ᐅ Outdoor Lighting Planning with a Focus on Burglary Prevention
Created on: 12 Sep 2023 23:09
R
Rhyem86
Hello everyone,
I would like to discuss the exterior lighting for our property/single-family home with you.
Attached are views of our house:
Street front with the main entrance (power outlet above the front door)
Terrace and garden (power outlet at the back of the house)
Side entrance and garage (garage to be installed) (power outlet at the side entrance to supply the garage)
Our plan
We want to install spotlights in the eaves boxes at the front and back (number still to be determined), as well as wall lights on the terrace wall (number to be determined), and a floodlight at the side entrance covering the entire driveway. Power outlets are already installed in the eaves boxes and at the side entrance (for the garage) outside. Security and burglary prevention are especially important for us. Therefore, we want the entrances on the ground floor to be illuminated as well as possible. We have decided to use motion sensors. Inside the house, we have two switches for manually turning the eaves spotlights on and off.
How many spotlights do we need in the eaves boxes?
How many wall-mounted floodlights do we need on the terrace? Should the floodlights illuminate upward, downward, or both?
Where is the best place to position the motion sensors? Which light sources should be connected to which sensors?
Or should we use dusk-to-dawn sensors, even though that would mean the lights stay on all night, which we want to avoid unless there are good reasons for it?
The garage also has an exit to the garden. Should we plan for an additional light source there?
Do you have any other thoughts or suggestions regarding exterior lighting for us?
Best regards
I would like to discuss the exterior lighting for our property/single-family home with you.
Attached are views of our house:
Street front with the main entrance (power outlet above the front door)
Terrace and garden (power outlet at the back of the house)
Side entrance and garage (garage to be installed) (power outlet at the side entrance to supply the garage)
Our plan
We want to install spotlights in the eaves boxes at the front and back (number still to be determined), as well as wall lights on the terrace wall (number to be determined), and a floodlight at the side entrance covering the entire driveway. Power outlets are already installed in the eaves boxes and at the side entrance (for the garage) outside. Security and burglary prevention are especially important for us. Therefore, we want the entrances on the ground floor to be illuminated as well as possible. We have decided to use motion sensors. Inside the house, we have two switches for manually turning the eaves spotlights on and off.
How many spotlights do we need in the eaves boxes?
How many wall-mounted floodlights do we need on the terrace? Should the floodlights illuminate upward, downward, or both?
Where is the best place to position the motion sensors? Which light sources should be connected to which sensors?
Or should we use dusk-to-dawn sensors, even though that would mean the lights stay on all night, which we want to avoid unless there are good reasons for it?
The garage also has an exit to the garden. Should we plan for an additional light source there?
Do you have any other thoughts or suggestions regarding exterior lighting for us?
Best regards
xMisterDx schrieb:
A (nearly) unsolvable problem. Only a 3x1.5 cable is going outside. Unless we ignore illegal tricks... I can guess what tricks you’re referring to. Illegal and also dangerous?
xMisterDx schrieb:
unless you open everything up again and lay additional cables... Not negotiable with my wife, unfortunately. She would rather give up some of the above-mentioned functions in the light control.
xMisterDx schrieb:
So... the damage is already done... use battery-powered motion sensors or a smart exterior light with a PIR sensor that controls all the other lights? I’d rather avoid battery-powered PIR sensors. But an exterior light with a PIR sensor that then controls the other lamps sounds interesting. What exactly is the idea here?
xMisterDx schrieb:
If you give up the option to override the PIR sensor with a switch, all of this would be easy to implement without modifications. That would be our preference. So: we would forgo switching the PIR sensor from inside the house with a button to turn the lights on before leaving? The light switch would stay permanently “on,” connecting the 3x1.5 cable to the PIR sensor and then to the lights. The light switch inside the house would basically be decorative? By leaving the house, the PIR sensor would activate and turn on the exterior lighting?
Rhyem86 schrieb:
Would the light switch in the house basically be just decorative? Yes, for example.
Rhyem86 schrieb:
Would leaving the house activate the motion sensor and thus turn on the outdoor lighting? It automatically adjusts to the ambient light and you trigger the switch by walking past. Depending on the device, you can set the delay time to several hours, so the light stays on for a long time.
Rhyem86 schrieb:
What exactly is the idea here? Search online for outdoor light with motion sensor.
Araknis schrieb:
It automatically adjusts the brightness, and you trigger the switch by simply walking past. Depending on the device, you can set the delay time to several hours, so the light stays on for a long time. Yes, that’s what I meant; my description was poor.
X
xMisterDx24 Sep 2023 10:22With traditional electrical wiring, the motion sensors would need to be connected in parallel. You won’t be able to achieve that with the wiring you’ve already installed...
The light switches would then be "dummy" switches, yes. But they can still be used for other purposes, for example to trigger functions via a "Shelly" device.
My outdoor lighting at the front door, or the light switch there, is used to turn the alarm system on and off, and so on.
The light switches would then be "dummy" switches, yes. But they can still be used for other purposes, for example to trigger functions via a "Shelly" device.
My outdoor lighting at the front door, or the light switch there, is used to turn the alarm system on and off, and so on.
xMisterDx schrieb:
With traditional electrical wiring, the motion detectors would need to be connected in parallel. You won’t be able to do that with the wiring you’ve already completed… Ah, too bad, I was excited too soon
xMisterDx schrieb:
The light switches would then be "inactive," yes. But you can repurpose them for other functions, for example to trigger actions using a "Shelly" device.
My outdoor lighting at the front door, or the light switch, is used to turn the alarm system on and off, and so on. I’ll definitely keep that in mind! Thanks
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