Getting Security And Surveillance With Proper Lighting

By Braden Kinstonelona


We talk of being home and dry indicating being completely safe. Not even the most exclusive neighborhoods or business districts are completely safe. It is therefore advisable to take measures to ensure the security of a home or commercial building as much as possible. Safety lighting is one precaution that can be taken to boost security and surveillance. Floodlights and sodium vapor lights are most often installed. The flood lights may be sensitive to movement and automatically come on when movement near the building is perceived.

Safety lights not only make it easy to spot imposters but they also discourage break in attempts. Interestingly, there is a contradiction about security lights that can accomplish the opposite of the desired result.

Evaluations done in UK and Sweden indicated that the fact that there were all-night safety lights gave people a feeling of safety yet crime rates rose by a 55 percent margin. On the other hand, people believed dark areas were unsafe at night and kept away from them which kept the crime rate low.

Generally though, lights enhance rather than compromise safety. To maximize this, the design of the lighting is important. Lighting that is poorly placed can obstruct rather than enhance the view of those on watch or security systems. When designing, it is important to do so based on whether people or cameras will be keeping watch in mind.

Placement matters too. Safety lights do get broken deliberately and as much as possible, they should be installed such that they are impossible to reach. Mounting them as far high as possible or protecting them with metal mesh or unbreakable shields helps to protect them.

Having them installed away from obvious view is another option. One way this can be done is by channeling light through light pipes placed in the ceiling. Another critical factor is that there should be quick-response back up. One example is a generator that automatically comes on seconds after power from the main supply line gets cut off.




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