Everybody wants to make their home more secure. All sorts of companies are advertising LED outdoor security lights with motion detectors and dusk to dawn settings. But with so much information out there how will you know which one is best? In order to make an informed purchase the best way to see what you want in a light is to find out:
Why do we need security lighting?
What types of lighting options are there?
What type of light source can be used?
And where would be best to install a security light?
Once somebody has the answers to all four of these big questions they are well on their way to making a well informed decision about purchasing a security light. So let's begin!
What Is The Purpose of Security Lighting?
When it comes to security lights there are two overarching purposes to buy them. Number 1 is security and Number 2 is functionality. Functionality in regards to security lighting refers to how easy it was to install and use and how much safety it provides to the home. Safety created by a security light, not to be confused with security, is about how well does it illuminate the area so that accidents are prevented. Security is the main reason people buy security lights. To have peace of mind and comfort knowing that your home is safe is what everybody wants. The main issue when buying a security light is the different lighting needed by safety and security. Safety requires vertical lighting to be pointing downwards onto a horizontal surface. For example, a stoned driveway or a poorly lit front yard with things in it can cause accidents. Also in winter when it is dark and icy, if the area is badly lit you have a much higher risk of falling over. Security illumination requires horizontal lighting that can reflect off vertical objects. Such as somebody walking towards the home is clearly illuminated so they are easily visible. This would deter any potential criminals and makes your home much safer when combined with indoor lighting as well. A motion sensor security light would be great in both of these situations as it would sense the person approaching your home and illuminate the area. So that you have prevented either falling over or deterred a trespasser.
Due to the fact that safety and security require different lighting, a compromise needs to be made. In order to meet the demands of both safety and security, a security light needs to put out a very bright wide spreading beam. Now the purpose and the type of beam has been defined it is important to check out what type of security lights are available.
What Types of Security Lights Are Available?
There is a wide range of security lighting options. In the table below you can see the main variations of security lights, their applications and how they're mounted.
Floodlights are a fantastic addition to the exterior of the home if you are looking for a wide reaching beam. However, one of the drawbacks to using a Floodlight in security lighting is that they will not have a motion sensor built in. Leading to a higher set-up cost if you want it to be used for security.
Surface mounted luminaires are fantastic for providing general, task and accent lighting for the exterior of your home. However, similar to path lights, they do not produce a bright beam. So they will need to be used along with other lighting if you are trying to illuminate a large area.
Post mounted luminaires do provide a great light for outside the home and will give a great distinct look to your home. However, there is a prevention issue with these types of fixtures as post mounted luminaires are usually lower and much easier to be tampered with.
Overall, each type of these lights has their advantages and disadvantages. So to make your home the most effectively lit would be to mix and match these different types of light. This would guarantee you getting enough security, enough safety and a distinct look that separates your home from your neighbors.
Choosing Your Beam
This is possibly the most important part when deciding on buying any light. Knowing what sort of beam, you would like. In order to decide the type of beam you would like, it is important to understand the basics so that you buy exactly what you're looking for.
Lumens
First of all, Lumens is a measurement of total light output. This means that the higher the Lumens, the brighter the light will be and the lower the Lumens, the dimmer the light will be.
Provided below is an estimated conversion chart in order to give you some idea of how many lumens you will be looking for when you're replacing your bulbs.
Understanding Lumens actually makes buying your new bulbs much easier as they enable you to purchase the exact amount of light you desire.
In relation to outdoor security lighting and their brightness there is a range of suggestions for each type of light. Depending on how big your driveway or yard is and how bright you want them to be your lumens should be decided from this. For example, 3600lumens would be an incredibly bright motion sensor security light and would illuminate substantially large areas. Overall, the brightness needed for an exterior security light should be high enough so that you can illuminate the area and also draw attention to your home when people are approaching it.
The second most important feature of your beam will be its color temperature.
Color Temperature
Color temperature of light is measured using the Kelvin scale. This is why you will see the letter K after a number when describing the color temperature of a light. Different light sources emit different colors of light. Candles produce a red colored light while the midday sun will produce white light with a hint of blue. These colors can be measured and shown numerically and this is done through color temperature. It is important to remember that the color temperature is not actually referring to the temperature of the lamp.
Colors that have a lower color temperature are at the beginning of the scale in RED & colors that have a high color temperature are at the end of the scale in Blue. As the color temperature increases it will move up the scale and change color.
