Outdoor, Solar Powered, Motion detection Lighting

[GreenGoo]

Having major raccoon trouble. Was going to post on that subject but instead I'm looking for opinions/products that people have be happy with.

I saw a couple of products by eLEDing that looked like a good combination of functionality, pricing and low profile but it doesn't look like home depot canada is selling them (home depot US stocks them).

I'm looking for something wall mounted and inconspicuous (I'd rather it not stand out during the day), with a long life and zero maintenance. Direct sunlight for charging might be a problem, but I can probably swing 4-5 hours a day. Dusk to Dawn "mood" lighting a plus, but not mandatory. Price should be in the 30-50 dollar range if possible. I'm not looking for a decorative, aesthetic light but at the same time avoiding a giant box with unsightly bulbs popping out of it would be a plus. The area serviced will be mostly the backyard/driveway corner of the house, mounted on the driveway side.

Anyone have a product they've been happy with?

P.S. I'm going to war with these raccoons after years of half-assed solutions. I can't kill them and I don't want to trap them and relocate, but I WILL make it extremely unpleasant for them to come around in the future.

[Z-Corn]

I bought this two-pack of lights a couple months ago but I see they are not available any more. Sorry for no help but maybe you can find something like them?

They were cheap. $15 regularly but I had a $7 off coupon, so $4 apiece.

There should be other comparable lights available at the link.




https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0747 ... UTF8&psc=1

[Jeff V]

I suggest installing some paved road then routing some traffic to it. Nature will take it from there.

[GreenGoo]

The light will help when I put the garbage out the night before garbage day. Right now I bring a flash light if I don't do it early enough.

It'll also illuminate a little but still occasionally used traffic area.

So while the main motivation is scaring off wildlife, I like the idea of a maintenance-free light in that area.

[GreenGoo]

That's an amazing price z-corn, and almost exactly what I'm looking for. I do need something with a bit of an arm to give it more exposure to the sun. Anything from 6-12inches would probably be enough.

Being flush up against the house might be problematic, although I don't know for sure.

[The Meal]

I had a set of similar lights (though mine were battery powered, I think dual C-batteries, with an expected battery life of 2-years). They withstood the significant winters in these parts just fine, and threw a lot of light. We used them for the extended walk-up to our house for folks coming over on poker nights. For what they offer, the price ($12 $21.50 for two , IIRC) is pretty amazing.

Not sure that flashing bright lights will be an effective long-term raccoon deterrent, but these will certainly be of use on garbage nights.

[GreenGoo]

Here's one I need help with. How many lumens would you consider "well lit" for an approx. 15x15' area?

[stessier]

Here's one I need help with. How many lumens would you consider "well lit" for an approx. 15x15' area?

A 60 watt bulb gives off about 800 lumens and a 100 watt is about 1100 lumens. I would bet 1100 would be more than enough. It's not like you're trying to read a book out there, right?

[GreenGoo]

The idea is to have the lights turn on when the nocturnal buggers approach. They prefer the shadows at night and the sudden illumination should startle them away.

Have no fear though, I will be using a multi-tiered defense, so the lights are not the only option.

I had considered battery powered lighting but I really don't want to be changing batteries. If they lasted 2 years though, that change my mind.

How many lumens are your lights, Meal? Are we talking decorative lighting or service area lighting?

My neighbours have electrical security floodlights and those things are obnoxious. I want something in the middle, I guess.

[GreenGoo]

Here's one I need help with. How many lumens would you consider "well lit" for an approx. 15x15' area?

A 60 watt bulb gives off about 800 lumens and a 100 watt is about 1100 lumens. I would bet 1100 would be more than enough. It's not like you're trying to read a book out there, right?

No, but I have to actually be able to see since it's a small crowded shed with lots of things that need to be worked around. Sometimes I need to be able to see recycle objects that fell out of an overflowing recycle bin, for example.

Truth is the racoons make a mess. If I manage to get rid of them my need to "good" illumination goes down.

I'm not sure what 100 watts looks like outside, since most of the light is wasted since there is no ceiling to reflect off of. I suspect 100w is more than enough. The chart I'm looking at puts 100w at about 1600 lumens.

