Do You Need Spot Beams, Flood Beams or Both?
You’ve just started planning your outdoor lighting setup, but now you’re confused. Do you need spot beams, flood beams or both? Here’s a guide to both types of outdoor lighting and pointers on how to use them.
What Is Spot Beam Lighting?
A spot beam produces a long-range, intensely focused light. The beam doesn’t illuminate a wide area. It focuses light straight ahead at a targeted spot.
A spot beam allows you to light up an object or an area that’s some distance away. A spot beam is similar to a headlight on a car. It allows you to see some distance ahead.
Where Are the Best Places to Use Spot Lighting?
In outdoor residential lighting, a spot beam is a good choice to highlight an accent wall, a statue, a tree, a flagpole or some other object that might get lost in the darkness. A spot beam lets you make that object the focal point of your lighting.
Spot beams are a good choice for track lighting or recessed lighting. They’ll focus bright, concentrated light on areas you want to illuminate for working, crafts or other tasks.
On a commercial property, a spot beam can cut through a dark area to show you where to walk or drive. Spot beams on vehicles are typical when used in rural, agricultural or off-road situations.
In a security lighting system, a spot beam might help you pick out figures that are attempting to run or hide. Law enforcement and search-and-rescue vehicles often use spot beams to help them locate people in dark areas.
What Is Flood Beam Lighting?
Flood beam lighting features a wide lighting pattern that isn’t targeted at one spot. It spreads the light around a wide area.
A floodlight illuminates an outside area the way an overhead light does in a dark room. When you want to see what’s nearby and all around you, use flood beam lighting.
Where Are the Best Places to Use Flood Beam Lighting?
In a residential setting, flood beam lighting allows you to illuminate a wide distance of your property. It’s a great choice if you want to light up the whole front of your house, a shed or garage in your yard or another wide, large structure.
Floodlighting is excellent for security lighting. Motion sensors that activate flood beam lighting will light up your whole yard and allow you to see what’s moving around out there.
In a commercial setting, flood beam lighting is ideal for construction sites and other job sites where you need a wide pool of light. It’s also a good choice for parking lots, loading docks and other areas where you need bright lighting over a large area.
What Is a Combo Beam?
A combo beam gives you the best of both worlds. It combines both beam types into one light source for illumination that’s widespread and far-reaching.
This type of light isn’t really practical for most residential settings unless you have an exceptionally large area to illuminate. It’s a good choice for worksites and commercial properties that need to light up large expanses of property.
Buy the Right Bulbs and Fixtures
You can buy spot beam and flood beam fixtures at most lighting retailers. LED bulbs that fit these fixtures will help you deliver the exact level and type of lighting you want. Both the fixtures and the bulbs come in a variety of lighting levels, styles, and colors.
Some manufacturers don’t specifically label the bulbs or fixtures as spot or flood, but you’ll know what they are by the mention of beam size. In simple terms, small beams are spot beams, and wide beams are flood beams.
We Can Help You Put Together a Scheme That Works
SESCOS can help you select the right types of outdoor lighting for all your residential, commercial or industrial needs. Whether you want an attractive way to illuminate your garden, a place to work safely outdoors, security lighting that brightens every dark corner or a combination of all three, we’ll help you with sales and installation of your outdoor lights.