Today, we’d like to talk about the safety of your home (and valuable possessions) as it pertains to your porch and interior lighting.
Here’s an interesting statistic:
According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program: “Victims of burglary offenses suffered an estimated $3.0 billion in property losses in 2019. The average dollar loss per burglary offense was $2,661.”
We, here at Frisco Insurance, enjoy providing valuable tips to our customers on a regular basis. In this case, there’s a lot more to your home’s lighting than meets the eye! Whether you’re going on vacation, or even staying at home, you can implement safety measures to help safeguard your home.
Lights On… Automatically?
Did you know there are devices that can turn your porch and interior lights on and off automatically? You can even control any light in your home with a cellphone app! That can give the appearance you’re home when you’re actually not. Furthermore, these devices and apps are far cheaper than many people would think.
Alternatively, you could purchase exterior lights around the perimeter of your house that turn on and off at sunrise/sunset. That’s right – a completely no-fuss solution to light up your home and deter burglars! Or, you could implement a combination of these two devices. You could have certain interior lights on a timer and outside lights with sensors. In today’s world, we can take great advantage of simple technology to make it look like we’re always at home.
Last, but not least, you could get some exterior lights with motion sensors for that extra level of protection. It’s quite startling to sneak up on a property, at night, and be blasted with lights that detect motion. Many restaurants and businesses use these lights.
When Should Your Lights Be On?
You probably guessed that there are times when having your lights on will help deter burglars. Let’s look at some examples:
- You are home at night: If you have multiple interior lights on, at night, it may be pretty clear that you’re home. Almost no burglar wants to approach a home in that situation.
- Night on the town? If you’re going out for a night on the town, you may want to leave your porch light on. Why? Because when you return you’ll see everything clearly including some of the area surrounding the front of your home. This makes hiding in the shadows difficult for would-be perpetrators.
- Lights, all around: You may want to turn on lights in different areas around your home such as the garbage area, driveway and backyard.
Having a well-lit home can be attractive as well as a great safety precaution. If you want to get really fancy with exterior lights, it could also increase your property value!
When Should Your Lights Be Off?
Sometimes, folks are surprised when we tell them that they may want their lights off. Everyone’s situation is a little different. Some of our customers live in the inner city, some like to live in rural areas. On that note, let’s look at some examples where you may be better protected with your lights off:
- Is it daytime? During the day, it’s fairly unusual to have exterior lights on, as there’s no reason for it. Thus, if exterior lights are on during the day (especially for many days in a row) it will look like nobody’s home.
- Live in the countryside? If you live in a rural area, your neighbors may be far away. Thus, if you leave the lights on, it could actually alert potential burglars to the presence of your home when they would have never noticed. Also, the neighbors won’t see any burglars in the light because they’re not nearby.
- Are you sleeping? Normally, folks turn their lights off when they go to bed. However, you could still have those motion sensor lights outside to startle anyone who might approach late at night.
- It’s vacation time! It may be inadvisable to leave your lights on, continually, if you’re away from home. When lighting patterns don’t change for days or weeks, it may attract the attention of burglars.
Home Safety: Some Final Thoughts
The appearance of your home, and what surrounds it, is worth considering. For example, you have to evaluate the foliage and shrubs around your house. If they conceal large areas of the home (especially near entry points like windows) it could help burglars go unnoticed.
Speaking of windows, you may want to cover your first-floor windows with attractive iron bars. You can mount them over any windows and make entry difficult and unattractive. You can also purchase sensors for your windows that will activate alarms and notify the alarm company in the event of a break-in. No burglar wants to stick around — for even a second — with a loud, blaring alarm going off.
Also, we advise that you don’t let newspapers, package deliveries and mail pile up in any visible locations around your home. That is a sure sign that nobody’s home. If you know your neighbors well, you might ask them to pick up items on a daily basis. That’s just one more reason to have a good relationship with your neighbors, as they’ll be looking out for you.
We, at Frisco Insurance, hope these valuable (and easy to implement) tips have helped you and your family. Your safety is important to us.
If you’d like more valuable summer safety tips, tap the link!
