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I bought a small 1960 rancher two years ago. It had double motion-detector lights installed at both back corners of the eaves, but they were not working when I moved in. I had an electrician come out, and he had to replace the north side fixture, but just put new bulbs in the south. I did not think the lights would bother my neighbor, as only one small window in a small back bedroom faced the light, she lives alone, and neither light was pointed toward the window anyway.
Turns out that's the bedroom she sleeps in, even though it's not considered the "master". And the light ends up staying on once it's activated, instead of just going on and off with motion. She came over and complained about the light bothering her when she's trying to sleep. It even filters through the holes in the venetian blinds. Soooo, I ended up shutting off the lights around 11 PM.
A few months later, the house next-door (on the other side) was broken into. The burglar brazenly broke in through a basement window while the neighbor was home and his car was sitting in the driveway. The neighbor apparently scared the burglar away before he/she got in. I talked to the police and they asked me if I saw anything. I mentioned the lights were off due to the neighbor's complaints, and they told me to keep them on despite what any neighbor says.
So now, on the south side, I have a 45W spot pointed downward toward the back door, and a 60W flood pointed downward toward the driveway and basement windows on the side of the house. (I tried to get a spot so the light would be more contained, but they're hard to find in higher wattages.) The lights still basically stay on all night. It's an old fixture, but I don't want to pay to have it replaced. I actually kind of like the fact it stays on -- it makes me feel more secure. But I still feel bad about the neighbor.
On the other hand, I feel like I have the right to keep my house secure, especially after the break-in, and my neighbor could get a blackout shade if she has a problem sleeping. In fact, she should appreciate the fact that there IS some lighting in that dark corner of both our homes. And I don't feel I should have to spend hundreds of dollars on an electrician because she chose to sleep in that bedroom. Anyway, anyone have any thoughts? Do you think I'm being an uncooperative neighbor?
I hear your pain! The fact is that most "buy it at the big box store security lights" are pretty junky. They do spill a huge amount of light onto neighbors. They probably do NOT scare off many bad guys.
Better options: more ground mounted lights that illuminate the perimeter of your home and any landscaping that otherwise gives bad guys a place to hide. If you can't afford that all at once you can do it piece-by-piece. You can also try to get assitance from power company and police,sometimes they cooperate on running discount programs.
You might find this interesting and useful. Light pollution (both of the night skies, and of our neighbors' bedrooms) is a real problem these days, but there are ways to avoid it.
I'm sorry but flood lights actually create shadows for burglars to hide. When your lights go on, your neighbors can't see your house because the lights blind them. They are really pointless for security purposes. We only use them for being able to see our dogs while they are out doing their business at night. We disconnected the motion detector. We only flip them on and off when we take the dogs out, and of course, we're not taking the dogs out while other people are sleeping because we are sleeping too.
Well, the lights were already there, so the guy who lived here 40 years before me had them installed -- I am just using what was there. I didn't ask the neighbor whether they bothered her before or maybe the previous owner had just let the bulbs burn out. I am not financially able to spend hundreds of dollars on changing the fixture, much less doing elaborate security lighting.
The flood light that is illuminating the side of the house/basement windows/driveway is definitely an improvement. Previously, that side of the house was completely dark, and I would be nervous when pulling my car in the driveway (about tripping or slipping on black ice). It is only 60W so it is hardly blindingly bright, but it does light up the driveway area where the windows are.
I am not financially able to spend hundreds of dollars on changing the fixture, much less doing elaborate security lighting.
You don't need to spend thousands of dollars. Just installing those solar lights that you stick into the ground would make a difference.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Avalon08
The flood light that is illuminating the side of the house/basement windows/driveway is definitely an improvement. Previously, that side of the house was completely dark, and I would be nervous when pulling my car in the driveway (about tripping or slipping on black ice). It is only 60W so it is hardly blindingly bright, but it does light up the driveway area where the windows are.
Trust me. When your neighbors look at your dark house, they can see movement in the dark. If there is light shining towards their house, even 60W, they can't see past the light and into the shadows.
The inexpensive solar lights that you stick into the ground will light up your driveway and walkways to make it easier to walk.
You need to consider that when lights are on all the time, people tend to stop looking where they are. However, if your light fixture is one that only comes on when there's movement, and goes off after a while, THAT draws attention that burglars and other miscreants don't like.
Your light is trespassing into your neighbor's house, into her bedroom where she is trying to sleep. Therefore, you're the one causing the problem. Light fixtures do not have to cost "hundreds of dollars"; there is surely a solution that will allow you to have light to see to walk in the driveway when you arrive without shining into your neighbor's bedroom. For example, you can get very inexpensive solar lights that charge during the day and light at night to line your walkway so that you can see to walk but it's not glaring into her bedroom. That's only one solution; a quick google of motion sensitive lights turns up a wide array of lights from $13.00 to about $70.00. Since you already have a light in place, there would be no expensive wiring involved if you replace it with something that actually works and that, perhaps, is shielded or aimed so that it doesn't shine into your neighbor's window, and the cost of the light itself is minimal.
Pictures of solar landscaping lights, See how it lights up your walkways and house when pointing towards the house and sidewalks?
Pictures of a house with a light shining outward away from the house, even a 60W. See how that doesn't help with security of your house?
If you can't afford to make changes, you need to change the direction of the light shining. It should shine downward, not outward. If you can't move it to shine downward, you can buy a shield to direct the light downward.
However, if your light fixture is one that only comes on when there's movement, and goes off after a while, THAT draws attention that burglars and other miscreants don't like.
Not really. We disconnected our motion sensors because cats, racoons, even wind (from tree movement) was setting it off. When people see them go on and off often, nobody bothers looking.
You keep saying "it's only 60W" like that's not a big deal. A 60W bare bulb is totally different from one with a lampshade inside your house. It is bright for neighbors.
If you're only trying to see for walking, you don't even need 60W. You could lower the wattage, switch to a different color lightbulb, and change the direction.
My neighbor has a bare bulb on his front porch that he leaves on every night until his wife comes home. It doesn't bother us because it's yellow. Another neighbor (who moved) used to use a white bulb and it bothered us. In addition to yellow, there are blue, red and green light bulbs too. It would be a cheap solution to your problem.
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