Newbie question--Looking for ideas

I will be honest, I know nothing about electricity and even less about LED lights. All I know is that I like bright lights and wouldn't mind learning about this stuff.

The project in mind is this: I've got a hunting cabin where we've got a field that deer come out and feed in consistently...typically at night which is to be expected. What I'd like to be able to do is have a flood light or something that's powerful enough to illuminate out to about 130 yards, and about 100 yards wide or so. I'm envisioning stadium type lights on posts, and having that hardwired into the house controlled by a switch. I know nothing about that, but we've got an electrician friend that knows what he's doing.

My question is this: what sort of light would be able to illuminate such a large area? I did some looking online, and couldn't find much on youtube or google with info. However, on alibaba I found some 1000W LED boxes that look like they'd do the trick. I'm skeptical of products coming from China with counterfeits and what not, and low quality products. Is this a basic thing that I am looking for? I would like the field to be illuminated as much as possible, so we can watch the wildlife easily from our cabin.

Appreciate any ideas that you experts may have.

LED's will be expensive for what you are looking for, and for the amount of time they will actually be used. https://www.rabweb.com/productLines.php?majorGroup=FXLED_FLOODLIGHTS RAB makes a good commercial grade product, but you are talking over $1000 for the 300 Watt version. You might be best off going to home depot and buying some halogne flood lights for a whole lot cheaper. something like this http://www.homedepot.com/p/All-Pro-Outdoor-Bronze-300-Watt-Quartz-Halogen-Flood-Light-EQ-300-WL/205338550

For and LED bulb you are looking around $500 each unit, or $10 each for a halogen with the almost the same lumpen output.

mds82 said:

LED's will be expensive for what you are looking for, and for the amount of time they will actually be used. https://www.rabweb.com/productLines.php?majorGroup=FXLED_FLOODLIGHTS RAB makes a good commercial grade product, but you are talking over $1000 for the 300 Watt version. You might be best off going to home depot and buying some halogne flood lights for a whole lot cheaper. something like this http://www.homedepot.com/p/All-Pro-Outdoor-Bronze-300-Watt-Quartz-Halogen-Flood-Light-EQ-300-WL/205338550

For and LED bulb you are looking around $500 each unit, or $10 each for a halogen with the almost the same lumpen output.

Click to expand...

Don't forget the cost for an electrician...:bow:

mds82 said:

LED's will be expensive for what you are looking for, and for the amount of time they will actually be used. https://www.rabweb.com/productLines.php?majorGroup=FXLED_FLOODLIGHTS RAB makes a good commercial grade product, but you are talking over $1000 for the 300 Watt version. You might be best off going to home depot and buying some halogne flood lights for a whole lot cheaper. something like this http://www.homedepot.com/p/All-Pro-Outdoor-Bronze-300-Watt-Quartz-Halogen-Flood-Light-EQ-300-WL/205338550

For and LED bulb you are looking around $500 each unit, or $10 each for a halogen with the almost the same lumpen output.

Click to expand...

Do you realize you are comparing a 300W halogen lamp to a 300W LED lamp, not a 300W equivalent LED lamp? That's like comparing apples and grapes.

RAB's 78W lamp certainly produces more light than that 300W home store halogen. They claim it is equivalent to a 250W metal halide lamp.

Your point is not lost, however, as even RAB's 78W lamp is certainly far more costly than the halogen.

No matter how you look at it, illuminating an area 100 yards wide takes an enormous amount of light. How bright are you looking to make it? Obviously we're not talking daylight, or even office light. But are we talking starlight, moonlight, movie theater (lights up)? How dark-adapted will your eyes be when you want to see the deer? Are you looking to hunt (meaning you'll probably be using a scope)?

Given the numbers we're talking about, there is likely to be substantial backscatter from moisture and dust in the air. That means you want to be as far from the light source as possible when you are looking. Of course this depends a lot on the weather and the location. Is there any possibility of putting the lamps closer to the field? Having them 50 yds from the field and 80 yds from the cabin would help a LOT.