Yard lights

[LazyJ_Arabians]

Check out the solar toys at Creative Energy Technologies:

http://www.cetsolar.com/aclighting.htm

[wombat12]

I also put up a sodium vapor over my shed also added a timer so its only on a few hours a night to lite the drive. I too can't see lighting up the area for a would be thief while we/re asleep

[Alan_L_Texas]

I turn off all the outside lights unless needed to see something in particular. I live about 6 miles west of a little town. To the east of that town, EVERYONE has those street lights on a power pole. Whats the use of being in the country and having to put up with all that light?

Fortunately where I live is less populated and nobody leaves their lights on. There is a guy with a shop building that works in there until all hours of the night and has the inside shop lights on, but at least he's about 2000 feet away. It bothers me some when I'm out looking at the stars, but at least he doesn't leave it on all night most nights.

[turnkey4099]

That's my point of view (thieves). My neighbor lost a spanking new pu with a load of professional tools. PU was parked under the yardlight not far from his bedroom. If it hadn't been for the light, the theives wouldn't even have known the place was there as it is a couple hundred yards off the highway up a very narrow lane. I should thank him as I would have been the next place they tried.

Harry K

[exeter_acres]

I've never understood the lights either... In todays day. it is rare to find a place where you can go to really see the stars.. I mean REALLY see them..
As for needing a light to come from the shop in or walk the dog. Turn it on, walk the dog, turn it off.. or better yet, go outside without the light, wait a couple minutes for your eyes to adjust and go for that walk. It's amazing how much you can see without a light.
Also a spotlight with a motion sensor would do better to ward off thieves, etc. A light switching on and off is more of a deterent than one that is on all the time. And it comes on when I get home after dark

Just my two cents (worth about .75 today!)

Curtis

[pbenven]

Suggesting the obvious, as if the "light people" hadn't thought about it, may be construed as sarcasm. Maybe the solution is not so simple.

The light on my garage is necessary to light the way from the driveway to the house. On moonlit nights during the winter, we could probably do without it, but there are times when you can't see your hand in front of your face.

The garage has its own breaker box, and therefore there are no switches in the house that control electricity in the garage. We would have to walk to the garage to turn off the light that we needed to get to the garage in the first place. I thought about rigging up some sort of remote, but I was concerned about the "gadgetiness" (translation: cheap and complicated).

The motion sensor would not work for our situation because the highway passes smack at the end of my driveway - 30' away. I was considering installing a timer on that circuit to shut the light off later in the evening - but I asked my neighbors and they all love it. The elderly couple across the street told me that it's easier for them to find their way to the bathroom now with the faint glow.

As for being able to see the stars, it's no problem at all. In the backyard you can't tell if the garage light is on or off - it makes no difference.

So, some people choose to have lights and some don't. There are reasons that may not be obvious for making these decisions. And even if they are, until it's illegal, it's a person's prerogative to do what they please with their property. I try to consider the affect of my decisions on those around me, but it comes down to me doing what I think is best is for me.

[TimSullivan]

We moved in to our new home in May and the electric is not in the barn yet. The plan was the have a sodium light on the gable end. We will not be doing that but will have some motion sensor lights around it for security.

We just like the softer light the entry and small post lights give. When we go out at night, it is to walk our two large dogs so security is not a problem on out 23 acres.

[gws]

Some electric co-ops have deals that where they lease a light and all the power it needs for a fixed fee. They maintain the pole and lamp. I dont have one but in the next county over $7/month is all it cost.

[beenthere]

I have the situation in my shed, but I fixed a third wire that has a switch in the house as well. I really did it so I could turn on the circuit that the tractor heater was plugged into, and saves me from leaving the warmth of the house to pre-warm the tractor (actually my old one, as the new one doesn't need to be pre-heated).

I don't have a problem with people wanting lights on all the time. I just think they could shade them so others don't have to see that light. Shouldn't be too hard to do. Seems a shade would direct more light towards the ground, and thus provide more light. Not sure if that is true though. I am very happy a close neighbor didn't install a light that stayed on when he built recently. He is a detective, and says they are an aid to burglars, as they can move about easily. They stay in the shadows and can easily see where they want to go.

[Mosey]

"it comes down to me doing what I think is best is for me."

Let's see now, if most people had that attitude then we would have a society full of people who went through life basically only concerned with themselves. That sounds like a poor society to me! Unfortunately, from my day to day observations we appear to be 90% of the way there. [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img]