In the United States, over 40% of burglars claim they acted on the spur of the moment with no prior planning.
Often, these criminals look for easy entrance and a lack of security posture. Home security lighting plays an important role with a layered home protection scheme. No criminal will look at a house with good, high-quality lighting and see an easy target.
So, where is the best place to put your home security lighting and why?
Transitional Spaces
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One important thing to remember is that transitional spaces are always dangerous. What is a transitional space, you may ask? It is anywhere you go from one environment to another where you may not be paying full attention.
This is why parking lots and other facilities are well-lit. This lighting discourages criminals from attacking the people using these facilities. What about in your home? What are the transitional spaces there?
Home security gates, front doors, or garage doors are transitional spaces. They are barriers against attack, but until you get within them, they are funnels. You have to remain in them while waiting for any action, such as the door opening.
In these transitional spaces, it is imperative to have home security lights. These are the spaces where a criminal is going to approach if they intend to rob you. Having lights up makes it far easier to see danger coming.
Most of the time, people who commit robbery aren’t interested in being seen. They want to take advantage of the element of surprise and get out fast. The presence of home security lighting prevents them from having this approach.
Transitional spaces can’t be dodged. You have to go through them. With the proper awareness and the help of good home security lighting, you won’t have any trouble.
Pathways and Corners
A great place to light up is pathways leading to the front door. Suppose you have shrubs, these cast natural shadows, which make for excellent hiding places. If you light up these areas, you banish those shadows and make it easy to see if anyone is hiding there.
No one is going to hide in a well-lit area. If they do, you’ll be able to see them from a long way off. This gives you more time to decide on what you’re going to do, like call the police.
Corners of a home offer a natural cover for anyone who wants to lay in wait. The reasons for this are apparent. No one can see through the wall or what’s behind the corner. A light overhead can discourage someone from lurking.
It could even alert neighbors who may call the police for you.
Even if not, you can arrange the light to cast a noticeable shadow on anyone coming around the corner. This will at least give you more warning than you would have had otherwise.
It will also make it easier to see and identify your attacker should you need to give a description to the police.
Outbuildings and Garages
Most of us feel safe going into our backyards even if they aren’t fenced. The reality of this is that not only are we not safe back there, but we are often an easy target. Even if your area has a fence, if you don’t have proper lighting, you won’t be able to see much.
Many homes block the light that would make a backyard easy to see. This provides natural camouflage for anyone who is breaking the law. Fences help. They provide a physical barrier that is only going to keep an honest person honest.
They won’t deter a real burglar.
Outbuildings also present obstacles that block light and cast shadows in a yard. It is important that you consider putting security lights for home use in every outbuilding. This can include greenhouses, lean-tos, carports, and even connected garages.
The side benefit of this is that it will be easier to see to get in or out of the area. Another threat that will get deterred by the lighting is wildlife. The last thing a person wants is to run into a skunk or other wild animal in their backyard.
If placed in the right spot, your backyard lighting will illuminate the entire area. That means anyone coming or going will be visible. This increases the chance that you will see them or anyone else with a view of the yard, like a neighbor or passing patrol officer.
Placement of Lights
One of the most important aspects of home security lighting is ensuring the lights are in the right spot. If you put them in the wrong place, they will provide extra shadows and can even cast harsh light into the home. You want to avoid that if at all possible. It’s uncomfortable and pointless.
Avoid placing lights where they have a direct line to a window. This will prevent them from blinding you inside or disrupting your sleep pattern. It is vital to remember the elevation of your land, home, windows, and lights as well.
If you place lights on poles, which is a great idea, make sure they are no higher than 5 or 6 feet. This will reduce the length of shadows produced and make the light less harsh on those inside. For surface-mounted lights, place them in areas where they will have wide coverage.
If you intend to combine your lighting with a more comprehensive alarm system, think about where the cameras are going to be. Those cameras will be aided by the lighting you put up, or it could be made ineffective.
Landscaping and Lights
Landscaping can be an unforeseen enemy when placing lights around a property. If there are changes in elevation, it can cause deep shadows to form where the lights don’t touch. Landscaping in the form of thick bushes, hedges, and trees can also obscure areas from lighting.
Make sure that if you have such areas around your home, you take note of them. You’ll want to provide ample lighting in those areas. Any area that provides a dark approach to a transitional space around your home should be dealt with.
You can combine security lights with the beauty of your home as well. This is easy to do with landscaping because your security light will illuminate the most beautiful aspects. There’s no reason to have ineffective lighting that serves only a single purpose.
Lights in the Area
If you live in a city, there’s a good chance there will be some ambient lighting already installed. For most homes, this comes in the form of street lights. Street lights can be beneficial, but only if you take note of where they shine and complement them with your security lighting.
If you live on a busy street, you may also want to pay attention to where car lights often shine in from. This can help you provide lighting without overwhelming any cameras that you may want to install. Too much light can be as bad as not having enough.
You’ll also want to pay attention to the lighting your neighbors have. Your lighting will bleed over onto their property like their light will to your property. Use what lighting they have to your advantage, highlighting the areas on the edges of your property.
What Lighting Can’t Do
Home security lighting can do a lot for you if you use it in the right place. It won’t be able to replace a home alarm system. Instead, consider lighting a valuable extra layer of protection. The best thing lighting can do is deter a criminal or give you precious seconds to decide how you want to react.
The longer you have to react, the more options you’ll have available. There are other measures you can take that will complement your lighting, like having a dog in your home. Barking combined with lights and motion lights will be a major deterrent to most burglars.
Home Security Lighting
You can increase your safety against all manner of threats by having home security lighting. Now that you know where to deploy, consider working with a professional contractor.
Security lighting is about protecting a home from burglary and providing more safety. Keep your outbuildings lit and your garage well illuminated. Keep thieves away from what you value the most.
Have your home defense system installed. Get in touch with our professionals for help with protecting your home.
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