Designers Edge L-988BR 240-Degree-Sensor Twin-Head Super-Bright LED Review

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I installed this light to replace a security light mounted 18 feet high on the side of my house. I sure won't miss getting out the ladder to change the bulbs. Even from that height, the LED bulbs were bright enough to provide enough light for security without being too bright. The beam produced is very focused, like a spotlight, as opposed to being more diffuse like from halogen or fluorescent bulbs. This may be a nice feature if you want to avoid shining in nearby windows.

The color temperature produced is blue-ish and a bit harsh, almost like daylight. However, I don't think it's too unpleasant, especially for its intended outdoor use.

One thing to note: The unit comes with a small transformer that needs to be installed behind the faceplate. There was just barely enough room in my existing electrical box to accommodate it.

I've had the light installed for 2 months. Overall, I'm satisfied with the quality, looks, and operation of the unit. The motion sensor works as well as I can expect it to. That it to say, it sometimes turns on for reasons not apparent to me, just like every other motion sensor light I've used. But, it has never failed to turn on when it should. The light is pricey, but I expect it to pay for itself over time in energy savings, replacement costs, and time.

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...but never got a chance due to a couple issues. The first was that I couldn't even get it installed because of the size of the LED driver/transformer. If you keep the driver attached to the bracket that comes with the light you need at least 1 1/4" of depth in your electric box. If you pull the bracket off and just let the driver sit in the box then you need 7/8". I am not sure if it is typical but the electric box I have is only 3/4" deep. Second, the light advertises a dusk to dawn mode but it isn't what I needed/hoped for. My neighborhood requires me to have my alley light on all night long. I assumed the dusk to dawn mode would allow me to do this (i.e., override the motion sensor) but it doesn't. The dusk to dawn mode simply prevents the motion sensor from tripping the light during the day. There is a special override mode that will allow you to bypass the motion sensor but to activate it the light needs to be attached to a switched outlet (you turn it on and off multiple times quickly and then the light will stay on all night long, resetting to normal mode in the morning). Since my light is not on a switched circuit the override is a no go for me, not that I would want to have to force it into override mode every night anyway.

Overall, it seems like a well built unit. Solid construction and rubber seals in the right places. It is definitely better than the Heath Zenith unit that I bought at a local big box and only lasted two years. Just make sure it fits your needs and your installation location before you buy.

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I purchased two of these with the intent of installing one as-is and converting the other to strictly dusk-to dawn by replacing its motion sensor with "Westek SW103CTC-4 1800W Heavy Duty Outdoor Swivel Eye Direct Wire Light Control, Black"). From the outside, the light looks real nice. It has a compact design and the housing with the exception of the sensor is cast metal. And the price is great. But after closer look, I am very disappointed with the design and quality.

Pros:

Compact. It's the same as a traditional flood light, but scaled down to a nice package.

Metal Housing

GREAT price.

Note:

The bulbs are not that bright and do not light up a large area. If that's what you need, you're going to have to either spend a lot more money on an LED solution, or install a traditional incandescent or halogen lamp. Floodlight is probably not a fair description for this item. I didn't want blinding light, I just wanted to be able to see enough to get around at night, so the amount of light these give off is great for that.

Cons:

Some of the internal connections are made with wire nuts and electrical tape and some of them were not made well and came apart. I doubt these really would pass UL. I think all the internal connections should be made with a permanent insulated crimp nut. I ended up soldering and heat shrinking the splices.

I had to file out one of the grooves that is used to retain the lenses to keep it from falling out.

The lock nuts that are on the outside at the point where the lamps screw into the base are larger than the that the base and lamps use. The nuts have a thread but they don't engage the lamps' threads at all. Therefore, they can't be used to lock the lamps in place. Don't be surprised if you can't lock your lamps pointing in the right direction and if then tend to rotate down, pointing at the ground.

The AC to Low Voltage DC transformers that the LEDs require are almost a big as the junction box you will be installing this into, leaving very little room for the wire nuts that you will use to attach to your house wiring. I was able to make it work but it is a challenge.

The mounting screw is just long enough for an ideal mounting situation. If your junction box is at all recessed, the mounting screw won't be long enough. I had to find longer screws.

The transformer is mounted right under the mounting screw. That's why they didn't include a longer mounting screw. If the screw is too long, it will poke into the plastic transformer housing. When finding longer screws, I had to be very careful to find screws that were not too long.

The motion sensor acts very strangely. I have the sensitivity set very low and the duration to 4 minutes, but sometimes it seems like the light stays on all night. Sometimes it acts normally. This seems typical of budget sensors.

Would I buy one of these again? At this price, probably. Just recognize that this product is a kit that might require a little more work on your end to make it what it should be.

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Like one of the other reviewers, I mounted this light up high where it is hard to reach, so the thought of not having to change bulbs very often (hopefully) appealed to me.

It seems well built; durable materials and a high quality finish, so it should last a long time. On the flip side, the LEDs aren't very bright. From the height I installed it (~15') the light on the ground is maybe 2 times the light from a full moon. So it is enough to keep people from tripping over things, but don't expect to comfortably read a book with it, nor expect indirect light bouncing off walls to light up adjacent areas. Btw, the color of the light is similar to moonlight.

It may be a defect of just my unit, but it seems to come on all the time in the daytime with the motion sensor enabled.

This light would be highly useful in off the grid situations as it uses so little power.

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This flood light is almost perfect. I do not know if I have adjusted the sensitivity right or if the unit is too sensitive to movement. The light stays on most of the night at first I thought it was from the trees (about 40 feet away) but all the leaves are gone and the light still remains on most of the night. I would rather it come on when not needed rather than not coming on when needed. This is the only reason I did not give it 5 stars.

The sensitivity is easy to adjust except for the fact that it is an eve light which requires an extension ladder, and me climbing it, to adjust. I figure it is an LED light and does not use much energy and will last for years so why bother.

I would recommend and will probably buy 4 more this spring.