This is a detailed guide on how to install flood lights.
I belong in a Do-It-Yourself family. I grew up doing and installing a wide variety of things myself.
Because I’m pretty handy myself and honestly enjoy the challenge, I rarely seek professionals when installing things around the house, especially if it’s something I can research and read about.
I’ve experienced mounting wireless solar lights around our property, but flood lights are a different kind of DIY with electrical wiring involved.
As I was reading up on exactly how to install flood lights, I learned one doesn’t need to be an expert to install them. All one needs are the know-hows on how to do them properly.
If you’ve got yourself some flood lights and are wondering how you can install them yourself, I’ve got you covered right here!
How to Install Flood Lights
Installing flood lights can be intimidating. But more and more people are choosing to do it themselves and avoid getting a professional to do it for them.
If you recently got new flood lights or are thinking of replacing already-installed flood lights in your home, you can also choose to do it yourself.
If you aren’t completely sure yet how to do it but would definitely like to learn how, read on below for a detailed guide!
Choose installation location
The first thing you want to get to in installing your flood lights is looking for a location. Choose somewhere that can help you get the most of your new flood light.
It’s most likely you bought new flood lights because you want to illuminate a certain space or area in your home. Flood lights are great at illuminating and providing light for areas like gardens, backyards, patios, walkways, and driveways.
To make the most of your flood light, make sure it’s placed somewhere it’s able to light the areas you need it to illuminate.
What to consider
When it comes to flood lights, the higher it’s placed and installed, the better lighting you will get from it. Flood lights provide intense light, so having them placed high will not affect the light they provide. In fact, having them high up in placement will help the light fixture cover more ground.
You can choose to install it near your roofline, above a garage door, or on your garage wall to get high intensity lighting. The light bulbs on flood lights have high intensity light so the height wouldn’t affect performance.
Another thing to consider in looking for a place to install your flood lights is power source.
You have to make sure you install your floodlights near a power source. You would need to connect your lights to a power source so it turns on and does its job.
This can be an inside outlet or switch from which you can run wiring from to power up your new flood lights. Also keep in mind to ensure that the circuit can safely handle the addition of a new load addition. It’s important the circuit doesn’t maximize its load capacity.
If you have an installation location in mind but have no near power source, ask a professional electrician to guide you through it.
If you’re planning to use an outlet, you’re going to have to remove the outlet plate and place an extension box mounting plate over the electrical box. You would also need a metal conduit connector to do this. Again, if you aren’t sure on how to do this, it’d be better to ask a professional for help.
Go to your circuit breaker and turn power off
Installing flood lights deal with wiring and electricity. One doesn’t have to be an expert to know that any exposed wires with current running through them can lead to serious injuries.
It’s very important that you turn off your power. Most of the time, it would be enough to turn off the circuit that you will be wiring into to power up your flood light. Go to where your circuit breaker is and do exactly this.
Of course, you can also turn off the main switch on the fuse box and turn off all power sources. This could ensure much better safety measures during flood lights installation.
If you can and for extra safety measures, use a circuit tester to make sure there’s no electrical current running through the wire and circuit you will be working on.
If you aren’t confident about your electrical skills, it’s always best to be on the safe side and call in a professional for help.
Drill holes
Now that you’ve decided on a place where your flood light will go and have taken necessary safety precautions, it’s time to install the light fixture.
Place the metal mounting plate against the wall or where you’re planning on installing it. Mark the holes for screws according to the light fixture.
Now that you’ve got your marks, drill the holes on the exterior of a wall outside your house.
Make sure the hole you drill is big enough to feed the electric cable through it to the junction box or plug outlet.
Wire light fixture to junction box or power source
You’d want to connect your flood light to the power source next. Again, make sure that the circuit you’re dealing with has its power turned off completely to avoid accidents and injuries.
Now take off the right angle connector. It’s recommended for you to use fish tape for more safety and ease. You’d want to “fish” the electrical cable through the hole you made on the exterior of the wall or space and then wire through the junction box or outlet.
Now, connect the wiring from the fixture to the junction box or plug outlet. The wires would depend on the unit you bought but generally, you have green, black, and white wires, typically one of each. You’d want to use an electrical tape to connect these three wires.
Going back to the right angle conduit connector, pull the taped green wire, black wire, and white wire and remove the fish tape.
Read the manufacturer’s guide to make sure you’re doing this correctly. Depending on what you bought, you might need an additional cable connector. Electricity and wiring is the last thing you’d want to make a mistake on.
Fix and mount light fixture
Now that you’ve got all your wire connections connected, attach and mount the metal mounting plate and light fixture.
Screw in the light fixture with screws that usually come with the flood light package you purchased. Ensure that the flood light is securely mounted as you don’t want it to be at risk of falling over.
Make sure the wires are connected securely with a wire nut to ensure proper power source/
Test flood light
Once you’ve mounted the flood light fixture, turn your power box on. Go outside and see if your flood light is on and working. Also check if you’ve got the position and angle right according to your lighting needs.
Seal shut
Now that you’re done and happy with the light fixture installation, seal the area with silicone caulk where the wall and light fixture mount meets. This ensures no moisture and precipitation gets through the junction box or electrical box, which can be damaging.
Conclusion
While installing flood light fixtures would require professionals in the past, more and more people are doing it themselves.
And with the right know-hows on installing flood lights, you, too, can be doing it yourself!
The first thing you want to do is choose a location. This can be anywhere outside you need adequate lighting. Remember, it’s best to place flood lights high up for better lighting and performance. Also consider the nearest power source.
Next, you want to turn the power off when dealing with wires and electricity. Now, mark and drill holes according to your flood flight’s manufacturer.
Feed the electric cable through the hole you just made and wire it to the power source. Now that’s connected, fix and mount the light fixture.
Test the light out and once you determine it works, seal the area with caulk to prevent moisture from seeping through.
And that has been our guide on how to install flood lights! Happy installing!