Understanding Lumens actually makes buying your new bulbs much easier as they enable you to purchase the exact amount of light you desire.
In relation to outdoor security lighting and their brightness there is a range of suggestions for each type of light. Depending on how big your driveway or yard is and how bright you want them to be your lumens should be decided from this. For example, 3600lumens would be an incredibly bright motion sensor security light and would illuminate substantially large areas. Overall, the brightness needed for an exterior security light should be high enough so that you can illuminate the area and also draw attention to your home when people are approaching it.
When considering your outdoor security light the color temperature of the light will depend on what you require from the light. In regards to color temperature of a security light, a daylight beam is perfect if you want your light to be bright and draw attention to your home every time it senses motion.
Lighting controls
The lighting controls play a huge part in your selection of what light to use. The most popular type of security light is a motion detecting security light with time switches that use photocell technology in order to full operate from dusk to dawn without needing any human interference.
Motion detectors are great as they're convenient, conserve energy and they draw attention to your home by only come on when there is an object approaching the home.
Photocells are switches that turn on and off automatically. They save energy by turning lights on at dusk and off at dawn. They're a far more practical solution to outdoor security lighting. If the light is solely controlled by photocells this can be a disadvantage in that you cannot control your light from inside your home. So you would need to purchase a security light with more than one type of lighting control.
IP Rating
Security lights need to be durable. This is because they're outside in harsh weathers, they need to be able to function extreme and fluctuating conditions. This is where knowing about the IPXX rating system for outdoor lights comes in handy. IP is ingress protection and the two digits following IP are protection ratings against dust and water. For instance, if a security light has an IP65 rating. The first number meaning 6- which is dust tight. Telling you that it is impossible for any dust to get into the light. While the 5 is protected against water jet spray. Making the light more than capable of withstanding harsh winters and wet weather.
Where to put your security lights
Assess your home
First of all, you will have to assess your home. You will need to identify where is vulnerable, where are the entry and exit points of your property and where shadows are cast. Also you will have to see where the light can be placed in order to not be tampered with. The light will need to be installed into a high fixture for protection. When a security light is installed high it will not only be better protected against tampering, it will also enable the light's beam to cover a wider angle.
A Security Light that fits the requirements
SANSI Security Lights come in a range of powers and brightness that make them a fantastic company to buy from for home security. Their Security lights fit all of the criteria to be a great new addition to the home.
SANSI Security Lights
All of the SANSI Security Lights come in a 5000K daylight color temperature they all of them are guaranteed to illuminate a large area. They also have an incredibly high CRI rating of 85 so that anyone approaching your home is clearly identifiable. SANSI's whole range of Security Lights have a rating of IP65. This means that they are completely dust tight so no dirt will ever get into the light. In terms of their water protection their rating is 5, which means they are unaffected by strong jet sprays. This makes these lights able to function in incredibly harsh winters and snow.
Final Thoughts and Review of the SANSI LED Security Motion Sensor Outdoor Light
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtVXPIjh6Rc
SANSI Security Lighting Modes
SANSI Security Lights have 4 different working modes. Test mode, Auto-mode, On Time Mode, Dusk to Dawn Mode. These various working modes make the light incredibly versatile. The light has the potential to stay illuminated constantly if need be in On Time mode. Auto-Mode the light can remain illuminated for 1-10 minutes depending on your needs when motion is sensed. Finally, in Dusk to Dawn mode the light will use its state of the art photocell technology in order to work throughout the night and save energy through the day.
These lights need to be vertically wall mounted as they are wired and if they are installed 3m high they will have a 180-degree sensing angle and 50ft sensory range. Providing your home with one of the safest security lights on the market. A super bright daylight beam with such a wide reaching sensor until now has been unheard of.
Here are some examples of SANSI Security lights in people's homes:
Comparisons on the market
In making a comparison with other lights on the market the SANSI security lights still outperform their counterparts while using less energy.
Light A & Light B are two popular lights with average 4/5 star reviews on Amazon. However, their numbers still do not quite match up to those of SANSI. All three of these lights have 50,000 hours of life. Now just depends on if you want the best 50,000 hours your money can buy!
If you would like to make a purchase, then click here to SANSI security lights.
1 comment
robert morrell
Folks,
Looking for outdoor security light for extreme cold weather; hardwired; thanks
Leave a comment
All comments are moderated before being published.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.