Burglars tend to operate on an opportunist basis. They’re likely to target a specific street, firstly because it might offer them an easier and quicker escape route to a nearby main road or motorway, whereby they can get away from the scene of the crime as far as they can in the quickest amount of time, and where the volume of traffic may make them more inconspicuous.
However, in terms of picking on a particular house in the area they’ve targeted, they’re more likely to pick on those where their movements are less easily detected and where they feel that the house is going to be unoccupied at the time of entry. Ease of access such as no fences or gates and any open windows are always going to be viewed positively by an intruder but a major deterrent to you becoming a victim of burglary is to install some kind of home security lighting system.
Consider Your Neighbours
Before you consider which type of security lighting to install, it’s important that it doesn’t cause a nuisance to nearby neighbours. It should only provide a sufficient level of illumination necessary to protect your own property and not to shine on all the other houses nearby.
Security Lighting In General
There are many different types of security lighting systems available, The most commonly used types are porch/bulkhead lights and the more powerful tungsten halogen floodlights. They work by being activated by passive infra-red movement detectors, more commonly referred to as PIR sensors.
Porch/Bulkhead Lights
These are one of the more energy efficient forms of security lighting system which simply use a fluorescent lamp of 9/11 watts and this can be left on throughout the night and won’t cost more than a few pounds a year to run. They can be switched on manually or automatically using a dusk till dawn sensor, movement detector or even a set of infra-red beams
Tungsten Halogen Floodlights
These are the most popular types of security lighting systems in the UK and provide the brightest and most sophisticated illumination. However, it needs to be installed correctly to prevent problems arising from the beam of light encroaching onto nearby roads which could cause problems for motorists.
Security Lighting Systems
These systems are far more advanced than the others, These types of system incorporate movement detectors, halogen flood lights and a command center, movement detectors are set up around your property at strategic positions, when these detectors trigger they send a signal to the command center, you will then hear an audible buzzer to inform you of the detection and the flood lights will be turned on, These systems can be adapted to work along side cctv systems, electronic gates and perimeter detection systems