How to Design Landscape Lighting for Increased Security

Intuitively we know that a well-lit place is safer than a dark one. However, we don’t want the outside of our homes to look like Fremont Street in Las Vegas. It might be safer overall, but no one really wants their house to be like a beacon in the dark. In some communities, dark sky ordinances will also limit how brightly you can light your outdoor areas.

Landscape lighting design may have several objectives. You want certain outdoor areas to be usable with attractive lighting. You may have entries, paths, and driveways that you want to be illuminated for safety. And you may want lighting that adds aesthetic appeal to the exterior of your home and property. 

These objectives don’t have to be at odds with each other. In this blog, we’ll focus on safety and some ways to think about it. Keep reading for ideas on using landscape and outdoor lighting for a safer property in Brookhaven, GA.

SEE ALSO: What Makes Coastal Source the Premier Landscape Lighting System?

Lighting for Deterrence

If you are away from home often (we realize that travel is limited now, but that will change), you may be concerned about burglary, vandalism, or other things that may happen in a property that looks unoccupied. While we’ve discussed indoor lighting control solutions that address this, well-lit outdoor areas can be the first line of defense against an intruder targeting your property or another one.

If you don’t want to flood your outdoors with light the minute the sun disappears over the horizon, there are smart options you can employ. Many people are leaving packages outside the house longer given concerns about the COVID-19 virus. If you worry about porch pirates, a motion sensor or smart camera can trigger outside lights to come on if any movement is detected. And if you use security cameras in this approach, triggering light and recording will yield a clearer image of the perpetrator rather than relying on camera night vision.

Public vs. Private Areas

Think of your property in a different way. Of course, all of your property is your private space, but the front is an area where you will have visitors, deliveries, and more visibility to the public. Your back patios, gardens, backyard, and more are private areas where you don’t expect anyone but you and your family to be. Your landscape lighting strategy should be different for each area.

In the front, you may have driveway, path, and entry lighting for safety. You may also want "moonlight" downlighting on trees to light the perimeter of your property. Depending on your desires, they can go on at sunset and off at sunrise, managed by a lighting control solution. For some of them, you may want only motion sensors to trigger them. Depending on practices in your neighborhood, you may want most of those lights off by 2 AM if you are home.

In the back and sides of your property, you may have different lights. Some will light automatically for both safety and aesthetics. But you may want all your back lights off except for an entry light, and you may have floodlights to light the back with motion-sensing but only during certain hours of the night. A smart lighting solution can easily segment and orchestrate your outdoor lighting and integrate sensors, schedules, and automation rules to set your landscape lighting to your preferences.

GHT Group works with top brands like Coastal Source, Lutron, and others to offer the best landscape lighting solutions for the metro Atlanta area.  Please visit our Marietta showroom, call us at (770) 955-8909, or click the button below to connect with us right away - we look forward to showing you all the options.