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Security lighting.
Good security lighting covers the places someone would approach unseen, comes on when it should and does not light up the neighbours’ bedrooms.
← All garden and exterior lighting
Which type?
- Sensor (PIR) floodlights come on when they detect movement. Good for drives, side returns and back gardens.
- Dusk-to-dawn wall lights stay on at a low level all night. Good for front doors and paths.
- Both together: a low background light with sensors boosting it, which is what we usually recommend.
- With CCTV: lighting placed so cameras get a clear picture at night. See CCTV.
Keep it neighbourly
Light shining into someone else’s home can be a statutory nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, and councils do act on complaints. We aim floodlights down at the ground you want covered, use shielded fittings, set sensor ranges and timers sensibly and avoid lights that stay on full brightness all night.
Security light keeps coming on, or will not go off?
| Symptom | Likely cause |
|---|---|
| Comes on for no reason | Sensor range too wide, moving branches, passing cars, cats, or spiders on the sensor |
| Stays on all the time | Left in manual override (switched off and on quickly), or a failed sensor |
| Never comes on | Daylight setting wrong, failed lamp or sensor, or a tripped circuit |
| Comes on in the rain | Water in the fitting, which can also trip the RCD |
We can adjust, repair or replace the fitting. Old halogen floodlights are worth swapping for LED with a separate, adjustable sensor.
Photographs: a private residence in Totteridge (a project led by our director Michael Simm and now maintained by SEGplc), external lighting at a school in Ware and an outbuilding in Hertford.
Questions we’re asked
Where should security lights go?
Where someone could approach unseen: side returns, back doors, the drive and outbuildings. Lighting the front of the house brightly all night adds little.
Why does my security light stay on?
Many have a manual override that is triggered by switching off and on quickly. Switch it off for a minute and back on. If it still stays on, the sensor may have failed.
Can security lights work with CCTV?
Yes. We place lights so cameras see faces and number plates at night without glare, and some cameras can trigger the lights.
Written by SEGplc. Last updated 19 October 2026.
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