Outside Barn Lighting

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Outside Barn Lighting

• If you are the owner of a barn, you know how
  valuable its contents are. Some people have
  garages filled with collectors automobiles, but
  you have a barn filled with horses that can be
  worth just as much as those pricey cars. In order
  to keep your animals safe from thieves and wild
  animals you will need to find the right outside
  barn lighting to provide enough light to
  eliminate shadows without keeping the horses
  inside awake all night. There are several options
  for exterior lighting of your barn, and depending
  upon where you are urban or rural your
  outside barn lighting needs can change. The best
  way to get the right lights are to consult with
  an expert before making your final decision, but
  there will be some things to keep in mind before
  seeking advice.

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• Outdoor Arena Lighting Custom Design
  Questionnaire
• What kind of outdoor barn lighting do you need?
  High voltage or low voltage? Low voltage lights
  such high intensity discharge (HID) flood lights
  can provide enough light to keep vagrants and
  animals at bay. Examples of HID horse arena
  lights include metal halide, mercury vapor, high
  pressure sodium, and low pressure sodium lights.

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• These operate by sending an electrical charge
  through the gas-filled lamp. The metal halide gas
  in the lamp reacts with the metal inside,
  producing light. You will not be able to detect
  it, but these lights actually flicker several
  times per second when they are lit. For this
  reason, if you want to tie a motion detector into
  your flood lights, you should not use HID lamps.
  These lights require a warm up and cool down
  period of several seconds before coming on. In
  that amount of time, your horses could be stolen
  or harmed. Motion detectors are best with
  halogens or incandescents which light immediately
  when turned on.

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• Low voltage lights have the added advantage of
  being energy efficient. They require less
  electricity to operate than other lights. This
  makes them a good option for flood lights which
  will be lit all night long. For additional
  savings, you could tie your outside barn lighting
  into a light sensor or timer. This will turn the
  lights on at dusk and shut them off at dawn. That
  way, you do not have to pay for lighting you are
  not using.

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• Low voltage outdoor barn lighting is safe enough
  for you to install yourself with just a few
  simple tools. You could get a landscape lighting
  kit that will include all of the hardware and
  accessories you need. Among these are a
  transformer. This will convert the 120V coming
  from your outlets to 12V or 24V that low voltage
  lights operate off of. Transformers are available
  in different wattage loads. You can tie several
  lights into one transformer, but you will need to
  remember two things. First, there will be a
  voltage drop over long distances.

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• This means that the last light in the series is
  not getting as many volts as the first light, so
  it might be dimmer. If this is the case, you
  might want to look at ways to overcome the
  voltage drop such as making a continuous loop
  with the lights or using a multitap transformer.
  High voltage outside barn lighting should only be
  wired by a professional electrician. He has the
  experience needed to work with this dangerous
  form of electricity. If you are unclear, talk to
  an expert to get his advice.