Security lighting

Yes. We install security lighting for homes, estates, complexes and businesses, including floodlights, wall lights, pathway lights and motion-sensor lights. We plan the lights with the cameras, alarms and fencing around them, so each light has a job: lighting a face at the gate, a walkway after dark or a corner a camera needs to see. A light placed without a plan often lights the wrong thing, blinds a camera or annoys the neighbours. On the site visit, we walk the property with you after looking at where people come and go at night. Then we recommend the type and position of each light, and whether it should stay on or switch on with movement. Every job comes with a written quotation, and nothing is ordered until you accept it.

Yes, if the lights are placed with the cameras in mind. A camera needs light to show a clear face or number plate, and even cameras with infrared night vision record in black and white with less detail. Good lighting lets them record in colour and pick out features. A light in the wrong place does the opposite. Pointed at the lens, or placed behind the person, it blinds the camera and turns a face into a dark shape. On the site visit, we plan the lights and cameras together, checking each camera's view against where the light falls. Where cameras are already installed, we can add or move lights to improve the picture. The aim is a clear image at the hour you're most likely to need it, usually between midnight and dawn.

Security lights should go first where people walk or drive after dark: the gate, the driveway, the path to the front door and the doorstep. These light your way home and let a camera see a face at the entrance. Next, light the places nobody uses, such as the side of the house, the back of the garage and the corner behind the pool pump. Those are the corners nobody checks, and the ones an intruder prefers. Motion-sensor lights suit these areas well, because a light switching on tells you something moved there. Avoid pointing lights into neighbours' windows or straight at your own cameras. We walk the property with you, show you the dark spots and recommend which lights stay on all night and which switch on with movement.

The cost of security lighting depends on how many lights you need, the type of light, where each one goes and how far the cable has to run. A few motion-sensor lights on the house cost far less than floodlights along a long driveway or around a business yard. Lights on poles, or far from the nearest power point, cost more to install because of trenching and cabling. Backup power for load-shedding, timers, smart controls and a link to your cameras or alarm add to the price. LED fittings cost less to run and last longer, which saves money over time. We don't quote from a price list. We visit the property, plan the lighting with you and give you a written quotation before anything is ordered.