Lighting Your Home For Safety

Residential security has become a hot topic over the last year and we believe it will become a major priority for most Americans over the next five years. Crime rates continue to rise and at the heart of it are burglaries and home invasions. One proactive step you can take today is to improve the security lighting at all entry ways. This includes doors, windows, exhaust ducts, crawl space, etc. Lighting is a major enemy of burglars, so let it shine! Here are some simple yet effective tips to improve the security lighting in your home or business.

• Go to great efforts to provide sufficient lighting at all doors, windows, and other openings. The cover of darkness is an intruders best defense. How do you know how much lighting is sufficient. Experts say if you can read your wristwatch then your security lighting is adequate.
• Light the front of your home and work with your neighbors on both sides of the street to do the same.
• If you have streetlights make sure to maintain them and report any that are not working immediately.
• Any "shadowed" area around your home should be illuminated. These are usually areas of low light caused by trees, shrubs, or just the way your home was put together. Start with areas that cannot be seen from the street or a neighbors home; then work your way forward.
• If you are home alone at night, wait until morning to take out your trash.
• Get into the habit of turning lights on and off when you move from room to room at night. Change your pattern frequently and consistently.
• You will want to leave some lights throughout your home on all night. Remember, not the same ones every night.
• Close all blinds, drapes and shades at night. It is very easy for someone to see in at night
• Especially during the months that our clocks fall back, we find ourselves going to and from work in darkness. Make sure you leave and return to a well lit home.

These are just a few tips for making the most of your security lighting. Criminals would much rather burglarize a dark home, then one that is well illuminated. By simply letting your lights shine you are drastically increasing your home's security.