Porch lights are a great way of making your home feel more welcoming when you arrive home at night.
Coming home to a well-lit property, where you can easily see any potential hazards, is more comforting than turning up at a dark home.
But are porch lights also welcoming burglars when you would actually want them to be a deterrent?
Many people believe that porch lights will stop burglars from approaching a property but is that really the case?
Leaving porch lights on all night may not prevent crime – burglars may use the light to check for areas that could make noise and identify potential entry points into your home. Lights on a motion detector are more effective at spooking criminals, but the best option is to use security cameras.
There are a few things to think about before you decide whether you leave your lights on all night, including:
- How much it costs to leave your lights on all night
- Whether leaving porch lights on is classed as light pollution
- How effective they are at deterring burglars
So, let’s explore those now.
How Much Does It Cost To Keep A Porch Light On All Night?
Firstly, it’s important to consider how much you’re spending if you leave your porch lights on all night.
After all, if it’s expensive, you need to weigh up the risk against the money you’re paying, right?
And it might be most cost-effective to look at other deterrents.
Let’s work on the assumption that you’re using four lights, which is around average for a porch.
And let’s also assume an average electricity cost of $0.11 per kWh – some places in the US do have a higher rate, but some have lower too, so this is a guide.
It’s exceptionally rare for incandescent bulbs to still be used in porch lights – most existing are halogen or LED, and new ones will almost all be LED.
So I’m only comparing those two options.
| Porch light | Cost for 4 lights (12 hours) | Cost for 4 lights for 1 month | Cost for 4 lights for 1 year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halogen – 30W per bulb | $0.16 | $4.75 | $57.81 |
| LED – 8W per bulb | $0.04 | $1.26 | $15.41 |
Even if you’re using energy-efficient LED bulbs, that’s still $15 a year that you could save if you don’t have your porch lights on all night.
Realistically you’d want them on for a couple of hours, but even if you use them for 2 hours instead of 12, that saves around $13.
If you’re using halogen bulbs, then using the lights for just 2 hours a night instead of 12 would mean saving around $48, which is pretty significant.
That’s 6 months of a TV streaming service you could be enjoying instead.
If you want to do your own calculation based on your electricity costs, it’s quite simple.
Add together the wattage of the bulbs you’re using to get the total watt-hours for all the bulbs – the number of watts used in one hour.
You need to convert this to kilowatt-hours by dividing it by 1,000. So, four 30W bulbs would be 120 watt-hours or 0.12 kilowatt-hours.
Then simply multiply that by your cost of electricity per kilowatt-hour, and you have the hourly cost for using your bulbs.
Then you can multiply it by the number of hours you’re using the lights. Easy.
So, bearing those figures in mind, you should only use your porch lights all night if it definitely acts as a deterrent.
However, before we get to that, we need to look at whether you’re even allowed to use your porch lights all night.
Are There Any Safety Regulations When Leaving The Lights On At Night?
There aren’t really any regulations related to safety surrounding the use of porch lights.
There are, however, regulations around light pollution and causing a nuisance to neighbors that you may need to be aware of.
Light pollution laws vary by state and country so you’ll need to read up on your local laws to check whether you are permitted to leave your lights on overnight.
Often laws will permit shielded light that can’t shine directly into neighbors’ homes – such as downlights.
Since these lights are aimed down at your porch, they aren’t causing your neighbors as much of a problem.
However, if you’re using wall lights on your porch, you may be restricted on the brightness or the times that you can use them.
Should I Leave My Porch Light On At Night?
With all of the above established, let’s look into how effective lights are at stopping burglars from trying to access your home.
The idea is that porch lights could make a burglar easier to be spotted by neighbors or make it seem like you’re at home.
However, 62% of all burglaries happen during daytime hours between 10am and 3pm – which essentially debunks this theory.
Why would a porch light deter a burglar if the massive ball of fire in the sky that illuminates literally everything wouldn’t?
The theory is that porch lights could actually benefit burglars since they make it clear where any potential trip hazards are.
They also make it easy to spot windows that could be opened or other weak points in your home defenses.
That doesn’t mean porch lights aren’t helpful with criminals, though – the best option is to link them to a motion detector that switches them on when someone approaches.
Not only is this much more cost-effective, but that change in light will do two things:
- It can make a potential burglar rethink their plan, since they don’t know if it’s a motion detector or they’ve made a noise and the lights have been turned on manually.
- A change in lighting is more likely to attract the attention of neighbors.
You should also combine porch lights with security cameras covering the main entrances to your home, and don’t be afraid to advertise that fact!
Telling burglars that your home is covered by cameras is the best deterrent, so add a sign or window sticker to your home in a prominent location.
Modern smart security cameras (Amazon) are easy to control from your smartphone and often have alarms and 2-way audio tech built-in.
Hence, you can comfortably monitor your outdoor space from your bed and tell burglars they’re being watched if they approach.
Also read: Do Yard Lights Keep Animals Away?
Final Words
On their own, porch lights aren’t an effective deterrent to burglars if they’re just left on all night.
It’s therefore not worth the cost to leave them on unless you also plan to add security cameras. However, a motion detector linked to the lights is a more cost-effective solution.
If you’re concerned about burglaries, it’s also worth getting to know your neighbors.
By introducing yourself and your family, your neighbor will be able to identify when someone unexpectedly is trying to access your property, making them more willing to act.
I hope none of my readers have been looted, but if you have any stories or tips based on your own experiences, it’d be great if you could share them.