Flood Light Installation Step-By-Step

Outdoor flood lights provide added security to your home as well as lighting up a good portion of your deck, or patio for extended nighttime entertaining. Outdoor flood lights come in a wide variety of shapes, colors, and styles. They will add some value to your home while also giving your home great nighttime curb appeal.

Materials Needed

•Electrical Wire - Make sure it matches the correct amperage needed.
•Electrical Switch
•Electrical Box
•Screwdrivers
•Wire Cutter and Stripper
•Sawz All
•Plastic Caps

Step One - Shut Off Power

The first step in any type of electrical work is to shut off the power. Trying to do electrical work with the power still on is a very dangerous. Any touch of a tool, or your skin, can cause severe injury, and even disability.

Step Two - Determine Location and Prepare

Locate the position where you want to install the flood lights. You can attach these lights to a garage, outside of your home overlooking a patio, or even along a fence post to light up more of your yard. Once you have the place located, cut a hole in that position. Cut the hole large enough to place the electrical box.

Step Three - Locate Area for Switch and Connect to Power

Determine where you want to place the light switch and cut the hole in the wall. Once the hole is in the wall you will need to fish the wire through the electrical switch box. Getting power to your switch can happen in one of two ways. You can run a wire to the nearest plug outlet, or you can wire to direct to a breaker if you are running the light on its own circuit.

To connecting to the outlet, you will need to pull out the outlet from the electrical box. Unscrew the cover and the outlet and slide it out. Fish the new wire through to wall until you get to the outlet. Connect the black wire to the black on the outlet and the same with the white. Connect the ground wire and reinstall the outlet.

Run the wire through to the breaker box. Thread the wire through the access area of the breaker and connect the black wire into the chosen breaker's set screw. Attach the white and green wire to the metal bar in the breaker and tighten.

Step Four - Install Flood Light

After all the wire connections are made in the house, run the wire out to wherever you are installing your flood lights. Bring wire in through the electrical box and strip the wire back at least an inch. Twist the corresponding wires together from the light to the power supply. Screw the flood light onto the electrical box with the supplied hardware.

Step Five - Connect Light Switch

Take the black wire from the power source and screw onto the bottom of the light switch, while the black wire from the flood lights goes onto the top screw. Attach the bare copper wire to the green screw and set the light switch into the box. Secure it with the screws provided and attach the face plate.