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Many Marietta, Georgia area homeowners are planning projects to enhance the curb appeal of their homes this spring, but they should also consider investing in security landscape lighting. Outdoor security lighting not only enhances the look and style of a home, but also increases its safety. A well-lit property and perimeter provides a warm, impressive welcome to nighttime guests, illuminates safe paths for family members returning home at night, lights stairways on decks and in front of entrances, and deters would-be intruders from singling out the home for burglary. The Albany NY Police Department concluded that “lighting is the most inexpensive form of crime prevention that there is.”
According to the FBI, criminals committed an estimated 1,515,096 burglaries in 2016. This figure indicates a 30.8 percent decline in burglaries since 2007, but victims lost an estimated $3.6 billion in property losses with an average loss per burglary estimated at $2,361. Then there’s the untold emotional and psychological costs on victims as they feel violated and lose their sense of security. Homeowners can refuse to become future victims by hardening their home to make it less inviting to intruders that includes installing outdoor security lighting, among other practical steps.
Southern Landscape Lighting Systems is excited to announce their new satellite office in Marietta, GA enabling the company to better serve the Marietta area homeowners looking to add security or landscape lighting to their home. SLLS is ready to help homeowners decide which lighting options are right for their home, and can also include a security and landscape lighting design and the installation of the final outdoor lighting system.
Step One: Case the House for Security Lighting Opportunities
Thinking like a criminal is an important tactic for beating them. Convicted burglars have readily shared their home invasion strategies with police and reporters across the nation, including how they select a home for entry. They “case” the homes in the neighborhood, looking for easy targets. Criminals typically want to get the goods hassle-free. The more challenges and hurdles they face for getting into a property without being seen, the greater the risk they run of getting caught.
Homeowners should case their own homes at different times of day and imagine how they would break in if they were criminals. They should look for anywhere a criminal may hide or approach undetected. Landscaping can play a role in this, so shrubbery and bushes should stay trimmed and trees shouldn’t be close enough to upper story windows for criminals to climb and access. Residents should also look for dark areas of the property that can conceal an intruder’s approach at night. The neighborhood and surrounding environment are also important for them to consider as well, such as requirements of homeowners’ associations and local city ordinances.
Step Two: Create a Plan to Harden and Secure the Home
Homeowners should at least have strong locks for doors and windows and might consider investing in an alarm system. Fake CCTV cameras are inexpensive and can make criminals think the home is harder to case and gain entry with even an appearance of security systems in place.
The house should look occupied always. A car left in the driveway and keeping a radio on inside can suggest to criminals that someone’s inside. Developing relationships with neighbors has the added benefit that may be more inclined to keep an eye on the property and check mail to keep the house looking lived in during extended absences.
Step Three: Light it Up with a High-Quality Security Lighting System
Proper lighting on the property’s perimeter is simultaneously welcoming to guests and threatening to burglars. Lights expose nighttime invaders crossing the yard or accessing an entryway and increase the chance that the perpetrator’s face will be recognized in a police lineup.
Homeowners have a variety of landscape lighting designs to choose from that offer different style and purposes:
Floodlights come with up to three heads and light up a wide area. They’re great for covering driveways, yards, and decks.
Landscape path lighting and post luminaries are a great way to welcome guests with safe walking paths across a yard or on decks.
Surface-mounted luminaires attach to a ceiling, making them great for lighting entrances at sheltered porches.
Outdoor security lights can activate passively with motion sensors or photocells in dusk-to-dawn lighting. With motion detector security lighting, the area is illuminated whenever the sensor detects movement within range. They can activate when residents or guests pull a car into the driveway or approach on foot, or when unwanted intruders sneak into the area. Criminals don’t want the exposure, plus the motion activation has the added element of surprise when it turns on and a burglar is suddenly bathed in light. In his book, “Spy Secrets That Can Save Your Life,” former CIA case officer Jason Hanson writes that “it’s a myth that bright lights will help burglars see what they’re doing. They don’t want you to see them, and the bright lights are going to stop them from wanting to rob your house.” Dusk-to-dawn lighting stays on all night. Not only can these lights increase curb appeal of the house at night, it also serves as an after-dark deterrent to burglars before they even approach the home.
Choosing the Right Security Lights and Getting the Security Lighting System Installed
Southern Landscape Lighting Systems is a landscape lighting service company serving the Marietta, Alpharetta and Northern Atlanta service areas. SLLS designs and installs custom outdoor lighting. They offer free consultations to help homeowners determine the outdoor landscape lighting designs that are right for needs specific to their home and neighborhood environment. They also offer nighttime demonstrations that allow customers can see the lighting systems in action for themselves.
Marietta, Alpharetta, Roswell and Sandy Springs Georgia Voters chose Southern Landscape Lighting Systems as the best Outdoor Landscape Lighting company in the 2017 Consumers’ Choice Award
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