Everyone wants their home to be secure. It’s the reason we lock our doors and install burglar alarms. But when it comes to deterring would-be intruders, something as simple as a security light can be remarkably effective. Of course, security lighting can’t guarantee crime prevention but it’s a low-cost way to make a burglar back off and think twice.
Here are 5 tips to consider for buying security flood lights.
1.Light Function
Nowadays, there are quite large and expanding specifications for house -owner to choose when installing outdoor security lighting.For outside led security flood lights, there are normal flood light, motion sensor outdoor wall light, solar powered exterior led security light fixture. We recommend using motion sensor outdoor wall lights or solar powered led outdoor lighting that are hardwired into your home. Overcast, snow, rain, and a variety of other factors can make them intermittent at best. In addition, when they begin to lose their charge their output will suffer. Conversely, hardwired LEDs should last you quite a long time, but be certain to ask about whether their bulbs are replaceable if you need to swap them out. If the manufacturer does not have replaceable bulbs then it’s good to know what their warranty is and what their claim process is like.
2.Brightness
LED lights are already featured with higher number of lumens which determine their brightness.You’ll be presented with other options, such as selecting what lumen output , which are relatively benign and matter of personal preference. That said, we do want to recommend something specific and that is the Kelvin scale for outdoor use.
For outdoor and nighttime needs, you need to begin at 4,000 Kelvin. 4,000 Kelvin is the equivalent to a full moon, which is optimal for our eyes to focus and assess their surroundings at night. As you can see in the image below, the Kelvin Scale goes up to 10,000, but after 5,000 it just becomes more blue.
3.Installation Location
We recommend that all outdoor led light be placed in all the high-risk areas of your home. What does that include? It varies for
each property and customer, but it’s a good rule of thumb to place lighting on each side of your house. It’s generally better to have several, lower-power lights than just one or two brighter security lights. The best place to install them is at the entrances and exits to your home – main door, side doors, back door, garden or patio entrances and so on. This doesn’t just put off would-be intruders. It also makes things much easier when it comes to unlocking your front door at night.
Lastly, some of our customers also have us install lighting on the perimeter of their backyards, which depending on your home’s location, could be a great option. For those that live around nature (dense shrubs, trees, ravines, etc.), having lights further out can alert you to when something enters your property, as opposed to when they’re already at the door.
4.Installation Height
When installing outdoor floodlights, you want to make sure they are out of reach for criminal elements to tamper with them. That doesn’t mean placing them just out of arm’s reach, as a criminal might use a stick, broom or other tool to damage your fixtures. We recommend that all lights be placed at a minimum height of 6-12’ and maximum height of about 20’. This tends to be the range where criminals have a hard time tampering with the system, but it’s also a safe range for your motion sensors to still work. Most motion sensors on exterior lights have a limit of 25’ for them to operate, so you don’t want to push that limit too aggressively. The higher up the lights are mounted the less distance they can view.
5.Installation Method
If you’re just replacing an existing security light with a new one, installation is simply. But remember that each manufacturer has a few different details so it’s important to read the installation instructions carefully before you get started. And make sure you switch off the power to the existing fixture before you remove it.
When installing a new outdoor led flood light fixture, it will get more complicated. Outdoor electrical lines must be encased in approved conduit and waterproof electrical boxes. For security reasons it’s also important to use conduit and junction box, and it is better to bury wiring underground.
