Using Exterior Lighting To Increase Your Home Security
Exterior lighting makes your home a lot less attractive target to burglars, vandals and trespassers. Most criminals are very risk-averse. There’s simply no reason to take great chances of being detected and caught when there’s almost always an easier, less risky opportunity nearby to exploit, instead. Illuminating the outdoor area surrounding your home raises that risk potential and deters crime. It also enhances home safety for you and your family and contributes to a more appealing, aesthetic appearance, too. Here are some of the basics of utilizing exterior lighting to increase home security.
- Dual floodlights operated by motion sensors should be installed to cover all four sides of the home . Then, add additional single spotlights to illuminate any remaining dark corners or other areas of the property where someone might conceal their presence. If there’s no wiring at that particular area, use a battery operated security light with motion-sensing function.
- To greatly reduce electricity consumption and operating costs, instead of standard incandescent bulbs choose LEDs or compact fluorescents for all security applications. The long life of these units also minimizes the chore of changing bulbs, particularly those mounted high up that require a ladder to access.
- Low-voltage landscape lighting should be timer-operated (or connected to a photocell) to remain on from dusk until dawn.
- If you use a timer to turn certain outdoor lights on and off, select a unit with “Random” setting to vary on/off times.
- Important lights that are mounted within reach such as front porch lights or patio door lights should have an enclosure to prevent the bulb from being easily removed or broken.
- Wifi-operated security lights that you can operate from your phone, tablet or computer from any location give you additional control, even when you’re away from home. Combined with web-enabled surveillance cameras, the system provides effective outdoor monitoring and security from anywhere in the world.
Ask the experts at Apollo Electrical, Heating, Cooling and Plumbing for more advice about enhancing home security with exterior lighting.