Lights of America 9266 Outdoor Fixture
Review by Mister Ed : Don't Buy Their Cheapest Version

The 65-watt 9266 lamp can proudly wear the title "Lights of America". We have 9 of them in our barn, and they have been trouble-free. The light plastic gooseneck is a bit weak and requires a lot of tightening to prevent movement. A more robust pivot point would help prevent fractures from over-tightening.

However, Lights of America has been getting cheaper with its lower-wattage lights. The 27-watt version comes with the lens retaining screws simply taped to the inside of the mounting plate. They also stopped supplying the alternate black plug to disable the photocell.

Lights of America needs to review their Quality Control. Simply tosssing hardware into a box without an explanation could lead to easily avoidable failures. (Such as the lens falling off and/or leaking!)

Their cheapest version (18-watt) is the model you should avoid like the plague. We installed ~30 of these, and over 50% of them failed within 3 months. Truly a piece of junk!

Whoever designed/qualified the 18-watt version should be fired for incompetence/negligence. They should recall the 18-watt version and redesign it to make it reliable! Smoke in my barn is a no-no!


So, here's my summary:
65-watt -- Buy without worries
27-watt -- Some assembly required
18-watt -- 3-month disposable version *JUNK*

Lights of America 9266 Outdoor Fixture
Review by P. Scott Pope "Scott Pope" : Brilliant White Light

After purchasing a full spectrum light box and dozens of compact fluorescent variants, I came across this product on eBay. With a 6500k color temperature and 4550 lumens, the Flourex 9265/9266 provides fantastic light output at fraction of the cost of other products. Trusting these figures and the rated 65 watt power consumption, it produces an incredible 70 lumens per watt, which is about 6-7 times the efficiency of incandescent bulbs.

While I like my bulky $300 Sunray light box by SunBox, I decided to experiment with smaller and less expensive products to fill the role of a light box. Most of these are from vendors selling light fixtures for outdoor security and "hydroponics". Presumably, the latter indicates cultivation of illegal substances. While I only grow mint plants indoors, I do like natural sunlight when I am working. More importantly, however, is that I like to wake up to bright natural sunlight. Hence, I have connected this floodlight to an Intermatic electronic timer set to turn on a few minutes before my alarm. With the lamp pointed towards the ceiling, I awake to a room filled with white natural light regardless of the weather or time of year.

The indirect lighting mode works quite well, albeit less efficiently than a downward-facing arrangement. This particular product is a bit intense to directly face working areas. Of course, plants to do not care nor does it matter if the it is perched high on the side of a building. In its original design intent, the light fixture is designed to fill a large outdoor area with light. Controlled by a photo sensor, it turns on at dusk and off at dawn. My application is entirely different. I place the light on top of a tall piece of furniture to act like a torchiere lamp. This drops the luminous efficiency quite a great deal but provides a pleasing ambient light.

Lights of America did an excellent job with this product, which combines energy-saving light output with excellent full spectrum characteristics. If you enjoy full spectrum lighting in the home or need a good outdoor security light, this the Fluorex 9625/9626 is an excellent choice.



Pros
Excellent full spectrum light output for the price
Tremendous energy savings over halogen
Built-in light sensor for dusk to dawn operation
Includes mounting arm and hardware


Cons
Excessive warm-up period
Application specific bulb (will work only in this fixture)
Mounting arm may not be ideal for indoor applications

Lights of America 9266 Outdoor Fixture
Review by H. Beckerman : Bright Energy Saver Dies Quickly

Very bright white light illuminates a large area but has serious electroncs problems. Purchased four units in 2006 and two years later all are non-functional with circuitry not bulb related burnouts. Initially I gave the unit an excellent review with five stars.

No Stars due to electronics problems.