Outdoor Security Lighting!
Outdoor lighting not only gives your home and property a great appearance, it also serves as a vital part of an effective home security system. With outdoor security lighting, the risk of receiving unwanted visitors is reduced to the barest minimum. In other words, potential intruders are deterred from making an approach since the chance of being caught is greatly increased.
There are several factors that affect the proper functioning of outdoor security lighting. Primarily, most homeowners are of the belief that the brighter the security light is on their home, the safer they are. The thought and reason being that darkness attracts intruders is only logical, and that a brighter outdoor security lighting would deter them even more. But this is not actually so, as the truth is actually the exact opposite. United States Department of Energy (DOE) stated in its report that several researchers and case studies have shown that simply increasing the light levels does not necessarily enhance your home security. The reason being that bright light creates glare, worsens night vision and generates a negative impact on the ability of the video cameras to see what is going on and to identify a suspect.
Therefore, for proper installation of your outdoor security lighting system, it must be properly taken care of to ensure its effectiveness. Below are a few tips to note about home security lighting:
- Make use of the top visor (shield) on your floodlights. If you possess a security floodlight at your home, making use of this top visor along with the floodlights pointed downwards will reduce the intensity of glare created by them.
- Refrain from using overhead lights at entrances and exits. Overhead light covers the intruder’s face with shadow. The proper positioning is to lower it to about eye level with the lights on each side of the door.
- Make use of photocell combination and motion-censored devices for energy efficiency. With this device, the lights would only turn on when there is an intruder in your home. It will also let you know when someone is at your door.
- Two lights should be placed on both sides of the main entry to your home. This comes with some advantages such as assisting homeowners to locate the keys and helping them to identify people better when looking through the peephole.
Outdoor Security Lighting – Maintenance
Once you have successfully installed your outdoor security lights, the next logical step is to ensure it is working properly by taking care of your landscape lighting fixtures. Below are some maintenance tips:
- Cut or trim tree branches to prevent obstruction of the light.
- Prune shrubs as well as bushes that are near to the doors or windows.
- Ensure that burned-out bulbs/lamps are replaced.
- Ensure that damaged light fixtures are replaced.
- Use mild soap and a soft cloth to clean dirty lenses.
