Flood Lights

Have ready

Decide what the light is for: arrivals at the driveway, the back door step, or the whole yard. Point out the bedroom windows across the fence so the aim can avoid them. Check whether the existing exterior lights come on from an indoor switch, a timer, or a photocell. The tech first confirms the exterior box is a wet-location type and not a remodel can, then checks the gasket and the seal at the wall, then reads the circuit load to see whether the exterior run can carry the new fixtures.

• Wet-location boxes
• LED floods
• Motion sensors
• Gaskets

The visit

Exterior lights get wet-location boxes and gaskets, aimed so the beam hits the yard and the walk, not the bedroom across the fence. LED floods replace halogen that cooked the socket. Motion sensors get a walk-test at night, not a guess from the ladder.

The failure on ocean-facing eaves is a corroded socket and a gasket that dried out. A new lamp in that socket lasts a month. We replace the box seal and the fixture.

Permit

Replacing an exterior light fixture on an existing box normally needs no permit in New Jersey. A permit is normally not required for a fixture swap. Adding a fixture where there was none, running a new circuit to a yard post, or trenching to a detached garage is electrical work that gets filed and inspected through the local construction office. If the circuit is buried cable, its depth and type come up at that point, and it is settled before anyone digs.

On the Shore

Exterior light fixtures at the Shore fail at the seals. Salt air dries out gaskets, corrodes die-cast housings, and pits the socket shell, and wind-driven rain finds any gap that is not gasketed. A fixture that leaks at the lens or the back plate traps water around the socket, which is why a lamp in a bad socket lasts a month. Wet-listed fixtures, replaceable gaskets, and a box that keeps the splice dry are what survive an ocean-facing wall.

When we leave

Photocells and timers get set and watched through at least one on and off cycle, and motion sensors get walked in front of at several angles. Aim is checked against the yard and the walk, and the tech adjusts heads and masks the detection zones so they do not trip on the street or a passing animal. Gaskets get seated, screws snugged without crushing the seal, and you get told which lamp type and color temperature the fixture takes.

Built with

The usual parts are wet-location boxes, gasketed flood fixtures or wall packs with integrated LEDs, and sealed lamp sockets. Gaskets and lens seals are replaced rather than reused. Motion sensors are dual-technology or passive infrared with adjustable range and sensitivity, and timers or photocells handle the hours when nothing is moving. Fasteners are stainless or coated for exterior use, and splices get closed with water-resistant connectors rather than tape alone.