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Securing Your Home June 2000 • Vol.8 Issue 6 Page(s) 94-96 in print issue |
Lighting Systems The Right Lights Increase Beauty & Security | ||
 While the main purpose of indoor lighting is to illuminate the interior of the house, it's also a big factor in boosting the beauty of your home and enhancing your security. Outdoor lighting's main purpose is making your property more secure, but it can also enhance your home's appearance and extend the amount of time you can spend outdoors. The main antiburglary weapons during daylight hours are traditional ones: strong locks built into strong doors and windows. Although conventional wisdom would indicate otherwise, a large percentage of burglaries take place during the day. Burglars obviously seek unoccupied homes, which means they're likely to strike during the day when most people are at work or school. After dark, however, both interior and exterior lighting become major weapons in your fight against crime. A well-lit yard can send a burglar elsewhere, even if the lights only come on when they detect motion. Exterior lighting also lets you see that the area is safe when you get home and, once home, safely check whether anyone is outside. With exterior lighting, it is critical that you control the lights with either a computer or a motion or light sensor. Nothing screams, "We're on vacation" louder than a porch light or floodlight left on during the day. A dark house, or a house with static lighting, tells a burglar no one is home. A well-lit house, especially one with changing lighting patterns, tells the burglar someone's inside. The effect works even if timers control the lights, and you're thousands of miles away. As you design your indoor lighting system, you'll focus on three main components: wires, switches, and fixtures. Advanced systems may include sensors, an automated control device, and interface devices. You can retrofit almost any house with an advanced lighting system because virtually all of these systems use existing wiring. Assembling the right lighting system usually means purchasing each component individually and using components from a wide range of manufacturers. It may make sense for you to have modern lighting in some areas, such as the kitchen and living room, while leaving standard lighting in other areas, such as the bathroom. It also makes sense to upgrade the components incrementally.  Switches. The standard control for household lighting is the basic on-off switch. A key step of any updated lighting system is replacing these switches with more powerful controls such as manual, sensor, and remote-activated controls. Manual switches. The dimmer, the main manual replacement for an on-off switch, lets you turn the light, or other appliance, on and off while also controlling the appliance's intensity. Companies such as Lutron Electronics (http://www.lutron.com) make a wide variety of dimmers. The simplest dimmers are mechanical, but the most advanced have built-in microprocessors and smart features such as fade-to-off and memory. You can buy specialized dimmers for controlling ceiling fans, lamps, and lights with multiple switch locations. You can even set up a system to control several dimmers with a remote control.
You can also control lights with elapsed-timer and clock switches. Elapsed-timer switches, which are available as both mechanical ($10 to $15) and electronic ($19 to $28) switches, keep a circuit running for a set period of time. They are available as units that replace standard switches or as modules that plug into an outlet and control a device plugged into them. Elapsed-timer switches are most useful for turning on outdoor lighting, but they also work well for controlling attic, kitchen, and bathroom fans and basement lights. Clock switches turn lights on and off at preset times. Like elapsed-timer switches, they are available as switch-replacements or plug-in units. Microprocessors typically control the switch-replacement units, which can store very complex patterns. Some even have built-in random patterns. The plug-in units, which cost around $11, are usually mechanical devices with a limited number of settings. The main use of clock switches is controlling lights and a television while the homeowner is on vacation. Intermatic Inc. (http://www.intermatic.com) makes a wide variety of elapsed-timer and clock switches. Sensors. Indoor occupancy sensors react to heat or motion, turning lights on when people are detected and turning them off, after a preset period of time, when people leave. In a retrofit installation, sensors replace light switches. In a new installation, you mount sensors on the ceiling or high in a corner, and they work in conjunction with the switch. Passive infrared sensors detect the infrared heat people emit. These sensors have few false triggers, but they are strictly line-of-site and cannot detect people through obstructions. Ultrasonic sensors work like sonar, emitting an inaudible high-frequency sound and detecting the changes that movement causes. They are more sensitive and can cover a larger area than infrared sensors, but they're prone to false triggering from air movement and heating systems. Hybrid sensors use both technologies to achieve both sensitivity and resistance to false triggering. Manufacturers recently began including photocells in the sensors so they can react differently during the day. For security purposes and to allow hands-free entry, occupancy sensor-controlled lights are best placed near entrances. For convenience, areas with low-occupancy periods, such as hallways or basement stairs, are good candidates for these switches. Manufacturers include Novitas (http://www.novitas.com), Unenco (http://www.unenco.com), and The Watt Stopper (http://www.unenco.com).
