Where To Place Your Outdoor Floodlights
Floodlights are an important addition to any dark yard. If you’re using them to illuminate your home, they can increase your sense of security. In a commercial setting, bright outdoor lighting will make even the darkest outdoor areas feel bright and safe. Here are some suggestions for the best placement of your outdoor lights.
Know Your Yard
How do you know which areas need more light? Try these ideas.
Walk around your yard at night. Take an evening stroll around your home or building. This will give you a good sense of which areas need better illumination.
Listen to your guests or visitors. People who visit your home or business can tell you whether certain outdoor areas are too dark. They can also let you know if it’s hard to find your address in the evenings.
Talk to a lighting expert. A SESCOS technician can help you plan the right outdoor lighting for every residential or business need.
Home or Business Entrance
A floodlight aimed at your front door keeps it bright and easy to see. Install a timer so you never have to remember to turn the light on.
Blind Spots
Most homes and businesses have blind spots at the sides and back. We usually pay attention to the lighting in the front of a building and neglect the dark areas in the back.
A large yard or parking area can create a large, scary patch of darkness. Floodlights will break it up so you can see what’s around you.
Walk around your property to identify its blind spots. Add floodlights to areas that seem to disappear at night. Use motion sensors or timers to be sure those lights come on when you need them.
Pathways and Steps
Any place where people walk needs bright lighting at night. Use floodlights to illuminate pathways and stairs. If you have wide steps, a combination of floodlights and small, targeted lights will make them out clearly.
Parking Areas
Nobody enjoys getting into their car if it’s parked in a dark spot. It’s also scary to walk across a dark parking lot. Place floodlights or parking lights on your parking area to help visitors feel safe.
If you have a commercial parking lot, bright lighting is a necessity. Your parking area should have a complete security system that uses motion sensor lights and security cameras.
Modern parking lots now use bright, clean LED lighting rather than dull, hazy mercury or sodium lights. If you’re still using those old-fashioned lighting types, consider swapping them out for LED lights.
Help Them Find You
Floodlights are great for a large area, but they can be too intense for smaller areas. Flooding everything with light will be disorienting. For the best results, balance your security lighting with smaller, lower-wattage lights. Target these spots with targeted lights.
Street number: A clearly lit house number is essential to helping visitors and first responders find you. Use large, dark numbers and make sure a light is on them.
Driveway: Help drivers make their way safely to your door with a well-lit driveway. If you live in an area that doesn’t have street lighting, add one or two floodlights near the street. You and your visitors will feel safer at night. Use motion sensors that will only turn these lights on when you need them.
Garage: Accidents involving garage doors are an expensive headache. Hang a bright light from the top of the garage to make it clearly visible.
Stay Safe With the Right Lighting
At SESCOS, we know how important safety is. If you need expert help illuminating your outdoor areas, call us.