Properly sized HPS floodlight

[Bandito440]

Good evening folks.

I'm going to be renting a floodlight from my utility provider. It will be installed on their pole along the roadside, pointing at my driveway.

The smallest they have is a 70 watt high pressure sodium light. Looking at replacement bulbs, I expect it to output 5,000 - 6,000 lumens. They also have 100, 150 watt, and greater options.

Does anyone have one of these HPS lights? Does the 70 watt setup seem sufficient to light the end of my driveway, where it meets the road? I expect it to be installed about 20 feet above the ground.

Thanks in advance.

 

[JTK]

A typical lamp post style high press sodium fixture that you'd find in a subdivision or the likes would be a 70w. Most cobra-head style streetlights are 150w. A 70w HPS flood will be quite bright, especially at only 20ft off the ground. If you're paying for the juice and this fixture will be on all night, every night, I wouldn't want to pay for more than 70watts of power being used.

Are you sure HPS is what you want? Renting it? Is LED an option? It's a lot nicer looking light and would be more like 35watts or less.

 

[Bandito440]

Thanks for the reply. LED is not an option, as they only have HPS lights available, and won't allow me to put my own fixture on their pole. It's also powered before my electric meter, so I'll be paying for a fixed amount of energy. For that reason, I have to rent theirs. You're right though, I'd much prefer an LED fixture that broadcasts white light.

I do want dusk-to-dawn lighting for security purposes. The end of my driveway is far enough from the house that I'm not concerned about the color of light.

I suppose it could be higher on the pole though. If it's as bright as you say it is, I could have them put it all the way on top, or close to it. This particular pole is probably 30' tall and sits on a little hill, so maybe 35' above the pavement.

 

[JTK]

70w HPS is quite bright for residential use. Does the rent go up based on wattage? If not, go 150w, unless you are paying for the electricity.

Bad thing with modern day HPS fixtures is the lamps and fixtures are junk today. We're lucky to get a few years out of them at the plant. Sometimes less and the lamps start cycling on/off (bad lamps), or the (cheap) electronics in the fixtures go out completely.

 

[Bandito440]

They're mailing me a contract, but I pay a fixed rate for the lamp and for the energy. I can't remember exactly what she said, but this is to the best of my recollection:

70 watt: $70 annually plus 350 kWh
100 watt: $75 annually plus 500 kWh
150 watt: $80 annually plus 750 kWh

So, the 70 watt would cost about $10/mo.

 

[JTK]

Is the utility pole close to the driveway? If it's w/in 20ft or so, I'd go with the 70w.

 

[Bandito440]

The pole is next to the driveway, so I'll go with the 70w. Thanks for your help.

 

[JTK]

I think you'll be fine with that.

I salvaged an old 150w cobra head style HPS street lamp some years back and have it mounted inside my garage in the area I work on cars. It's about 15ft up and it's blindingly bright. I don't use it much.

I've had various outdoor dusk/dawn fixtures on our homes over the years. Had a 175w mercury vapor, which I eventually replaced with a 70w metal halide on our last home. The 70w MH gave off basically the same amount of light as the 175w mercury vapor. Currently have a 60w CFL dusk/dawn flood on the garage of our current home. It's actually a pretty nice fixture made by "Utilitech". It's very bright and lights up the front of the house and most of the driveway. The only problem with it is, lamps only last ~1.5yrs. Replacements aren't too expensive though.

 

[JTK]

One thing I wanted to ask.. Is there no chance of burying some UF cable out towards the road and installing your own post light out there? Pretty cheap and easy to do.

 

[Bandito440]

The utility company doesn't allow other fixtures on their pole; they'd take it down. I suppose I could plant a pole and do the whole thing myself, but it's not going to happen before winter. I'm swamped with projects already.