Your home is your sanctuary and you should feel safe in it, but after the sun goes down there are opportunities for burglars or unwanted intruders to hide in the dark areas of your property, leaving your home at risk for a potential break-in. One way to help keep that from happening is to add motion detector lights to your property because it’s a great way to enhance your home security all while improving your home automation.

Where to Place Motion Detector Lights

Walkways that lead to your front door, back door, driveway, and garage are great areas to place motion detector lights. Not only are they areas where burglars enter houses, but also areas that will be illuminated when you come home at night or exit your house. Patios, side yards, near sheds, and areas that could be hazardous such as pools and stairways are also ideal. Unwanted intruders can approach your house from various locations, so be sure that other areas that lead to your property are also covered such as fence gates, patio doors, and around bushes and trees. To get the motion detector light to sense the most movement across the sensitivity zone, it’s recommended to mount the light 6 to 10 feet above the ground.

Motion Detectors: How They Work

A motion detector can be described as an electronic eye that when activated, detects heat waves (infrared) off of moving things such as people or animals. But in order to detect a moving object, the object needs to move across the motion detector’s field of view. Once this happens, the detector will sense the object and electronically turn the light on. Depending on how you preset the timer, the light will stay on for up to 20 minutes or stay on if it still senses movement. During the daylight hours, a photocell will deactivate the light, so you won’t have to worry about it during the day. There are also ways to deactivate the sensor so you can leave the light on or turn it off like a regular light. For more information, we suggest reading the instruction manual of your light since this functionality can be different, depending on the manufacturer.

Unwanted Lights Turning On

To minimize motion detector lights from turning on when you don’t want them to, such as when blowing leaves or passing cars set them off, you can adjust the distance-range setting and aim the sensor in a way that limits its field of view. But you have to make sure to use lights that have amiable detector units and adjustable distance range settings.

Types of Motion Detector Lights 

There are various motion detector lights available. Some are flood lights with basic designs while others are more stylish to the match the exterior of your house. There are wired, wireless, and solar-powered options as well.

Motion detector lights play an important role in home automation by acting as one of the first layers of security. They’re also there to help guide us through the darkness when we pull up to our driveways or exit our homes at night. Security and safety are things many of us want in our homes and motion detector lights are a great way to help achieve that.

Don’t stay dark for too long, add motion detector lights to your property. If you need advice or assistance, Home Controls offers free support. Just call our toll-free number at 858-693-8887 (7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Pacific, Monday – Friday).