Studies have shown one of the most effective ways to deter that break-in artist from choosing your home is to simply leave your porch light on during the night. Loud alarms, rabid dogs, 1,000 watt flood lights and light sleeping mothers-in-law downstairs all help, but no single method of crime prevention gives so much return for so little investment than that simple porch light. And if you’ve got a light over the back porch, the garage service door and the walk-out basement door, that includes them as well.

If you’re as forgetful as I am and can’t remember to turn on the light as the sun goes down or worse, to turn it off until most of the day has already gone by, you may want to try what I did. I went to my local builder’s supply and purchased one of those relatively inexpensive photo-cell switches that screws into the light socket and accepts a standard bulb into itself. I then installed it in the porch light fixture as easily as screwing in a light bulb (literally). Then I turned on the porch light switch and have left it on permanently.

The porch light comes on at dusk and off at sunrise and that’s a good thing since sunset and sunrise aren’t always at the same time each day. And sometimes the light will come on even earlier on a cloudy day, suggesting that it’s not simply on an “unmanned” timer. The photo-cell drops some voltage which leaves a little less for the bulb which in turn burns slightly dimmer, but that’s also a good thing. It means this light bulb could last longer than we’ll live in this house (it’s already been going for almost 20 years) and it actually uses less electricity on the meter than a bulb burning at full brightness, yet it’s plenty bright enough. The light is always on for evening visitors and even for me to find my key if I’m getting home late and not entering through the garage.

Also, if someone knocks after dark, I can peek through the peep hole and see who it is without having to turn on the porch light. Turning on the porch light after someone has knocked not only tells him I’m “peeping” at him, worse yet, if it’s that nosy neighbor I’ve been trying to avoid, it tells him I’m home and then I have no choice but to answer the door (actually there’s no one like that in this neighborhood). But having the light on long before someone has made their way to the front door, doesn’t tell anyone anything, but makes the “up-to-no-gooder” wonder and decide the darkened house across the street might be a little less risky.

In addition, I also have lights on the front of the garage and along the walkway to the front door which are on motion detectors. It’s very obvious they have only come on automatically in reaction to someone walking up the driveway or walkway, but that doesn’t mean there’s no one home and it’s always unnerving to someone up to no good to have his sneak suddenly illuminated.

BHI

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