Security Lighting – Don’t wait until it’s too late!

Owning your home is a rewarding experience. You’ve most likely put in a lot of effort customizing your space and improving your property. Now you have the responsibility of protecting your investment. Regardless of where you reside, crime can happen anywhere. According to FBI statistics on Safewise.com, a burglary occurs approximately every 30 seconds in the US. That adds up to two burglaries every minute and over 3,000 burglaries per day. Interestingly, 40% of Americans don’t do anything to deter burglars. Research states it’s better to be proactive than reactive. Security lighting is an effective step towards protecting your home and valuables.

Locate Your Valuables

One of the first steps to protecting your property is to pinpoint your high-value items such as gardening and landscaping equipment, tools, ladders, lawn mowers, and outdoor furniture. Be sure that these items are not easily accessible and that they are secured or locked up. Importantly, tools like hammers, screwdrivers, and ladders, should be concealed so they cannot be used to break into your home.

Survey Your landscape

Examine the perimeter of your home in the evening after dusk, to get a clear picture of what your property looks like to an approaching visitor. This helps identify potential safety and security hazards. Look for dark areas or deep shadows around your home, porch, and garage that could serve as possible hiding spots to burglars. Look for areas where additional lighting could help in deterring intruders as well as providing visibility for your family and guests. It’s a good idea to check with your local police department to see if they offer free home safety inspections.

Consider Your Neighbors

Security lighting serves many purposes, so your design should be thoughtful. Security lighting doesn’t have to consist of overpowered, intrusive lighting. The right approach to your security lighting will complement your home’s architectural features and enhance visibility, while simultaneously discouraging unwanted visitors. Your neighbors will be grateful if your security lighting is carefully designed and there aren’t bright lights blaring into their windows after dark.

Layer Your Security Lighting

A successful security lighting design creates layers of light throughout your property. This can include active and passive elements such as motion-activated lighting and light fixtures that operate on timers. The idea is for your security lighting elements to overlap each other to produce effective lighting that is uniform to avoid creating glares and deep shadows.

Flood Lights

Flood lights are bright, wide-angled light fixtures and probably the most popular type of security lights. Flood lights are an ideal way of illuminating a large space with a single fixture. Motion-sensing floodlights are available and will immediately respond to a disturbance, the intense spotlight effect can shock intruders when activated. Some models come with multiple heads for adjustable placement, giving more control over the direct lighting. A rule of thumb is to start with 700 lumens and work your way up, if necessary, to 1300 lumens. 

Path Lights and Area Lights

These lights illuminate your walkways and specific areas to avoid falls, accidents, and injuries. They also provide the homeowner with clear visibility of who is entering and exiting the home. For instance, omnidirectional light fixtures produce 360-degrees of illumination and are ideal for pathways and entry/exit points. These path lights and area lights brighten large spaces by creating multiple pools of light. Choose artistic fixture designs to create visual appeal and to elevate the ambiance. 

Downlights

Downlights are typically mounted on elevated surfaces to increase security. Not only do they provide area light from above, but they also produce a beautiful moonlighting effect around your home. Integrating downlights into your lighting design can offer a natural-looking element of security.

Protect You Garage

Certain areas around your home need more lighting than others. This is true for garage entries. Think about it, your garage most likely holds as many items of value as anywhere else in your home. The average garage holds a vehicle, a variety of tools, family heirlooms, and storage. Installing permanent flood lights on either side of your garage door is a great first line of defense. The garage door is an easy point of entry and filling the area with light can discourage intruders. Evenly space your lights for full coverage illumination. A garage side door is a tempting target for forced entry too. Motion activated lights are ideal for these entry ways and will provide bright light instantly when movement is detected.

Customize Your Control

Once you’ve selected the right security lighting design for your home, it’s time to choose options to adjust the level of brightness and automatic timers. Motion detectors activate when movement is perceived and add an element of surprise. Timers are designed to turn light fixtures on and off at designated times. Photocells automatically turn light fixtures on when it’s dark. Photocells are paired with a time switch to turn lights on at dusk and turn them off at a specific time.

Check out the following smartphone apps to monitor crime in your area:

1. SpotCrime App
2. MyLocalCrime App
3. CRIMEWATCH App
4. Askariapp App
5. WeAlert App

An outdoor lighting system prevents potential burglars, deters animal intruders, and helps your family navigate the perimeter of your home safely. Mobile illumination specializes in low-voltage landscape security lighting. Click here for our expert assistance!

Want to see more security lighting tips? Check out our photo gallery!