Flood Lights as a Security Tool

It’s a well accepted fact that most robberies and crimes tend to happen during the night. Criminals quite like operating under the veil of darkness as they are easier to detect and therefore foil. A homeowner should always keep this in mind and try to ensure that gardens and house fronts are well lit. Street lighting can suffice in most circumstances, but for areas that don’t have enough light, one should consider purchasing and installing a flood light.

Different varieties of flood light exist, but the ones commonly used on domestic premises tend to be 250 or 500 watt tungsten. It’s common for a flood light to include a passive infrared (PIR) motion sensor) for the light to come on when movement is detected. Flood lights should be mounted to make sure that they shed light into areas where a robber may hide and remain undetected in normal circumstance. It is important to pay heed and attention to where a spot light may be mounted. For example, the light should never shine into neighboring homes or onto neighboring property and this may be perceived as breaching their privacy. Also, a flood light should always be pointing downwards as this max most use of the light it generates. The ideal angle for a flood light is an angle of 22 degrees. In this position it illuminates walls without blinding an observer who may not be able to witness the intrusion otherwise.

There are a few things you need to keep in mind when using a flood light. If used incorrectly they will not provide any security, but instead pose a risk to your property and your visitors. Here are some things to keep in mind:

1. Make sure the flood light is not in a position where it can distract drivers. They can be a source of accidents by temporarily blinding someone in charge of a car.
2. If a floodlight is incorrectly installed it can actually help a robber by blinding onlookers or providing shadows for criminals to hide in.
3. PIR sensors can be triggered by cats, dogs or things moving in the wind. This can cause false alarms and desensitize your neighbors to the flood light coming on.
4. A 500W flood light can be quite expensive to run (and has a large impact on the environment). Sometimes, just an ordinary 60W light bulb is enough for your needs.

Keep these points in mind when purchasing and installing a flood light as the only thing worse than no security is a false sense of security.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

K. Green is a homeowner who has recently updated security around her home and has installed a flood light, which has given her piece of mind.