“The night is dark and full of terrors”
George R. R. Martin
The above quote illustrates how important lighting is in your security systems. The dark of the night provides the perfect cover for threats to safety and security. For commercial and industrial facilities, the importance of lighting cannot be overstated and nighttime can be prime time for intruders to try and enter your building. It is easy to overlook, even if you’ve spent good money on a robust security fencing system, but you should not ignore the role of lighting in your fence systems.
Let’s take a closer look at how nighttime lighting can enhance your security and what kind of lighting options and features are available for you.
How Lighting Enhances Nighttime Security
What role does lighting play in your security systems? While many businesses may be content to just have a fence and some cameras, proper lighting offers a whole new layer of protection. A few reasons you should look into installing security lighting for your industrial operation include:
Improve Visibility for Surveillance
Security cameras are a great feature. However, even though they’re built to be able to function at night, the dark can still mean the results aren’t as clear as you would like for the best security. Installing nighttime security lights can significantly enhance the results of your cameras and it can help them cover a wider area.
Just make sure you install the lights correctly, as having bright lights facing your camera can actually make your visibility worse rather than better due to glare.
Deter Intruders
A property that’s dark all the time is practically an open invitation to intruders. They can sneak around in the cloak of night, confident that no one can see them. Using exterior lighting as a part of your security system illuminates all areas of your property, ensuring that intruders don’t have a place to hide.
Using motion-sensitive lights is an especially useful tool in the battle, because these lights turning on is an immediate signal to security staff that some activity is happening in the area to trigger those lights.
Create a Safer Environment
Illuminating your property creates a safer environment for your employees and potential customers as well. Direct lighting on parking lots, roads, and sidewalks means people are able to see where they are stepping at night, ensuring safe navigation of the nighttime environment. It also means people are less vulnerable to being surprised by a potential intruder who may want their security access to your building.
What Kind of Lighting Options Are Available?
When you are looking at installing security lighting, you will find that there are quite a few options and features available. Each option offers many benefits that can enhance the security of your fence. Let’s take a closer look at some popular options:
LED
LED lights provide much more robust security than traditional incandescent lights. LEDs produce brighter lights that can illuminate a much larger area.
LEDs provide a much more concentrated beam of light which means they are less likely to interfere with your security cameras. Higher-wattage bulbs may cause glare, but you can remedy that by simply using multiple lower-wattage bulbs instead of a single high-wattage one. LED are also compatible with motion sensors.
Motion-activated
Motion-activated lights are a very powerful tool in intruder deterrence. These lights activate when they detect motion using infrared energy waves. When activity is detected, the motion sensor will turn the light on and illuminate the area. This can catch potential burglars off guard and alert you to their presence.
Motion sensors can be adjusted to ignore the movements of small animals, which means you don’t waste time and resources investigating every squirrel, cat, or raccoon that crosses your property. Motion sensitive lights also mean you’re not spending as much money on electricity, as you don’t need to have the lights on all the time.
Finding the right motion sensor lights to suit your needs means figuring out what area you want to cover and what sensitivity setting works best. You and your security team
Timed Lights
If you would rather have a constant light on your property throughout the night, you might want to consider timed lighting instead. Timed lighting allows your security staff to set the lights to turn on and off at certain times of day, such as dusk to dawn. The timing can be adjusted according to seasonal needs and when it gets dark, so you don’t have to pay energy costs for lighting that you don’t need.
Installing timed lights means you can be confident that your grounds are properly illuminated throughout the night, allowing you to see activity without requiring any extra action from you.
Solar-powered
One way you can save on the cost of energy is through the installation of solar-powered security lights. These lights have minimal moving parts and are not dependent on external power grids, which makes them low maintenance and a reliable option for lighting your industrial facility, even if there is a power outage.
They offer a durable design that can hold up to harsh weather conditions and vandalism alike. Solar-powered lights are a good choice for remote locations and vulnerable spots. Plus, you’ll save big on energy costs as they are completely self-contained units powered by the sun.
Learn More About the Role of Lighting in Your Fence Systems with City Fence
Proper security is about more than just installing some lights. A robust security fence provides a barrier to entry, keeping your property safe. City Fence is the security fence expert in the Greater Toronto Area. We offer a wide range of durable security fences that can stand up to the many tests the night can throw at them.
We can work with you and your security team to provide tailored solutions that meet your needs while staying within your budget. If you’re looking to install a reliable security fencing system, you can give us a call. We look forward to working with you.