;-)