Waiting Out My Neighbor's Obnoxious Floodlights

Post date: 2020-07-02 03:19:11

My neighbor is in the process of selling her home. She has moved out but left her bright floodlight burning in her backyard. Our homes are close together and this light shines obnoxiously in my bedroom at night. Over the years, I've repeatedly asked her to turn it out at night when she goes to bed. I'm willing to let it just burn out rather than contact her realtor but my question is, how long will this take?

The Google turns up lots of great info on the best outdoor lights to buy in terms of wattage and tone of light. But none of the reviews indicate how many hours various bulbs will burn. I don't know what type of bulbs these are. There are two of them in the fixture attached to the back wall of her house. Safe to assume they are outdoor quality bulbs.

I know the obvious fix is to simply ask the real estate agent to turn out the light. But, honestly, letting it burn out may solve the problem once and for all. Because the house will likely sell to someone who will put an addition on the back of the house, I suspect that said light fixture will be permanently obliterated by an addition. In my neighborhood, houses that back to the park are now sold to people who don't move in until the addition has been completed. So, the likelihood that someone moves in and continues to use the floodlight are really low. If I let it burn out, problem is likely solved forever. If I ask the real estate agent to turn it off, somebody is inevitably going to turn it back on when touring the house. The new owners will likely do the same thing when they are inspecting it, working with their architect/builder, etc. If it burns out, I highly doubt anyone is going to the trouble off replacing the bulbs on the rear of a house that is not currently being lived in.

I know, MEFI, that I way too invested in this. It's been years of being frustrated by my otherwise good neighbor's lack of consideration. Years.

Solutions I'd prefer not to consider:

- Please don't suggest reaching out to the real estate agent. As I wrote, this will solve the problem only temporarily. Someone will inevitably accidentally turn that dang light back on.
- Sneaking onto the property to surreptitiously remove the bulbs. This would require a ladder and would be super sketchy.

I'm not looking for 'solutions'. I'm looking for an answer to how long those outdoor floods will burn if left continuously burning. My own indoor/outdoor floodlight packages indicates 13 years if used 3 hours per day. This is a laughable fantasy. I have never, not once, got that kind of usage from my bulbs. More like one year when used for 5-6 per day. Does anyone have a best guess based on their own experience?

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