E26 Outdoor LED floods hit the consumer market / motion detector question

Maybe I missed it, but in the home improvement stores I frequent I have never seen any type of LED bulb designed for retrofit into an E26 screw-in base that was rated for outdoor use. Just two months ago I had checked both national chains and two local hardware stores and found none. I have seen them rated for "moist" conditions (bathroom), but never for an installation in full rain and snow.
Until now.

Yesterday at a lowes store I saw two different brands of LED spotlights with the word OUTDOOR figuring prominently in their display. I was able to resist making an impulse purchase, deciding that more research was necessary.
Today i checked HomeDepot dot com and they also have two different brands, but they both say "not sold in stores". It shouldn't be long before they are in stores.

All are either 75 or 90 watt "equivalent"
One brand has 12 LEDs in a star configuration and a plastic housing.
Three brands have a glass housing very similar to an incandescent flood, and the ones I looked at seemed like the glass was quite thick and heavy.
Some have color temps in the 3400K range, and some are in the 5000+ range.

I predict problems if retrofitted into a motion-detector fixture.

Answering my own post. I need someone to set me straight. Why do older motion detectors fail when used in conjunction with CFL and LED bulbs ?

WARNING! The following contains uninformed speculation.

Guessing at what happens inside a traditional motion detector switch...
1. The PIR detects infrared.
2. An integrated circuit determines that the infrared is in motion (and maybe that that motion is a person, not a bird)
3. Inside the IC, some kind of magic happens to close the circuit.
4. This magic depends on the filament of an incandescant bulb completing the circuit. The failure of this circuit to complete is the reason why the motion switch fails with LED or CFL.

Now the new style motion detector switch...
1. The PIR detects infrared.
2, An integrated circuit determines that the infrared is in motion (and maybe that that motion is a person, not a bird)
3. The IC sends a signal to a solenoid, which throws a physical switch. This is the heavy click sound that is heard when the light goes on or off.
4. There is no necessity for the bulb to complete a circuit.

Is my theory even halfway accurate?

I know I bought some Cree E26 lights and the builder installed them in a motion detector light and it was set for 5 minutes. After a few months one died. I set the timer for 30 minutes and have not had any issues now and it has been over a year.

The bigbox has had the cree outdoor flood led bulbs,and other brands also for a few years now,you were not looking very good! Personally,on a motion detector application,where the lights are only on for a few minutes after detecting motion vs leaving your floodlights on all night- I do not see the value in using led compared to standard much less expensive{ and proven trouble-free} halogen bulbs.In my last house,the original halogen flood bulbs were still working 14 years after the house was built and operated on a motion detector- they probably only saw 5-10 minutes max use per day from motion tripping.

These?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Westingh...lood-LED-Outdoor-Light-Bulb-0311000/206105559

I've been using LED PAR38 bulbs outdoors for a few years now. Some are Sylvania and one is Cree. One of them might be EcoSmart.

The EcoSmart I believe is a Philips Halogen. What they call the "90" actually burns 70W and I guess is just an incandescent equivalent so not comparable to LED. Very nice light and I agree, not worth replacing before it burns out if just used on a motion sensor. That said, on my new security fixtures I went with the Utilitech PAR38 3000k 20.5W/1450Lumen bulbs and no problems, they dim up and down fine. Have had a few on the premises over a year now, my tenants are very happy with them too. Though when a klutzy delivery guy knocked one of them out, I did replace it with a Hypericon PAR38 2700K 90+CRI 14W/1200Lumen just because I happened to have an extra one left over out of a four pack, and at half the cost of the Utilitech was a no-brainer.

What i was really trying to find out is...
Why do the older style motion detectors fail with LED/CFL bulbs? Is my theory about a solenoid inside the newer motion detectors correct?

My understanding of the older sensors is that they use the filament as part of the circuit to power the sensor. My guess is that they do this because then you don't need a fuse or other circuit protection (lower cost, simpler design). Of course since CFL/LEDs don't have a filament, there isn't enough current going through to power it.

No idea if new ones use solenoids or solid state parts. Whatever is cheapest, I guess. If you hear a click, it's almost always a relay/solenoid though.