Lighting for the Backyard

[Ivy's Dad]

It's beginning to get dark early now, and I'm thinking of putting up lighting so my DD and I can continue to throw at night. My DD complained last night that we didn't throw for very long before it got too dark. I need to light up an area about 70' by 20'. Does anyone have any experience with this? I'm currently thinking of using a 700W halogen worklight. Do you think this will be bright enough? Thanks for any suggestions you might have.

 

[mudbug]

If you want LIGHT, forget halogen. The light per watt is too low. Go metal halide, you will get 3x the light per watt than a halogen gives!. This is what ball fields use, etc. only they use 1000 watt lamps. The bulbs will last many times longer too.

Buy two or three used 400W high-bay metal halide lamps with ballast and reflector off of ebay. These are taken out of buildings, gymnasiums, etc. You should be able to get them for $30-$45 each. You will have FAR more light. Your backyard will be playable. If you want even more light, use two 1000 W lamps, but they cant be powered from one 15 amp receptacle then. From what you want, two 400W lamps would likely be fine. It will take 20 min to warm up when you turn them on, but that is the penalty. I assum you have somewhere ~12' high to mount them too.? You dont want to look straight into them.

 

[catcherdad]

You dont want to look straight into them. And neither will the neighbors.

 

[starsnuffer]

Not sure how big your yard is. Your neighbors might not appreciate it.

We usually go to the local tennis courts that are lighted during these months to pitch.

-W

 

[Ivy's Dad]

Not sure how big your yard is. Your neighbors might not appreciate it.

-W

After considering the metal halide, I decided on the halogen to insure my friendly neighbor behind me stays friendly. The 700W halogen mounted 6 feet in the air is enough light to allow us to throw. It even has enough vertical dispersion to allow me to throw pop-ups to my DD. It's not enough light to practice hitting, but my DD and I are o.k. with that. We were out throwing tonight, and my DD loved it. She didn't want to come inside, mostly because that meant she had to go to bed.

If neighbors are not a concern, metal halide or 1400W halogen should provide enough light to do pretty much anything you want. If you have neighbors nearby, 700W halogen is enough to throw without keeping the neighbors awake. I wouldn't feel comfortable using less than 500W halogen to throw. Hope this information helps anyone else who might be considering the same thing.

 

[obbay]

I'm glad it worked out for you! But I don't think you can accurately determine what wattage won't keep the neighbors awake.

Take it from a one whose neighbor installed lights that illuminate the inside of my house.

every lighting installation is different.

 

[3DD'sDAD]

Backyard lighting?

Holey smokes. Soon your garage will look like Straightleg's! :O

 

[Ivy's Dad]

Backyard lighting?

Holey smokes. Soon your garage will look like Straightleg's! :O

My DD hasn't asked for the garage to be turned into a batting cage yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if that's next on the agenda. ;-) The things we do for our kids.

 

[livingontheroad]

I would hope no neighbor would complain about any amount of light for 30 or 45 minutes in the early evening sometimes. Now if it was left on all night that would be a different story.