You can set a timer to automatically turn your lights on when it gets dark and off at bedtime—which will save energy and money on your electric bill.
In fact, using timers on all of your outdoor lights—all year round—is a good energy-saving practice. Plus, it can deter crime.
During the winter holidays, the number of home break-ins skyrockets. Vacations, homes full of visitors and holiday distractions leave homes susceptible to crime.
Paired with basic security measures like locking windows and dead-bolting doors, a well-lighted home—inside and out—can deter would-be robbers. Outdoor motion-sensing lights are an economical alternative to outdoor floodlights that you must leave on all night. Motion sensors illuminate an area only when they sense movement and will shut off automatically when the movement stops.
Indoors, use timers on radios, room lights and TV sets so they turn on and off at random times all day. Timers also work on landscape and patio lights.
Place timers on lights near the front and back windows of a home. And keep them active all year long—not just when you’re out of town. A crook who has been watching the house to plan a burglary might notice if the lighting pattern suddenly changes.