[The Meal]

Ha, they are on the order of 35 lumens! Of course, they sat about 30 inches above the ground, and basically were intended to provide lighting on potentially-icy steps. I'm much more familiar with 800-lumen lightbulbs, and would expect those to wildly fulfill your needs at typically eaves-height mounting. (Yes, wildly fulfill likely means not-capable-of-reading-a-magazine levels of lighting, but certainly enough for filling a garbage can and doing critter startle duties.)

[GreenGoo]

I'm seeing products with no lumens rating, only the number of led bulbs in it. Wtf?

[GreenGoo]

Ha, they are on the order of 35 lumens! Of course, they sat about 30 inches above the ground, and basically were intended to provide lighting on potentially-icy steps. I'm much more familiar with 800-lumen lightbulbs, and would expect those to wildly fulfill your needs at typically eaves-height mounting. (Yes, wildly fulfill likely means not-capable-of-reading-a-magazine levels of lighting, but certainly enough for filling a garbage can and doing critter startle duties.)

Thanks for the response. I kind of figured yours might be the decorative walkway lighting that is very popular these days. They give a nice look.

Amazon has so many cheap products I might just take a chance on something that's looks good enough. I feel bad for my local hardware stores, but they simply can't meet the selection or pricing of Amazon. With free 1-2 day shipping, I don't know why I even bothered looking at b&m stores.

[McNutt]

What are the raccoons doing? In my yard they are only a problem when the get into the trash cans. My solution was to put a trigger clamp on our trash cans. You can get them for ~$5 at hardware stores. Since then I haven't had any trouble with them.

[GreenGoo]

For the record this is the product that first caught my eye on the US home Depot site.

eLEDing brand light

It's available on amazon.ca, so I can get it after all, if I decide to. It's more expensive than other products, but I was expecting to pay something like this. I've been shocked by how cheap lighting has gotten.

I'm doing all this posting from my phone so I apologize if things are messy/broken.

[stimpy]

Bought these:

last year and so far they work great. Enough light and range to cover when motion is detected in front and on the side of my house.

[GreenGoo]

What are the raccoons doing? In my yard they are only a problem when the get into the trash cans. My solution was to put a trigger clamp on our trash cans. You can get them for ~$5 at hardware stores. Since then I haven't had any trouble with them.

They are getting into the cans. They simply chew through the (plastic or rubber) can if I lock the lid down. I switched to Aluminum cans which worked for awhile but the garbage men are pretty rough with them and eventually the can is mishapened enough that the lid no longer seals. Even when they did seal the raccoons occasionally managed to open them anyway. The bottoms also rusted through after a few years.

A brand new, non-metal can locked down with bungies will last me anywhere from 6 to 12 months. Sometimes they'll just chew through the lid. Sometimes they'll just chew through the bungies and pop the lid. If I used a chain (NOT convenient) they would just go back to chewing through the can itself.

[McNutt]

Holy crap! I guess there are too many other neighbors for our raccoons to resort to chewing through the plastic of our cans.

Good luck.

[Isgrimnur]

I have a scar on my wrist from where the busted metal can rim cut me when I was 8. The panicked drive to the ER was an adventure.

I don't recommend metal cans.

[GreenGoo]

Holy crap! I guess there are too many other neighbors for our raccoons to resort to chewing through the plastic of our cans.

Good luck.

Yeah, it's pretty insane. I think I went through 3 sets of plastic cans before I bought the metal ones, which long past their best before date.

I'm pretty sure the squirrels and chipmunks are helping chew during daylight hours.

The only 100% sure solution is locking up the cans, but I don't have a garage and new sheds are like a thousand dollars minimum and most of them are made out of the same plastic the cans are.

I'm currently using an ancient rusted metal shed who's doors stopped sliding open/closed before I bought the property decades ago. So it's basically a 3 walled structure with a (leaking) roof over it. My 3x3 sandstone structure in Conan Exiles is more secure from the elements.

Anyway, still looking at lighting products as part of my multi-pronged defense plan.