These systems work similarly. You plug a receiver into an outlet and plug the device to be controlled into the receiver. You leave the device's power switch in the "on" position because the receiver controls electricity traveling to the device to turn it on and off. You control the receivers with a remote control, a dedicated and programmable controller, or a controller connected to a PC. The various X10 controllers send signals to the receivers through the house's electrical wiring. One problem with X10 can occur when two neighbors both use X10. Command signals from one house might reach the second house over the power lines and create interference. Major producers of X10 products are Leviton (http://www.leviton.com), SmartLinc (http://www.smartlinc.com), and Powerline Carrier Systems (http://www.pcslighting.com). The Lutron RadioRA controller uses a 418 megahertz radio frequency signal to send digital signals to the controllers. The technology makes interference between adjacent homes unlikely. Additionally, the use of a radio frequency signal lets Lutron market a remote controller for your car so you can switch on lights when you get home. Either of these systems can save electricity by turning off or dimming lights, and they work well for simulating an occupied home while you're away. You can initially install either in just a few locations and easily expand them later. Both systems support a "panic" switch that lets you turn on every light with one bedside switch. Since most of the system plugs into outlets, you can easily take either system with you when you move. X10 kits offer the best price value, but you can expect to pay about $10 for a simple wall switch and about $27 for a four-item timer. Fixtures. The three broad types of home lighting are ambient, task, and accent. Ambient lighting generally comes from a ceiling-mounted fixture and provides the overall illumination filling a room. Controlling these fixtures with a dimmer and using high-output, high-efficiency, modern bulbs provides great control over the lighting level while also saving energy. Accent lighting highlights an object, such as art, or a well-defined area, such as a fireplace. Effective accent lighting should be at least three times brighter than the ambient light. Accent fixtures are usually wall-mounted and are generally not dimmer-controlled. Task lighting provides localized lighting for specific activities, such as reading or computer use, and usually comes from a free-standing lamp. The type of task to be illuminated generally drives the fixture selection. Lighting fixtures come in a wide variety of sizes, shapes, and designs and support a dizzying array of bulb types. Visit several lighting specialty shops and building supply stores before selecting an overall design. When selecting fixtures for utility areas (entries, stairs, and hallways) focus on illumination. These areas rarely use accent or task lighting. In living spaces, ambient lighting combines with accent lighting to create a warm atmosphere. Kitchens need a large amount of diffused ambient lighting. Task lighting is generally used over the sink, stove, and island. The dining room generally gets a decorative chandelier, but it may also need task lighting if you use the table for hobbies. You'll need shadowless light in the bathroom for personal grooming, so the fixtures are generally plastic or glass-enclosed to diffuse the light. Bedrooms generally use diffusing fixtures for shadow-free light, and dimmers can help set the mood. Outdoor Lighting. Guide your outdoor lighting designs by focusing on beautifying your property. A common approach is the use of low-voltage lighting to illuminate a walkway, driveway, pool, or deck. These fixtures sit on stakes in the ground and draw power from a small cable buried a few inches underground. In addition to being decorative, these lights make moving around outside safer and can discourage burglars. The bulbs in a low-voltage fixture typically draw 7-10 watts each, so an entire system will use very little electricity. You typically program the controller so that the lights come on only a few hours per night and most controllers have a light sensor to keep the lights off during the day. Vendors include Intermatic and Journeyman. Other key outdoor lighting elements are the entryway lights, which are typically mounted on both sides of the front door and on the key side of the back door. You control them from the inside just like an interior light. A fixture that uses the new compact fluorescent or high-intensity discharge light source can provide more light while using less electricity. Newer fixtures use motion sensors to turn on automatically and light sensors to turn off during the day. You can use a screw-in sensor to ensure that older lights are not on during the day (about $23 for a one-bulb sensor). Don't forget the flood lights you use to illuminate the yard. A typical installation has one set of lights over the garage and one on each corner of the house. You might leave the lights on the front on after dark or pair them with a sensor or timer. Most homeowners pair lights on the back with a sensor since your bedrooms are typically on the back side of the house, and constant light could disturb both you and the neighbors.
Most of the products mentioned above are available at your local building supply store. You will find the brands mentioned and many more. The only exception will be the X10 products, which may not be available locally. However, you will find many Web sites devoted to selling a wide variety of X10 products.  by Ronny Richardson
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