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pjhorst

Bulb Madness - R vs BR vs PAR - outdoor cans

pjhorst
14 years ago

Looking for some clarification on appropriate bulbs for outdoor cans.

At my new (soon to move in) home, I have 14 of them. 6", Juno cans. The same as were hung indoors in hallway, entry, kitchen, etc....

6 on back patio, 4 on front porch, 4 over garage doors.

The standard line on outdoor bulbs seems to be "must be PAR. must be rated for wet conditions". But I never see any clarification of the whys/whats.

So, I'm just wondering what would happen if a person choose to use a BR/R rated bulb instead? Is there a hazard? Or simply that the bulb may not last long?

Couple of thoughts/examples.

At my current home I have 4 fairly standard outdoor fixtures, hanging on the wall, cover with glass on 3 sides, open bottom, dispursing their light to God and everyone else. They have had 'indoor' rated, standard coil CFL's for about 3 years. No known issues. They work great. I use them every night.

At the new home and into the world of outdoor cans, I've noticed that a R/BR 30 style CFL has a much better light footprint when compared to say a PAR 50 Halogen. It's softer, distributes the light better. Not the narrow spotlight affect of Halogen. Also, light travels up walls better, over garage, over front door, etc.... all in all much more appealing in my opinion. (I've got a fair amount of stone on the exterior walls, so it's nice to show it off at night).

If indeed PAR is critical, I've considered going down the PAR rated CFL path but I'm afraid I'll get the same spotlight affect of the PAR Halogen.

So, again, what is the problem/risk associated with an R or BR bulb in a standard 6" can, that happens to be hung under an outdoor soffit.

Thanks for your help in understanding this!

- Peter

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