If you have extensive grounds surrounding your commercial property, an effective outdoor lighting installation can add an extra measure of security and safety to your property and assets.
The need to ensure the safety of your employees and staff should also be high on your list of priorities. Lighting can satisfy both the security and safety concerns when it’s installed with some forethought and planning.
Decrease or Eliminate Shadows
Your goal in creating an effective exterior lighting plan for your commercial property should be to decrease as much as possible or eliminate any shadows on your property.
You should also make a note of all security camera placements on your property and take them into account when you design your outdoor lighting plan.
Security cameras generally deliver a low-res, high-contrast image to a monitor screen. While this is generally acceptable for indoor use, it becomes more of a problem when shadows are present in the camera image. The high-contrast makes shadows the perfect hiding areas for intruders. By eliminating these shadows as much as possible, you’ll increase the effectiveness of your camera placements.
Beware of Glare
Just as shadows can reduce the effectiveness of your security cameras, too much light can render them ineffective as well. Make sure that your outdoor lighting plan doesn’t include lamps that shine towards a camera. This will create a bright glare in the camera’s image and may prevent areas behind the lamp from being seen by the camera.
It’s always best to position lighting above all camera placements. A film studio uses mainly overhead lighting to create an even wash of light. You should follow this rule of thumb in planning your lighting positions.
By using forethought and planning, exterior lighting can provide an extra measure of safety and security to any commercial factory, office building or retail establishment.
