Porchlighters
I've been wondering about people who leave their front porch lights on at night. Looking out my window in the early morning, I notice less than half, maybe as low as a third, have their front porch lights on.Some leave them on all night. Some turn them off when they go to bed. Some have them with motion sensors so they turn on when someone approaches the door. Why?
I noticed for some time the house across Trinity Street has hers on all the time. I just recently noticed the neighbors behind us, the Strubs, also have their light on. I finally asked them why. Julie said she guessed it made them feel safer.
I guess that's it for most of the porchlighters. Doing a quick Google search confirmed many people feel safer with the porch lights lit. I suspect it also comes back to many people's primal fear of darkness. That would account for the even fewer people I've seen who leave their living room lights on all night. I've noticed our next door neighbor, Jane, does that.
It's not for me. I do anything I can to keep my electric bill low, although we have thought about installing a motion detector light to the side of our house near the back gate where the creeps in the night sometimes come in to prey on us. Problem is, I suspect the motion of all the bushes near the walkway would set the light off so often we might as well just forget about the motion detector and leave it on.
No front porch light on for us. If nothing else it saves money and keeps trick- or- treaters from bothering us on Halloween. That is a good thing.
posted by Fred Mangels @ 7:19 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
I believe the motion detector lights are heat sensitive. So unless your bushes are burning, they should not turn on the light.
Motion detectors are not heat sensitive. They may, if one buys good ones, be adjusted for level of motion.
Even though I'm a porch-lighter, I would prefer a motion-sensing one, if I could find one that worked correctly (the $60 one we bought at Ace Hardware crapped out after about 2 weeks).
Did you see this?
http://www.unplggd.com/unplggd/blogging/the-dos-and-donts-of-porch-lights-112249
I guess it's too late to bring it up, but did that motion sensor light have a warranty? You might have been able to trade it in for a new one.
Nice tips. I can always tell when one of my customers is out of town when I drive up and the front porch light is on in the middle of the day. I suggested putting it on a timer but they still leave it on all the time.
I don't like lights on at night. i live in a mid-sized town surrounded by countryside, and the light pollution is growing along with our region. There are street lights and occasional private security lights on at night throughout the neighborhood.
That said, I live next to a low-income 4-unit apartment building and there have been problems over the years with theft (not us, but in the neighborhood) and trespassing, but mostly adults and kids hanging out being loud at night. Asking them to be quiet earns you regular retaliation until they move out! So we have increased the security around our house significantly, including installing security cameras and motion lights so that our entire property is covered. The last light we got was for the front porch, and I really hesitated to install it because of pedestrians tripping it, but after some kids next door started pranking our house (because I asked them to stop screaming at 10PM) we went ahead and did so. It did stop the pranking and has discouraged the apartment dwellers from loitering out front as well. Fortunately our bedroom does not face the street or the light would bother us, I'm sure.
Post a Comment
<< Home