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One of the most fundamental aspects of running a business is to keep it safe and protected from threats such as burglaries, intrusions, vandalism, and other similar crimes.
There is a lot at stake and safeguarding confidential information, inventory, and people is a requirement for everyone owning or running a commercial property such as an office, shop, or restaurant.
Some of the most common forms of commercial security include locks, alarm systems, CCTV cameras, and access control systems. What people mostly don’t realise is the importance of proper external lighting and how it can affect commercial security.
Read on to find out all about commercial security lighting, the different types for you to decide between, how much they cost, and what is included in their installation:
Lighting plays an important part in keeping your property protected against security and safety threats. People likely to cause harm to you or your business will look for opportunities to do so when their chances of getting caught are minimised.
The dark provides just the perfect cover for intruders to sneak in without getting noticed and leave undetected. Properly-lit entrances and exits are essential for deterring criminals who look for the dark to hide their dirty work.
In addition to illuminating the entrances and exits, you also need to use strategic lighting for other parts of the property, both indoors and outdoors.
Good lighting increases security and also helps increase safety by preventing accidents. Areas of work and areas with heavy foot traffic need to be well-lit, especially where trip-and-fall accidents are prone to occur.
This is particularly important in places where people work with machinery, especially after dark, and where the risk of accidents happening is much higher.
Lighting is also an important component in enhancing the aesthetics of a property and can be placed in a way to both illuminate the area and highlight the property’s best features.
Whether you run an office, a retail shop, or any other commercial property, proper lighting is key to improving security and creating a safe space for everyone visiting or working.
When it comes to commercial security lighting, there are several options to choose from. Here are some of the most popular ones:
PIR (Passive Infrared) lights, also called motion-activated lights, turn on as soon as they sense movement. Otherwise, they stay off.
They are a popular choice for enhancing security in outdoor areas such as the doors, windows, and perimeter of the property.
Motion-activated lights are a type of alarm system without the loud siren. Their concept is simple. If an intruder walks by or stands near the lights, they will automatically turn on. Not only does this put a spotlight on the person(s) in question but also alerts you of the intrusion. The instant illumination is sure to attract your or someone else’s attention.
A few things to consider when installing motion sensor lights on your commercial property include the size of the area that needs to be covered and the range of the sensors.
Floodlights are, as their name suggests, used to flood an area with light. These lights are a source of bright light with the ability to cover a large area such as a parking lot, playground, warehouse, or stadium.
They are the most popular choice for outdoor commercial security lighting and are ideal for illuminating large dark areas around the property. They can be installed on walls or placed above the doors and entryways.
They are highly effective in terms of security and can be combined with motion sensors for added functionality. Some varieties are also dimmable, allowing you to adjust the brightness if you feel like it’s too much for your space.
Due to the amount of light produced by floodlights, they offer great security benefits and can illuminate any space for maximum visibility.
Solar lights are lights that are powered by sunlight. They are environment-friendly since they run on clean and renewable energy, and are a great option for illuminating your commercial property for security purposes.
Instead of relying on electricity from the grid to work, they rely on the sun to provide them with power. They can last around 4 to 6 hours at a stretch and give you enough power to illuminate your outdoor commercial space.
If you are in a sunny area, the solar panels can produce enough electricity to easily power the lights throughout the day. However, it is actually after dark that the lights need to be turned on.
The simple solution for this is using a solar panels battery storage system which converts solar power into electricity and saves it for later use when the sun goes down. The bigger the battery, the more electricity it can hold to power the solar lights.
Solar lights can be regular lights or combined with motion sensors to turn on as soon as they detect even the slightest movement.
LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights are ideal for commercial security lighting purposes because of the many benefits that they provide.
Compared to traditional lights that pass a current through a metal filament placed inside to emit light, LED lights emit light through the principle of electroluminescence by passing an electric current through the diode, which is a semiconductor.
They not only dramatically improve energy efficiency but also provide greater reliability, lower maintenance, brighter and instant illumination, and an overall better result.
If you ask us, the energy savings alone are enough to switch from traditional bulbs to LED lights. Compared to an incandescent or halogen bulb, an LED light uses 90% less energy and a 5-watt LED light can easily replace a 50-watt bulb. They also produce much less heat as a by-product.
They last around 20 times longer than other bulbs due to a much better heat dissipation system and the absence of a filament which tends to break or burn out with use. This reduces the number of times the lights need to be replaced, which can often be a hassle considering where and how the lights are installed.
A standout feature of LED lights is that they operate at full brightness the moment they are switched on. This is beneficial for security purposes and in the case of motion sensor lights when they need to be instantly and automatically turned on the second any motion is detected.
Other than that, they are available in several varieties and colours, allowing you to choose the best one for your commercial security lighting needs.
