ᐅ Burglar Protection: Planning Outdoor Lighting with Sensors

Hello everyone,

After looking at several Steinel lights (L 835 LED iHF, where the sensor apparently still reacts to cats despite advertising claims, or the Spot One), we realized that due to different detection ranges (radial, tangential) and also beam angles (160° or 90°), it is not easy to reliably cover all paths an intruder might take on their property towards the house.

Very few lights offer protection against crawling underneath, where the light would turn on if the intruder approaches the house outside of the sensor’s detection area.

In this forum, it is often pointed out that good automatic lighting (with sensors) provides reliable burglary protection because burglars tend to prefer working in the dark.

How have you planned your setup to cover every angle? What kinds of sensors do you use? Are there other companies besides STEINEL that offer affordable and good-quality outdoor lights with sensors?

Thank you for your help.

I would approach a professional company for that. I have floodlights myself to deter opportunistic intruders. They won’t start planning anything bigger.
For the semi-professionals or full professionals, something else is needed. In my opinion, a professional on the construction side is also necessary.

If there is really that much to gain at your place that you become a target for professional burglars, I would also recommend consulting with professionals; burglary-resistant windows and doors are especially important in such cases. For opportunistic thieves, the local police are also happy to offer advice.

No, there really isn’t much to gain. So you think a few spotlights will be enough?

annab377 schrieb:

Because burglars prefer to work in the dark.

That’s not true; the vast majority actually occur during the day or at dusk.

annab377 schrieb:

Only very few lights offer protection against crawling underneath.

...perhaps this is rare because it is not very practical.

The average burglar comes alone with just a screwdriver—or hopefully not—and whether or not you have floodlights, cameras, or similar equipment doesn’t always matter. They come to your house regardless of whether you have money inside or are broke.

Mostly, ground-level openings are affected, especially patio doors, while front doors are very rarely targeted. These entry points should be secured with the standard options used in window construction.

However, it’s important not to forget that a huge industry has grown around this topic, whose rapid expansion does not correspond to the actual number of break-in cases. I would describe the gap between them as almost astronomical.

pagoni2020 schrieb:

That’s not correct; the vast majority of break-ins occur during the day or at dusk.

...maybe this is why it happens so rarely, because it doesn’t make much sense otherwise.

The typical burglar comes alone with just a screwdriver, regardless of whether you have floodlights, cameras, or similar equipment. Whether you have money in the house or are broke doesn’t matter—they’ll come to your place anyway.
Mostly, accessible ground-level openings are targeted, especially patio doors, while front doors are very rarely affected. These entry points can be secured using the usual methods common in window and door construction.

That said, it shouldn’t be forgotten that a huge industry has developed around this topic, and its rapid growth doesn’t at all reflect the actual number of cases. In fact, I’d say the gap between them is truly astronomical.

Some time ago, I looked up relevant statistics regarding the timing of break-ins. Mostly in winter, either during working hours or in the evening after 8 p.m. (20:00), so quite often in the dark.
And light of course deters offenders. Two factors are important: buying time and increasing the risk of being caught as much as possible. Light helps with both. In addition, using burglar-resistant windows and doors as well as proportionate security measures is essential.