PE Product Tester, Jeff Jones, tells us how he got on when he installed the XLED Home 2 sensor-switched outdoor floodlight from Steinel.
What attracted you to the product in the first place?
I’ve been a big fan of Steinel’s products for a while and will always specify them where reliability and robustness is paramount. My experience has been that the company always produces a superior product with good design characteristics, so I was interested to find out if this LED floodlight with incorporated PIR lived up to the same high standards.
What were your initial impressions of the product?
The floodlight was a good, compact size but without losing the usual Steinel premium product quality and feel.
How easy was the unit to use?
I’m very used to installing Steinel products and, as such, setup was very intuitive and easy. The PIR vertical and horizontal positioning was particularly good when making final adjustments.
What type of application was the product used for?
It was used in a domestic application where some flood light with local PIR was required over a patio area where a motorcycle is stored overnight. The PIR was simple to set up and performed well and the light output from the LED really did exceed my expectations, especially when you consider the size of the unit.
Are there any features and benefits that you particularly enjoyed?
Certainly the setup and adjustment, as it was so easy to achieve. The horizontal and vertical adjustment of both the flood and PIR was excellent.
What improvements would you suggest?
A small issue that I found from a personal perspective is that the flex cable inlet hole on the back of the unit is quite tight, making it challenging to install a single cable and to seat the grommet correctly. Perhaps a standard 20mm could make this issue easier?
Would you recommend the product to other electricians?
Most definitely! Quite simply, where a product is needed that performs faultlessly then I’ll always install Steinel units and the XLED Home 2 certainly doesn’t disappoint.
This product is a good example of the improvement that LED technology has made in recent times. So much so, that I’d now always choose LED over linear halogen when sourcing a floodlight.
