Can you still buy flood lights that are not LED?
You sure can. LEDs have taken over most of the consumer market, but traditional flood lights haven't disappeared entirely. You'll find halogen fixtures are still kicking around, especially on Amazon and eBay, with options ranging from 120W to 500W or more. Many come with motion sensors built right in. Specialty suppliers like BulbAmerica and 1000Bulbs stock halogen and incandescent bulbs in common sizes such as PAR38 and BR30-. The same goes for compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs—places like LampshopOnline and Warehouse Lighting still carry PL-S, PL-C, and other plug-in lamps. On the industrial side, high-intensity discharge (HID) lights—metal halide and high-pressure sodium—remain the go-to for large-scale outdoor lighting and sports facilities. Distributors like Grainger and RS Components keep those in stock. Multi-Lite is another solid resource; they specifically cater to legacy installations and professional applications where no proper LED equivalent exists yet.
That said, tracking down non-LED flood lights takes a bit more digging than it used to. Brick-and-mortar retailers like Home Depot or Lowe's have mostly cleared these off their shelves, so you're better off searching online. When you do find them, keep a few things in mind. Halogen bulbs run hot and chew through electricity—a 500W halogen pulls a lot more current than a comparable LED. Their lifespan is also dramatically shorter, typically 2,000 to 4,000 hours versus 50,000 for LEDs. CFLs offer better efficiency but suffer from slow warm-up time in cold weather. If you're committed to sticking with traditional lighting for a specific reason—like matching existing fixtures or achieving a particular color rendering—the options are still out there. Just be prepared to hunt for them, and maybe keep a few spare bulbs on hand while you're at it.