The best way to go about installing commercial security lighting is to hire a professional certified electrician to do the job. A commercial electrician has the necessary skill to work in properties such as offices, restaurants, shopping centres, and retail stores. Their typical tasks include common electrical installations and repair and working on lighting, heating, and general building requirements.
You may be tempted to conduct a DIY, but we strictly recommend against it as working with electricity can be dangerous if you are not properly trained.
A professional commercial electrician will have received the necessary training and expertise over the years along with lots of experience working in the field.
They always put safety first and are well-versed with the rules and regulations governing electrical installations in commercial properties. They can also easily pinpoint issues through inspections and fix them before they become serious, possibly life-threatening hazards.
Since they are experts at what they do, they can help you save both valuable time and money. In addition to that, any work carried out by them is fully insured and any damages or injuries during the installation process will be compensated for.
Here are all the steps that a commercial electrician will take when installing commercial security lighting:
Proper positioning of the security lights is just as important as installing them in the first place. If you have a high-quality light that is also effective as a deterrent, but you have it positioned in the wrong place or the wrong angle, it’s being there won’t make much of a difference.
Therefore, the first step in commercial security light installation should be to determine the requirement so that you can be a better judge of the most strategic locations for placing the lights.
You can start by running a risk assessment to identify all the at-risk areas and how installing security lights can help alleviate the risk. This step is also crucial in determining which type of security lighting will be best for your commercial property.
Some of the most common places to install commercial security lights include:
The cost of installing commercial security lights depends on several factors such as the type of light, the number of fixtures, the area to be covered, and the complexity of the job.
Installing a floodlight can cost around £80 to £180, whereas motion-sensor lights can cost about £90 to £500. On average, you can expect to pay between £80 and £1100 for the installation process.
Here is a list of all the factors you may need to consider when determining the total cost of commercial security lighting:
While security lighting is an integral part of commercial safety and security, it is not the only way to protect your property from criminal offences.
Following are some of the most effective deterrents against security threats such as intrusions, burglaries, and vandalism:
You can use burglar alarms both as a standalone system or as an integrated security solution. Burglar alarms are alarm systems that detect the presence or movement of a person in their range and sound an audible alarm to alert the owners of the property and people nearby of the activity.
These systems can also be integrated with commercial security lighting so that the lights automatically turn on when the alarm is triggered. This way, you get an audible as well as a visual alarm.
There are several types of burglar alarms to choose from. The most basic one is called a bells-only burglar alarm which simply sounds an alarm upon triggering.
Other advanced systems such as dialler systems, monitored alarms, and smart alarms all send alerts in the form of a phone call, message, or notification to the users of the system in the event of an alarm trigger. In some professionally monitored systems, the police may even be notified.
CCTV (Closed-Circuit Television) cameras are security systems used for surveillance purposes. Considered one of the most effective deterrents against burglaries and intrusions, even the mere sight of a CCTV camera is enough to scare off a potential criminal for the fear of getting caught.
These cameras provide both recorded as well as live footage. Most advanced CCTV cameras have sensors in them for picking up any movement and unusual sound and trigger the system to send an alert to the users of the system.
These alerts may be sent in the form of a notification on the user’s phone or, in the case of professional monitoring, to the Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC).
CCTV cameras can be installed in conjunction with security lights to provide better visibility and security. The lights will not only eliminate any dark areas around the property but also help the cameras capture vivid footage.
When installing the cameras and lights, just make sure there is no obstruction in either’s way and that the lights do not cast a direct glare on the camera’s lens.
Although most advanced cameras are made to withstand glare and other external factors, it is always best to minimise such issues, especially if they are in your control.
We, at Calder Electrical, provide a comprehensive solution for lighting all kinds of properties including residential, commercial, as well as industrial properties.
We understand the unique needs of commercial security lighting and are here to provide you with the best ways to not only properly illuminate your property but also make it incredibly energy-efficient.
Our LED lighting services include:
We can survey your property and create a lighting design to see if we can not only reduce the number of light fittings but also make the area reach a lighting level suitable for use.
We can also incorporate motion detectors so that the lights in certain areas of the property are only switched on when movement is detected near them.
We can give you an energy calculation to show your current lighting costs and the estimated costs by upgrading to LED lighting so that you can see how much you will save, normally aiming for a 40% saving.
If you are undertaking a new installation, we can help you create a lighting design suitable for your property’s layout and intended usage. We provide professional LED installation services guaranteed to meet the current wiring regulations.
In addition to this, we also provide electrical testing and maintenance services undertaken by our NICEIC-certified electricians who make sure all your electrical installations meet the current regulations and that all the notifiable work is signed off by the local authorities.
Contact us here or call us on 0800 612 3001 to talk to our leading experts right away!
Photo by Nastya Dulhiier on Unsplash
