Having the right kind of security lights guarantees you tons of perks & benefits. So, here’s what you can do to avoid making other people’s mistakes?

Having Trouble with Your Security LED Lights? You Are Probably Doing It Wrong!

In many ways than one, most of the problems we often face with outdoor security are as a result of our lack of knowledge on the matter. Ask yourself, “What’s the most important part of your home’s exterior security?”

If your first answer is lighting, you are on point. Fences can be jumped over and gates can be breached easily. But, it takes a lot of effort disabling a well-placed security light without raising the alarm. So, how is your lighting situation? What measures have you taken to ensure that your security LED lights function efficiently and optimally?

Well, that’s what you are here to find out. In this post, I’ll walk you through:

• What security lighting is?
• Some of the biggest mistakes people often make when dealing with security lighting and how to avoid such blunders.
• A few expert tips on planning and installation.
• And so much more.

Are you ready? If so, let’s get down to it…

What Is A Security Light?

Before I get into the nitty-gritty details about these lights, you must first understand what they are. In the simplest of terms, a security light is any fixture that’s used to illuminate outdoors at night. Proper exterior illumination means that you’ll have a clear and detailed view of your property’s surrounding regardless of the time, weather conditions, or even the size of your property.

That way, if there’s an intruder/thief/burglar/Vandal, you’ll be able to see them early and take necessary action to protect yourself and your property from harm or theft. Therefore, the right kind of light guarantees a win-win outcome.

Now, security lights come in many shapes, sizes, and with different functionalities. And that can be a bit confusing for first-timers and novice users. Mainly because it’s often hard to choose one out of the thousands of different lights available. So, what do you do to avoid choosing the wrong fixture? For starters, avoid the following shopping mistakes.

5 Common Shopping Mistakes When Buying A Security Light

1. Failing to Consider Its Purpose

Always ask yourself these questions; why are you buying the security light and where do you intend on using it? The purpose of a light fixture always determines what you should buy. For example, the light you buy for your gate/fence will differ from the one you place at your doorstep.

Therefore, the light’s purpose matters. Each security light is often tailored to suit its intended purpose. How? Well, these lights will come with different IP (Ingress Protection) Ratings, luminous efficacies, color temperatures, and so on. Getting either one of these qualities wrong can lead to security inefficiencies and premature fixture failures.

You don’t want that, do you?

2. Buying the Wrong Type of Security Lights

There are three general types of outdoor lighting fixtures e.g.:

• Continuous Lighting: These are lights that are kept on throughout the night. Most traditional lights like incandescent, fluorescent, and HID bulbs are continuous light fixtures. The downside to having these fixtures is the fact that they use a lot of power and last relatively shorter than motion sensor security LED lights. Your best option here would be to look for LEDs due to their numerous benefits, durability, and energy-efficiency.
• Emergency Lighting: They are also known as motion detection outdoor lighting fixtures. Basically, these lights turn ON as soon as motion is detected outside. And that means that you get to save a lot on energy consumption. Plus, they are very effective at deterring intruders from accessing your property.
• Standby/Backup Lighting: These are lights used as a backup whenever there is a malfunction or failure on any of the other lights. Standby lighting systems usually get power from an emergency backup generator.

Now, buying the wrong type of fixture can lead to several downturns including:

• High operational costs,
• Increased maintenance needs,
• Frequent replacements,
• Unexpected security loopholes, and so on.

3. Failing to Get the Right Features and Functionalities

What are the best features of an outdoor security light? You need to understand that features and functionalities play a very important role in the practicality of your fixture; while also contributing to your overall experience using the fixture.

Nowadays, there are tons of features you can choose from. For example, modern lights – mostly LEDs – come with functions like:

• Motion detection.
• Color and light temperature manipulation.
• High IP ratings.
• Dusk to dawn/photocell sensors.
• Camera and video footage recording.
• Wireless network connectivity.
• Mobile/remote access.
• Voice activation and recording.
• Playback speakers and so on.

Impressive, right? That’s what you get from most smart security LED lights. So, when buying an outdoor light fixture, always go for the one with the most features and functionalities.

4. Poor/No Planning

Like all things, security lighting requires proper planning. It’s not something you wake up and decide to do. Simply put; planning ensures that you buy the right fixtures, have enough of them to cover every inch of your property, and place each in a strategic position. That way you get to enjoy optimal performance and highly efficient lighting.

So, make sure you plan your layout, determine what fixtures go where, as well as calculate how much your lighting load will be. In doing so, you’ll have an idea of what you need to buy when you go shopping.

5. Falling For Exaggerated Promos and Adverts

Lastly, you need to be very cautious about promos and adverts. And don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying that all ads and promos are fake. However, you need to accept the fact that not all of them are legit or offer what they sell. So, before you make a bulk order, you have to first ensure that you’ll get what you’ve been promised. How?

Well, this means looking into the reviews and ratings posted by other customers and users of the product. Basically, the key to getting a clearer and better understanding of a product is by knowing how other users found it after use. This will help you answer questions like:

• Was it as advertised?
• What downside should you know about?
• Are there any hidden features you should know of?

You get the point, right?

Now, before I wrap up this post, here are a few expert tips on how to plan and install your outdoor lighting.

How to Plan & Install Security LED Lights

Step 1: Choose Ideal Locations and Spots to Place Each Fixture

The first and most important step in planning is to choose a suitable location to install your LED security lights. Make sure the spots you have chosen allow for even, unobstructed, and clear distribution of light.

This means choosing places that are elevated, away for trees, and strategically covering high-risk areas of your property; these include fences, gates, windows, doors, and walkways.

Once you’ve decided on the locations, you’ll know how many fixtures you need and what kind to get.

Step 2: Remove the Current or Existing Lighting

Once you’ve bought your new LED security lights and determined where you want to place them, the next step would be to prepare your property for a fresh installation. Basically, this entails removing any unnecessary parts of your current lighting systems.

Things like wiring and switches can be reused. And if you are going for retrofit LEDs, your current fittings may also prove useful. If not, remove them all so that you can create room for your new installation.

Switch off the power and make sure you unscrew and remove the current lighting carefully because they are often fragile to avoid breaking them.

Step 3: Install Your Exterior Security LED Lighting

Gather all the tools you’ll need for the job and read through the installation manual provided with your new lighting systems. Also, ensure that you’ve completed all preparations.

Once all that is done, the only thing left is to install your lighting fixtures.

Pro tip:

If you aren’t 100% sure about your skills or are having trouble installing your fixtures, consider hiring a professional to do it for you. I’ve always found that it is way cheaper to hire an expert than it is to buy new fixtures or remedy issues cause by flawed installations.

Get it?

Step 4: Test You New Security Light System

Yes! You have to test your installation before you can call it successful. But first, double-check everything to clear any mistakes and ensure that everything is as it should be. And once that’s done, you can now turn ON your security lights and test them to ensure that all their features and functions and up and running.

And that’s it, you’re all set to begin your upgrade plans.

Conclusion…

Improving or upgrading your outdoor security light system is the best and most reliable way to keep your property safe. Not to mention, it helps to deter intruders from breaking into your home and business even when you are away. Simply put, modern LED security lighting offers you everything you need to keep you and your property safe and secure.

About the Author

Nat Huang is the Chief Marketing Officer for ShineLong, a Chinese manufacturer that specializes in providing LED Triproof lights and commercial lighting solutions to its global customer base through an official website. Follow him on Twitter @imrNat.

 

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