[Enough]

We have the Ring solar spotlight with the camera included. I am impressed that the solar always seems to maintain the battery at 100% charge and the light is pretty bright. The Ring ecosystem for video is ok, but could be more responsive. Overall, not a bad product but room for improvement for the app and video monitoring.

[GreenGoo]

I like to think I'm open minded but 90% of product listings are in some form of broken Engrish.
Oddly, a lot of customer reviews seem to speak the same half language.

If I decide to buy a super cheap no name Chinese product, as long as I know what I'm getting, I don't mind. It better be cheap though. A lot of the products I'm seeing are in the 50-100 range. Not willing to risk it based on super darkness banishing light powered by the power of the sunlight power.

[GreenGoo]

We have the Ring solar spotlight with the camera included. I am impressed that the solar always seems to maintain the battery at 100% charge and the light is pretty bright. The Ring ecosystem for video is ok, but could be more responsive. Overall, not a bad product but room for improvement for the app and video monitoring.

Neat. I am seeing some light/camera combos and while I like the idea of seeing what's moving around out there, it just feels too indulgent for me.

I really don't like spending money on...well, anything these days.

[morlac]

What are the raccoons doing? In my yard they are only a problem when the get into the trash cans. My solution was to put a trigger clamp on our trash cans. You can get them for ~$5 at hardware stores. Since then I haven't had any trouble with them.

They are getting into the cans. They simply chew through the (plastic or rubber) can if I lock the lid down. I switched to Aluminum cans which worked for awhile but the garbage men are pretty rough with them and eventually the can is mishapened enough that the lid no longer seals. Even when they did seal the raccoons occasionally managed to open them anyway. The bottoms also rusted through after a few years.

A brand new, non-metal can locked down with bungies will last me anywhere from 6 to 12 months. Sometimes they'll just chew through the lid. Sometimes they'll just chew through the bungies and pop the lid. If I used a chain (NOT convenient) they would just go back to chewing through the can itself.

They're evolving!

[GreenGoo]

Found a 4000 lumen product.

That might be overkill.

Doing this on my phone sucks, fyi.

[Isgrimnur]

[GreenGoo]

Number of bulbs is NOT a measurement of illumination, especially when no other information is given.

Started out annoying. Now I'm thinking these product description writers need to diaf.

[GreenGoo]

So I'm like, screw it, Westinghouse is a brand I recognize, they include all relevant info in product description, reviewers seem to like them, price is ok. Just figure out which product of theirs to buy.

Then I see they have adjustable settings for how long to keep light on when motion is detected. Awesome. But wait, these units must be typos, right? Nope. The minimum amount of time the light will remain on is 30 (!?) Minutes.

Wtf. Most products are measured in seconds, up to 2 mins. Westinghouse? 30 mins up to 2 freaking hours with a single detection of motion.

I'm still thinking this is an error but it's the same for multiple products and it's on the company's website.

I'm about to give up for now. This is driving me nuts.

[Jeff V]

I'm not sure what 100 watts looks like outside, since most of the light is wasted since there is no ceiling to reflect off of. I suspect 100w is more than enough. The chart I'm looking at puts 100w at about 1600 lumens.

I have 100W-equivalent LEDs in my outdoor lighting...it's a nice, bright white. Some neighbors have less bright lights, either because less lumins, or because they are "soft" lights giving an off-white glow similar to old-timey incandescent bulbs.

Most people in my 'hood leave the outside door and garage lights on all night long. Not sure it helps with critters though, in the past week or so a chipmunk has installed itself right off the front porch (the light probably enables it to go chipmunking all night long).

[GreenGoo]

Chipmunks are diurnal. Yes, raccoons sometimes come out during the day, but they are nocturnal by nature and at night they shy away from lights, especially sudden light. I'm not saying that sudden lighting is a perfect solution but it should help deter.

Do you find your 100w equivalent lighting to be a reasonable amount of light to leave on unattended for, let's say, an hour? Or is it the sort of light where it's perfect for when you're doing something, but too bright and intrusive on the neighbours to be left on for too long (assuming it is not serving a specific purpose)?

