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Security Lighting

Home security is an increasing concern for Australian homeowners who wish to keep their property and family safe. Security lighting is a cheap and effective way to help protect your property against intruders. It is also one of the easiest steps that you can take. With many home insurance companies now requiring homeowners to have some form of home protection in order to fulfill insurance requirements, speaking to an electrician, lighting or security professional will ensure that you get the right lighting for your needs.

Choosing the Right Lights

For energy efficiency, do not leave your lights on all night or during the day. Have a timer switch installed or install a sensor. Sensor lights can be wired into the main electricity supply by a licensed electrician. Sensors are not the only tool for controlling lights automatically. Also consider using timers or daylight controls. Timers have the advantage of being able to be set to turn on and off at unusual hours, suggesting to would be intruders that someone is home to control the lights. Of course, timers can be used inside the home as well as outside and are particularly useful for simulating that you are at home. For added protection, fit a timer to your television or radio as well.

Infra red security lights are also an option. There are also lighting systems available that will gradually adjust the brightness of the outside lights as the sun sets – very high tech! Consider using fluorescent bulbs in your security lights as they are far more cost effective to run over time. You could even use solar powered security lights – they are extremely cheap and easy to install and use.

Protect the Power Supply

However, it is important that your power supply is well-protected so that a potential intruder cannot simply shut the power off, thereby extinguishing the lights. This problem is easily rectified by installing a lock on your meter box that only you and the electricity company have keys to. Also check if you can have a viewing window installed.

Installing Security Lights

Make sure that the security lights and sensors are installed in places that are hard to reach, so that potential intruders cannot easily disable them. Also make sure that the lights are in places where pets, moving tree branches etc cannot set them off easily.

A professional will be able to determine the best placement for security lights to ensure that the perimeter of the home is adequately lit. They will also be able to install and program timers and daylight controls.

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