The Role of Lighting in Home Security

The Role of Lighting in Home Security

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There are many reasons to light up your home and they are far from optional. In your property, you certainly keep assets that are invaluable to you. The priority is to ensure the safety of these assets as well as that of your family.

Home security lighting reinforces the entire system put in place to keep the house safe. It restricts the movement of thieves and deters anyone who wants to cross the perimeter without permission.

Properly lit access points also allow occupants to move freely without tripping or being exposed to hazards. In addition to its reassuring and practical function, home lighting offers an infinite number of possibilities for enhancement. When it’s well thought out, it plays on the aesthetics of your home so you can get more out of it in the event of a sale.

Contact the security experts at Doors Center for the right security lighting :

What you need to know about security lighting in homes

Many homeowners neglect the brightness of their homes. However, it is an essential and complex measure that requires time and advanced knowledge of electrical installation.

What is Home Security Lighting?

Home security lighting is an essential component of perimeter security installations. The luminosity it creates around houses is the1st line of defense. In general, the lighting system for homes is a set of luminaires that are installed in sensitive compartments.

Outdoor lighting is often made up of spotlights on security walls and fences. The main goal is to ensure excellent brightness at night even in the event of a power cut or failure.

In the event of a general power cut, the safety lighting system indicates the evacuation routes. Good visual signage necessarily belongs to one of the following 3 forms of lighting:

  • that operate the property in the presence of an electrical power system;
  • replacement lighting that is powered by a replacement source to take over from the normal power source in the event of a failure;
  • emergency lighting that ensures safe visibility and facilitates the evacuation of the public.

The1st form of security lighting is the one that is put on standby while the house is in operation. It intervenes temporarily in the event of the disappearance of normal lighting and replacement. Its average duration is about an hour. The 2nd form that is placed on the outside is the most common because it offers greater visibility of everything that is happening around the house.

Plan Outdoor Lighting During Construction

Outdoor lighting is essential for the safety of any home. It should be considered with much more seriousness than other home lighting components. Ideally, during construction work, you should already identify the locations where the safety lighting components will be installed.

The socket that will be used to power the lighting is installed at the same time as the layout of the façade of the house. Good insulation is mandatory to prevent humidity and other bad weather. In the same way, by carefully planning the outdoor lighting of the garden, you can anticipate future alterations.

The Plug & Shine system allows you to channel electricity to outdoor spaces on the surface. This makes it possible to connect spotlights or other light sources in the locations of your choice. For some models of the system, you won’t even need a professional.

Automating security lighting with detection systems

Emergency lighting gains new features when combined with other devices. For example, with the twilight detector, there is no need to manually turn the lights off or on. The lights are automatically activated when it is dark.

During the day, the lamps remain idle, making it easier to save a lot on your electricity bills. Once they are on, they remain on to ensure visibility throughout the night. This system is ideal for walkways or areas that need to be illuminated continuously.

The sensors in the motion detection system are used to activate the lamps when they detect motion. You can choose to add the alarm if you are away. This system provides the necessary security in the event of a burglar. It’s also useful for getting your hands on your keys in front of the door. Its consumption is hardly noticeable on the electricity bill.

Contact the security experts at Doors Center for the right security lighting :

Major benefits of good security lighting for your home

Emergency lighting performs several essential and practical functions simultaneously. When night falls, it brings good visibility into the house to keep unwanted visitors away. Lighting key areas of the home can also have an aesthetic benefit.

Better secure your home and valuables

It is the wish of every homeowner that his precious possessions as well as his family be safe in his home. Alarms and other security systems are effective in creating a safe place. Nevertheless, a well-lit house is a greater deterrent to visits by people with bad intentions.

By illuminating your facades with professional outdoor lighting, your spaces are more visible. More visibility means high risks for the burglar. Its ability to hide around the house will be limited, as the lights expose it to the security system in place.

Residential outdoor lighting therefore allows residents to identify hazards and obstructions within the perimeter of the home. As a result, it becomes easier to anticipate threats and employ the appropriate means to defend against potential criminals.

Ensuring physical safety and optimal comfort

The security promised by home lighting doesn’t just serve to secure access. It also protects you from other potential dangers. Holes, plants, rocks, swimming pools and the like are sometimes not sufficiently lit to ward off accidents.

Illuminating these areas will not only serve to wow your guests, but also to clear views for added tranquility. Outdoor events such as parties or meetings now take place on outdoor spaces. But if your home doesn’t have adequate lighting, your guests won’t enjoy the idea of partying at night as much.

By using bollard lights to illuminate the steps and risers, you can facilitate pedestrian access to your property. In other words, you and your guests will no longer have to worry about tripping on the floor or in the aisles. Navigating your way around the house then becomes easy throughout the event.

A house with well-lit access roads is bound to give a welcoming look. With a little skill and imagination, garden lighting can be used to create the ideal feel-good atmosphere. The summer period is a good time to admire the green theatre lit up late in the evening.