I've come to the conclusion that solar powered motion detection exterior lighting is a fly by night industry, with nearly infinite numbers of (mostly Chinese) companies coming into existence and vanishing just as quickly over months and years. For an average price of $50-60 canuckbucks for the features I want, I am not comfortable buying from what are, in my opinion, completely transitory companies. It's almost like buying chinese knockoff power adapters for your 3DS. Sure you can get them cheap, but the quality is going to be hit or miss, and you'll never see the company again once they have your money. For a 5 dollar item, sure, no problem, I'll risk it. For 60 bucks? No thanks.

I didn't expect it to be this difficult to find and decide on an appropriate product. I'm frustrated and was already very tired when I started this bullcrap. I have 1/2 a mind to just buy one of those 10-15 dollar lawn spotlights on a spike. You can get a lot of the same functionality for a 3rd of the cost and it has the added benefit of being easily moved/removed without tools. It's SUCH a half assed solution that I'm loathe to do even that, however.

I realize this has long ago stopped being interesting to anyone. I'm just venting at this point. When the only information you can find on a company is on an Amazon product page covered in Engrish, that's not a glowing recommendation of dependability. At 20 bucks I'd just buy something that doesn't fill me with dread and let the cards fall where they may. 50 bucks is my cutoff point for that, apparently.

Need a nap. Hate. You. Amazon.

[Isgrimnur]

DIY with Arduinos?

[Jeff V]

Do you find your 100w equivalent lighting to be a reasonable amount of light to leave on unattended for, let's say, an hour? Or is it the sort of light where it's perfect for when you're doing something, but too bright and intrusive on the neighbours to be left on for too long (assuming it is not serving a specific purpose)?

I'd say 50% of the houses on my street use equivalent lighting and it's on, unattended, all night long. 90% have lights on all night long. If it was just us, intrusiveness might be something to question, but I don't even think about it.

[GreenGoo]

Ok, thanks.

[GreenGoo]

DIY with Arduinos?

Hah. Could probably get Amazon to sell them for 3 weeks at 50 bucks a pop before I vanished into the night.

[em2nought]

Somebody should invent solar electrified trash cans that are controlled by a light sensor, on during the night, off during the day.

Seems to work on bears https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_DAr6vFI84

Could use it to keep dumpster divers away too. bahahaha

[DD*]

IME, while the sudden light might startle the 'coons the first time or two, it will be ineffective over the long term. My uncle had a similar issue, and once the racoons figured out that the lights coming on did nothing, they completely ignored the illumination. For all I know, it may have made things easier for them.

The only way we were able to resolve the issue is to remove or secure what is attracting them. Locking up the trashcans, getting a dog that will chase them off every single time (outside dog), etc. Anything else will be an exercise in frustration.

[Lorini]

This is pretty cheap and might be worth a shot. Was just reading about how California farmers are now using lasers to keep birds off of fruit.

[GreenGoo]

This is pretty cheap and might be worth a shot. Was just reading about how California farmers are now using lasers to keep birds off of fruit.

That's interesting because that's almost exactly what I first thought of before I got distracted by semi-permanent area lighting. A little box that can sit in the shed and light up when the raccoon shows up.

But then I got excited about getting some walkway lighting in there and then I got frustrated.

Thanks for the suggestion. I have not solved the problem yet and actually had it on the back burner because of priorities and shopping frustration.

[GreenGoo]

IME, while the sudden light might startle the 'coons the first time or two, it will be ineffective over the long term. My uncle had a similar issue, and once the racoons figured out that the lights coming on did nothing, they completely ignored the illumination. For all I know, it may have made things easier for them.

The only way we were able to resolve the issue is to remove or secure what is attracting them. Locking up the trashcans, getting a dog that will chase them off every single time (outside dog), etc. Anything else will be an exercise in frustration.

I agree, actually. The lighting is part of a multi-step defense plan.

I also agree that permanently removing access to the cans is the best and only 100% solution. That's not currently an option, for reasons covered earlier in the thread.

There is a multi-step defense plan because I cannot at this time remove access to the cans without moving them into the house, where we live. Other solutions are either cost prohibitive or undiscovered by me as of yet.

[DD*]

I would just not be too disappointed if your plan does not work out. Raccoons are smart and generally give no fucks whatsoever unless something physically stops them (metal can, dog, etc)


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