Taking steps to keep your home safe and secure is essential here in Glendale, AZ. For some homeowners, this involves installing a high-end security system. However, there’s no better way to keep your home secure than to make it a less appealing target. One of the best ways to do that is to install plenty of lighting outside your home. That makes it much harder for anyone to approach your home unobserved at night.
Enhancing your home’s security doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, it can make your daily life easier. Adequate outdoor lighting not only deters potential intruders but also provides you with better visibility when you come and go at night. Here’s a guide to installing outdoor lighting options that are both effective and easy to use, giving you control over your home’s security.
Replace Existing Outdoor Fixtures
If your home is like most, it probably already has some exterior lighting fixtures. However, your preexisting exterior lighting may not do enough to help keep your home secure. For instance, it may be too dim to provide adequate visibility. Or, it may not have sufficient range, leaving shadowy gaps around your property. The good news is that you can replace existing fixtures with various security-focused exterior lighting fixtures.
In many instances, replacing an outdoor fixture is simple. All you have to do is turn off the power to the fixture, disassemble it, and remove it. Then, simply install your new fixture in its place. Since most outdoor fixtures share a similar form factor, you shouldn’t need to modify anything. However, performing such a replacement can get tricky with hard-to-reach fixtures. In those cases, you’re better off calling Christian Brothers Air Conditioning Plumbing Electrical and leaving it to us.
If you want to replace your outdoor fixtures with more appropriate ones, you can choose from the following types:
Motion-Activated Lights
Motion-activated lights come in assorted wattages and work well for securing your home’s perimeter. Most feature bright floodlights that automatically turn on when there’s motion in their field of view and remain on for a preset time. Such lights are perfect for parts of your home’s exterior that don’t need full-time lighting. Many motion-activated lights also feature selectable sensitivity settings. That means you can tune them to ignore things like pets and small animals, making them ideal for security.
Timed Security Lights
Timed security lights are another excellent lighting option for securing the outside of your home. You can program these lights to turn on and off at predetermined daily hours. Timed lights come in a variety of form factors. Some timed lights feature stylish housings and use standard CFL or LED bulbs. Others feature amiable floodlights with high-wattage LEDs or halogen bulbs for maximum coverage. You can mix and match timed security lights to light as much or as little of your home’s exterior as you wish. And, unlike motion-activated lights, they guarantee that your home’s exterior remains lit all night, every night.
Standard Floodlights
Standard floodlights are the most basic type of security lighting you can replace your exterior fixtures with. They feature amiable, bright lights that can cover darkened parts of your property. However, they have no automation features, and you must turn them on and off by hand. These light types offer great value and can work well to light less-critical areas of your home. For example, you could use them around a freestanding garage where all-night lighting isn’t essential.
Add Low-Voltage Landscape Lighting
Another option to add outdoor lighting to enhance your home’s security is low-voltage outdoor lighting. Low-voltage outdoor lighting includes pathway and garden lighting. Low-voltage landscape lighting comes in a variety of styles and designs and can also enhance your home’s curb appeal. You can use it to accent parts of your property at night and to improve visibility around your home’s perimeter. Plus, low-voltage landscape lighting is safe and easy to install.
To install low-voltage landscape lighting, first choose the type and number of lights you want. Then, add up the total wattage of those fixtures. This will help you select a transformer with enough power to run them all. Most transformers can plug into an existing outdoor outlet. You can mount your chosen transformer near one to make things easier.
Next, you must run the appropriate 10—or 12-gauge wire for your lighting. You should design a path from the transformer to the fixtures with room for a three-inch-deep trench. A three-inch-deep trench will let you bury the wires to keep them safe and preserve your home’s visual appeal. Of course, Christian Brothers Air Conditioning Plumbing Electrical can handle the whole process for you. That way, you can be confident your low-voltage lights work how you want them to and aren’t an eyesore.
Add New Outdoor Light Fixtures
Unfortunately, not every home has enough preexisting outdoor fixtures to light its perimeter. In those cases, you may need to add new fixtures to get the lighting coverage you want. Unfortunately, this isn’t something you can do yourself. You’ll need one of our electricians to run new wiring and add new lighting fixtures outside your home.
After determining where you need new outdoor fixtures, our electrician will choose the best way to wire them. In some cases, adding new fixtures to the same circuit that powers your existing ones is possible. However, sometimes, homes feature outdoor fixtures that share a circuit with other parts of the house. In that case, you could need a whole new circuit installed to power your new lights.
To install a new circuit, our electrician will first make sure that your home’s electrical panel has room for one. That means it must either have a space for a circuit breaker or a circuit to replace with a double-breaker. They will also ensure your home has sufficient electrical service to support your new outdoor fixtures. If not, they’ll let you know and work out a plan for a service upgrade before installing the lights.
Lighting Surrounding Important Features
When it comes to outdoor light, it’s not just about lighting up pathways, entryways, garage doors, porches, and side gates. Other places in your yard need to be lit up too. For instance, if you have a pool, it’s important to make sure there’s enough light around it to prevent anyone from accidentally falling in. On the other hand, if there’s some undeveloped land behind your backyard fence, it wouldn’t hurt to install some lights there to keep any unwanted visitors away.
The Local Outdoor Security Lighting Specialists
Since 1976, Christian Brothers Air Conditioning Plumbing Electrical has been a trusted provider of quality residential electrical services to residents in and around Glendale. Our expertise includes installing outdoor lighting fixtures that enhance your home’s security. We’re HomeAdvisor screened and approved and a recipient of multiple The Glendale Star Best Of Glendale awards. Plus, we’re Better Business Bureau accredited with an A+ rating. You can always trust us to deliver quality work and excellent customer service. Those are why we have so many five-star customer reviews from homeowners like you.
So, if you’re ready to improve your home’s security with outdoor lighting, call Christian Brothers Air Conditioning Plumbing Electrical, and our experts will happily assist you.
