The importance of security lighting cannot be overstated as it goes a long way in ensuring your home and family’s safety through crime prevention. However, too much and you’ll create ugly glare inside and out (and start looking for the warden!). Too little, and your neighbors might start describing your house as “the creepy one”.
So what is the proper way of going about security lights?
Many are of the thinking that the brighter the lights, the better. They assume since darkness attracts unwanted visitors, then a super bright light should serve as a deterrent (it might, but only to your friends who don’t wanted to be blinded by your “security” lights). An overly illuminated landscape makes living inside and outside your home uncomfortable, by creating glare. Additionally, most of that super-bright lighting comes from the flood lights on the corners (especially the one on the garage). So certain areas are brightly lit, while others are dark and provide great hiding places for criminals. Also, do I leave the lights on all the time? That’s a waste and you’ll be changing bulbs frequently. Do I leave them on all night? Will I remember to turn them off and on each day? If not, that defeats the purpose. What about motion detectors? That’s a great idea, right? Unfortunately, it is tough to get the motion detector to the right level of sensitivity so as to catch movement, but not be on so much and so brightly that your neighbors avoid looking at your house and your bulbs burn out frequently. Conversely, under-lighting of property to conserve energy is as good as having no fixtures installed since movement on your property would not be detectable, and the shadows cast can often make a house look a bit creepy.
In order to ensure the proper illumination of your home or property to deter unwanted visitors, there is the need for a balanced lighting scheme around your house and property. This lighting scheme can be achieved by proper lighting of all dark areas, which removes potential hiding places in your yard. Down lighting from trees, uplighting and accent lighting for the landscape around your property as well as some well installed area and path fixtures are some of the options available to you. The lights should be just bright enough to detect any movement or motion on your property and a little bit brighter at the entrances to your home. This lighting scheme allows the lights to spread in a gentle manner over your landscape thereby eliminating all potential hiding places, including the ones unknown to you. In addition to keeping you safe, landscape lighting adds beauty and value to your home.
Your professional landscape lighting technician has the knowledge, the training and the experience to perfectly light your home because security lighting done right isn’t ugly—it’s beautiful.
Located in Summerfield, NC Southern Lights- Architectural and Landscape Lighting serves properties and property management companies throughout the state of NC including Greensboro, High Point, Jamestown, Burlington, Reidsville, Oak Ridge, Brown Summit, Winston-Salem, Clemmons, Raleigh, Charlotte, Kannapolis, Salisbury, Gastonia, Matthews, etc.
Southern Lights has installed hundreds of outdoor landscape lighting systems and carries more certifications than anyone in the state. We specialize in lighting designs and service everything we install as well as lighting systems installed by others. With attention to detail and a solid knowledge of design, Southern Lights is the leading outdoor landscape lighting firm in the state of NC and beyond. See why our clients choose us. Contact us today by web (online form) or phone 336-451-4969.