An ally to improve the aesthetics of your property

To improve the exterior of homes, homeowners have several renovation options. They are often interested in adding a landscape, a driveway. Some invest in the creation of fountains to stand out from other houses.

With the installation of outdoor lighting, all your upgrades benefit from an extra value. All you have to do is project the lights on your gravel driveway to sublimate passers-by. Accompanied by regular maintenance, lighting increases your chances of making a significant profit (up to 20%) in the event of a sale.

Contact the security experts at Doors Center for the right security lighting :

Emergency lighting: location and installation

The entire lighting system consists of different lamps and luminaires of different kinds to be mounted. The illumination provided by each lamp only plays its role if it is placed in a suitable corner.

Choosing the right location for each piece of lighting

Functional luminosity is essential for safe movement. In addition to this criterion, there are reasons of comfort and, above all, protection against intrusion breaches. Your security lighting installation project is a success if it meets well-defined characteristics.

For the aesthetics of the house, you need to play with the intensity of the light. But if you’re looking to deter thieves, you should focus on:

  • lighting for the balcony, your terrace and your garden;
  • light fixtures on exterior stairs;
  • good light outside the garage;
  • outdoor house light under the roof;
  • outdoor house lamps.

The balcony, terrace and garden are outdoor corners dedicated to relaxation. That’s why it’s important to create a soft and warm atmosphere. Lighting these spaces also contributes to the defense of the home, as it indicates a possible presence of residents. Well-placed lamps in the garden make it easier to alert those around you when there is a suspicious move.

For safety reasons, it is a good idea to highlight the pillars on either side of the gate. They serve as a support for lamps that will illuminate the front of your house. It’s a way to bring safety lighting outside. However, gate lights also help occupants and neighbours locate the entrance to the house without hitting the fence.

How to successfully assemble your security lighting system?

The installation of the lighting system in houses is always safer in the hands of a professional. Before you start the assembly work, make sure you have the necessary skills to do so.

Otherwise, you need the opinion of an expert to appreciate the work. There are some factors that are essential to be aware of because they influence the effectiveness of any security lighting. These factors are:

  • lamps mounted high enough for efficient lighting;
  • dimmable illuminance;
  • uniform brightness;
  • intrusion and direct glare of light;

In more detail, there are conditions that must be met before installing a lighting device. First, avoid disturbing neighbors with lights shining on surrounding properties. Your lighting should also not flood the road with light, as it can blind drivers.

By placing the lamps high up, 2 m from the ground, you will have greater visibility. This will improve surveillance over a wider scope. Sometimes, the shadows created by the light being cast on large equipment can fool your vigilance. To counteract this, add one or two other lights.

Then remember to light all access areas first to make your night-time trips safer. When you want to start the installation, make sure to turn off the circuit breaker or turn off the main switch.

Failure to do so can result in serious injury. Finally, a security lighting system is more efficient with a motion detector and an alarm system nearby.

Contact the security experts at Doors Center for the right security lighting :

The best security lights and how they work

When it comes to home security lighting, there are already established preferences. In the lot of luminaires and lamps, there are some that are more relevant than others. For example, you will come across very economical types of lamps.

LED luminaires and solar lamps

LED or solar floodlights are the best solutions to reduce the financial burden on electricity. Their power supply requires little energy to give good lighting. Both types of lamps capture the solar energy they need to operate at night during the day. LED is more powerful than halogen bulbs and has a longer lifespan.

For your solar lamps, you won’t need a connection cable. Thus, they can be positioned independently on the terrace or in the garden. The lack of sockets in these spaces does not prevent easy installation and seamless practicality. Also, these lamps can illuminate at full power in shaded areas and without being oriented towards the sun.

Portable Lighting & Standby Lighting

In emergency lighting installations, portable stand-alone intervention lamps are recommended. They complement the stand-alone lighting units. Their lighting is often temporary. However, they have the advantage of being manual and very useful for homeowners who prefer surveillance towers at night.

Standby lighting is provided by sensors that light up in case of suspicious activity detected around the fences. There is also continuous lighting that floods corners of the house with an overlap of light cones.

Criteria or Buyer’s Guide for Emergency Lighting

The benefits you get for your property with security lighting are well known. Achieving these results is possible if you put effort and time into choosing which luminaires to use. To better sort through the countless offers on the market, certain criteria will serve as indicators.

Make a choice based on the planned location

All lamps are intended to be installed in a specific corner of the house: exterior walls, stairs, walkways, etc. If you’re looking to keep bad actors away, the first thing to think about is fencing.

The best option is to hang high-intensity projectors from it. So location is a criterion that you need to consider. By knowing the location, it is easier to buy the right fixtures.

Control features at the time of purchase.

Some outdoor lights come with innovations that make your life more convenient in their use. With a higher budget, don’t hesitate to invest in high-tech to get more orders.

For example, dark sky lighting is a new feature that minimizes glare from fixtures. This limits light pollution so that your home is safer for pedestrians and drivers.

Contact the security experts at Doors Center for the right security lighting :

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