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At present I don't turn on bright exterior lights because of the electric bill.
BUT - - this thread has caused me to re-think my position on this. Apparently bright, solar powered, motion detecting floodlights are available. I am looking into them right now and if they seem to be reasonably practical solution, I plan to have some installed.
The problem with solar powered lights is they only work during the day. Unless you're talking about battery powered lights with a solar charger - in which case you've added 2 additional power systems, solar cells and a battery, which is totally unnecessary and hardly practical if you have electrical service. A motion sensor controlling LED light bulbs don't use enough electricity to justify adding in the complexity of solar cells and batteries, neither of which are going to have much of a service life if they cost anywhere near what you'd pay for a regular electric powered motion sensor light.
This topic made me laugh as I recall in my youth telling my dad that the same lighting routine every time we went away (family vacation / trip of some type) was like advertising the "Smith's" are not home!
Motion sensors attached to lighting and coupled with other things like sprinkler systems or an audio track of something scary (growling dogs starting out to get louder and then barking) would be more effective for personal single family residential.
Properly placed lighting can be helpful but someone with bad intent will generally know how to avoid / shield / disguise. As the 1st link mentions, most criminal activity occurs during daylight.
When done properly, placement of lighting can be effective in certain types of multi family residential or commercial. For example, a parking garage with full lighting and transparency into the stairwell from exterior is common practice now to alleviate dark enclosed spaces for traffic which can be used as secluded choke point to isolate a human target.
In general, if someone has criminal intent they will case a place and lighting tends to make this easier by illuminating the 'target' especially when it is poorly done causing glare that can obstruct witnesses vision (see 2nd link). One thing darkness does is equalize surprise element to a potential criminal sort of like not knowing if someone else may be there (sort of akin to not advertising a facility as gun free which emboldens criminals) i.e. fishing in a barrel. Perhaps a good amount of criminals are simply scared of the dark?
Light sensors, timers and motion detectors are what I use.
All with LED bulbs so the energy use is minimal. For the most part, the only light that stays on is the driveway light near the street. It's a low wattage bulb, so not that bright at all.
Porch lights are on timers to come on when it gets dark and go off around bedtime.
We have LED motion lighting over our front door that comes on and stays on for 20 seconds whenever someone is within 60 feet of the door. We installed it due to our Christmas display getting vandalized two years running. We added security cameras two years ago, and motion lighting this year when the teenage girls who vandalized our yard were "in the shade" of the camera's infrared vision. We added motion lighting so that anyone entering our yard would immediate get lit up and be 100% visible on our cameras, which record all the movement as well.
To deter car break-ins, we park our cars in the garage at all times.
A study in England and a study in Chicago do not speak for the rest of the world! Also has this study been cross checked. There are studies all the time that when re done or examined closely were proven to be false or been done with poor scientific standards. I think the real argument in this post is that the dreamers who want to stare at the stars are upset about the light polution that security lights represent. If you wish to have a nice view of the night sky then move to the middle of nowhere. Honestly, living around others and complaining about lighting is like living near the airport and complaining about aircraft noise! And to the poster who implied, through her reference to Zues, that I like to believe in things that are not real because of my faith in security lighting......please! That is very insulting. I will not return the favor by trying to insult your intellect!
Yes, the studies have been cross-checked, and in real life circumstances, too. And I just gave a couple of examples, which does not mean, no matter how hard you wish for it, that there are not many, many others.
There's a wikipedia article on light pollution with a bibliography at the bottom with links to articles and studies on light pollution, 92 of them, and then another few dozen links to information on the topic below those. That would be a good place to start, thought International Dark Sky Society mentioned earlier might be a better place because they have information on how to have light without polluting. That you are afraid of the dark does not mean that light pollution does not exist, has not been studied, and is not a very real problem for our planet.
I live out in the sticks on a hill, surrounded by several thousand acres of timber on on side, and other large properties on the other sides. I live at the end of the road.
I have a big light on top of the garage that lights up our whole compound at night, and I love it. I just sometimes wish it was brighter... like those cold clear nights when the moon lights everything up even brighter all around and I say "man, I want a light like that!"
I am not afraid of any one thing, but I like being able to look out my windows at night and see what is happening. If I hear something... if I don't hear something. I can look out and see man, dog, livestock, cougar, rain, snow, wind, whatever, I just like to see what's happening. I don't like motion lights as the primary light, but we do have a few here and there in walk-paths between here and the barn. The prior owner put them in. I probably would rather have them stay on.
And on our stormy nights in winter when our power goes out, I find a lot of comfort in looking for the glow of the towns to our south and north. It's not light pollution to me, it's a reminder that society is still there. If they still have power, then it's not too bad. If they're dark too, well, then we're probably going to be out for awhile. Might as well break out the generator...
My lights don't bother anyone, and I like them. That's why.
Last edited by Diana Holbrook; 02-29-2016 at 09:32 AM..
The problem with solar powered lights is they only work during the day. Unless you're talking about battery powered lights with a solar charger - in which case you've added 2 additional power systems, solar cells and a battery, which is totally unnecessary and hardly practical if you have electrical service. A motion sensor controlling LED light bulbs don't use enough electricity to justify adding in the complexity of solar cells and batteries, neither of which are going to have much of a service life if they cost anywhere near what you'd pay for a regular electric powered motion sensor light.
LOL! This is about the funniest description of solar powered lights I've ever seen. Obviously they have self-contained batteries and TURN ON IN THE DARK! And a good one costs all of $20, maybe $30. The solar panel and batteries are built into the unit. It doesn't take a powerful solar panel or a big battery to power a bright light that is only activated by motion- it probably runs a total of 20 minutes per night.
I suppose you've never had to run wires in your house before- you could hardwire a motion sensing light and either (a) call an electrician and pay hundreds, or (b) run the wires yourself and spend hours doing it right. Or, you can use a solar powered motion light and use anywhere from 2 to 4 screws and you're done.
I just want to voice a vote that "Security" lights are are a source of light pollution and a waste of energy. Fortunately I have had reasonable neighbors (a good distance away) install yard lights that were blinding car traffic and were willing to change the style to help alleviate the concerns of others who had to pass by their location. Those of us that moved from a metro area to get away from all forms of pollution sure don't appreciate those that move in and want to bring the city stuff with.
The night sky deterioration is noticeable here in the past twenty five years with the expansion of an industrial complex and several box stores six or more miles away.
I consider a porch light left on an announcement to all the bad guys: someone will be coming home late tonight! I have no problem finding the lock with my key in the dark; some key chains even come with a little light attached.
The "common sense" approach is to use motion detectors so that an area lights up only when an intruder, human or otherwise, is present. It's pretty difficult to be able to tell when an intruder arrives if lights are on all the time. Plus, it's wasteful to continually keep lights on.
my belief is that a burglar does not instantly select a random house to hit
they drive by a few times and "case it" a bit
they reject the ones that:
1- are well lit
2- have cameras
3- have Dogs
4- appear secure
while motion detection lights are preferred by people concerned about energy use, environmental causes and light pollution....... I suspect full time lighting is more effective
Cost?: with the new curly florescent bulbs, we are probably talking pennies a day
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Might as well break out the generator...
