# Wall Pack Brightness **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 17, 2016, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wall-pack-brightness/768856 "2016-10-17T17:36:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kennbk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@kennbk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kennbk)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wall-pack-brightness/768856/1 "2016-10-17T17:36:30Z")
I finally replaced an old wall pack on my storage shed (sensor died) which used a 27 watt CFL 4 pin quad tube. The new 2016 version, with the same physical dimensions, uses a 54 built-in diode array, also 27 watts. It is too, too bright, much brighter than my old one. My immediate fix to reduce the intensity was to put electrician’s tape across the top of the outside surface of the lens and cover it with gray duct tape about two inches wide. That decreased the light to an acceptable level in my back yard. However, it looks patchy of course, and I would like to find a better, neater way to reduce the light intensity. I would like to unsolder or clip off the pins of some of the diodes (if I can get to them on the board) or cover some of them with electrical tape to decrease the amount of light being emitted. Would appreciate any comments about doing this. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wall-pack-brightness/768856/2 "2016-10-17T18:22:50Z")
I’m unclear what a “wall pack” is, but generally you don’t want to mess with the diode arrays. The power supply will be optimized for that number of LEDs, whether in total or in each series array. Trying to remove a few will likely screw up more than you intend. Note that 27 watts LED is probably close to double the lumens/watt of a CFL. 27 watts is around 250-300W incandescent, loosely speaking. If a simple dimmer is too much expense/hassle, then maybe getting a lower-powered light is the best solution. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wall-pack-brightness/768856/3 "2016-10-17T18:49:56Z")
Band name. Had no idea what OP title meant except that. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wall-pack-brightness/768856/4 "2016-10-17T18:55:29Z")
I had no idea what a “wall pack” is either, but it’s apparently a [standard term](http://www.homedepot.com/b/Lighting-Ceiling-Fans-Commercial-Lighting-Wall-Packs/N-5yc1vZc9gz) for an outdoor wall-mounted light. I have no idea why a light fixture would be referred to as a “pack.” ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wall-pack-brightness/768856/5 "2016-10-17T19:08:22Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > I had no idea what a “wall pack” is either, but it’s apparently a [standard term](http://www.homedepot.com/b/Lighting-Ceiling-Fans-Commercial-Lighting-Wall-Packs/N-5yc1vZc9gz) for an outdoor wall-mounted light. I have no idea why a light fixture would be referred to as a “pack.” Could be because it’s a pack of little light bulbs (or diodes, I guess) instead of just a fixture with a bulb? ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wall-pack-brightness/768856/6 "2016-10-17T19:13:04Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Could be because it’s a pack of little light bulbs (or diodes, I guess) instead of just a fixture with a bulb? No, several of the wall packs at the Home Depot page that I linked to have one bulb each. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wall-pack-brightness/768856/7 "2016-10-17T19:38:00Z")
I came to the **wall pack brightness** thread in search of streaming sporting events. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wall-pack-brightness/768856/8 "2016-10-17T20:22:18Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > I had no idea what a “wall pack” is either, but it’s apparently a [standard term](http://www.homedepot.com/b/Lighting-Ceiling-Fans-Commercial-Lighting-Wall-Packs/N-5yc1vZc9gz) for an outdoor wall-mounted light. I have no idea why a light fixture would be referred to as a “pack.” At a guess, because they are or were sold in construction packs. ---
**Author:** ![kennbk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@kennbk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kennbk)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wall-pack-brightness/768856/9 "2016-10-17T20:36:08Z")
Sorry for the confusion. That is the term the manufacturers and online sources such as Amazon use. I think I might just coat the inside of the lens with paint that is heat resistant. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wall-pack-brightness/768856/10 "2016-10-17T22:45:14Z")
> [@kennbk](#): > > I think I might just coat the inside of the lens with paint that is heat resistant. I’m not sure that’s a good idea. That will cause the interior of the unit to get hotter than the manufacturer intended. The same is probably true for your tape solution. Whether it will get hot enough to cause the unit to fail, or in the absolute worst case, cause a fire, is hard to say without knowing more about the unit. But you should at least be aware of the risk. –Mark ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2016, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wall-pack-brightness/768856/11 "2016-10-18T01:10:39Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > I’m not sure that’s a good idea. That will cause the interior of the unit to get hotter than the manufacturer intended. The same is probably true for your tape solution. Whether it will get hot enough to cause the unit to fail, or in the absolute worst case, cause a fire, is hard to say without knowing more about the unit. But you should at least be aware of the risk. LED light has little or no IR - the heat comes from the junctions in each diode, and from the power components that filter 120 VAC to whatever DC voltage the array uses. As long as the “cooling fins” around the power unit are clear, you can do anything you like to the light/lens. ---
**Author:** ![kennbk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@kennbk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kennbk)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2016, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wall-pack-brightness/768856/12 "2016-10-18T16:28:23Z")
Thanks for the explanations and advice everyone. I don’t think LEDs are dimmable. Somewhere I read that in theory they are, but in the real world their dimming characteristics are unpredictable, despite the manufacturers claims.