Every homeowner dreams of a bright porch.
Porch lights create a unique atmosphere in your home and provide a level of personal security. Still, the costs of running your porch light all night are real.
Leaving your porch light on or off for the night is often a dilemma for homeowners.
Most security specialists recommend against leaving your porch light on all night.
Keep reading for the actual costs of your porch light being on all night.
What are the Real Costs of Leaving Your Porch Light on All Night?
It is perfectly acceptable to turn on your porch light to investigate whatever is occurring in your foyer in the middle of the night.
Nevertheless, leaving that same light on all night has its own real costs. The costs could be represented in dollars or it could be related to the security ramifications. The costs include;
Financial costs
A significant portion of the cost associated with a porch light will be the cost of electricity.
For the environmentally conscious amongst us (and, let’s face it, this should probably be everyone!)…
If your porch light has the regular old incandescent bulb, the cost of the electricity adds up.
What Should You Expect? An average incandescent bulb uses about $0.0075 per hour. After determining how long you leave your porch light on (for example, 8 hours a night), you would conclude your porch light costs you 6 cents in electricity per day. Therefore, leaving your porch light on all night could add approximately $2 to your electricity bill each month.
When it comes to the financial costs of having your porch light on all night, a greener LED bulb could help to keep that cost down.
An LED bulb has a total electricity consumption that could be approximated to about a sixth of what a regular incandescent bulb uses.
It all depends on the actual watt consumption of the LED light bulb used.
In the end, an LED bulb used as a porch light would cost regard for about a penny per day for the same on-time (8 hours) usage nights.
Compromised security
While leaving your porch on overnight may seem like a good idea, most security experts would disagree.
According to security experts, light on the porch can distort the security architecture of your next house or home.
When you leave your porch lights on, you provide an unimpeded line of sight to nighttime burglaries and eliminate the huge element of surprise for which most burglaries rely.
Security experts agree that leaving your porch light on overnight will not dissuade possible burglaries.
Usually, the break-in most burglaries occurring in the daytime when neighbors can also see them breaking into your house.
Your porch light also risks exposing the security of your home and home life because it will make possible prospective burglars feel you are out of your house sitting on your illuminated porch.
The security implications of leaving your porch light on all night in your rural home also have potentially larger implications.
Don’t forget to – Although you live in a rural home and it’s black as pitch, it is important that you leave your porch light off. A porch light attracts attention and gives burglars light to figure out what else is occurring in your surroundings even though you cannot see.
Neighbors in the country also do not have to consider the safety of you, the folks closest, because the houses are not as closely built.
Leaving your porch light on in an urban setting is commonly not as big a security problem as a rural setting.
Your lighted porch may also give your neighbors a headache, it can also affect the safety of their house and safety as an individual.
Bug attraction issues
When incandescent or LED lights are on, they usually attract swarms of bugs.
These bugs will block the light from the bulb, therefore defeating the purpose of leaving it on all night.
The bugs will also poop on the bulb, adding to your work of cleaning the surrounding area.
When Can You Leave Your Porch Light On?
Although it is typically a bad idea to leave your porch light on all night, there are exceptions to the rule.
This is when you can leave your porch light on.
When you are home during the night
Keep a porch light on when home alone
Turning on a porch light notifies possible robbers that someone is home. Leaving on porch lights and indoor lights provides a greater deterrent for burglars.
A porch light provides you visibility to see persons, objects and animals approaching your front door.
In the evening, if you have a motion-detecting light, you do not have to leave your porch light on.
It is essential to understand that a motion-detecting light lights up when a person, or animal, walks within a number of feet of your porch.
The light may frighten aware intruders if they get within a distance to your door.
When you know, you’ll be late to return home
If you think you or your roommates are going to arrive home late, it is smart to leave the porch lights on.
This will allow for safe unlocking of the front door, plus having the foyer lit will prevent you from tripping on the stairs leading up to your front door without a flashlight.
Having porch lights on ensures that you see anyone trying to break in from a distance, which can prevent a confrontation and give you the chance to call the police.
When you leave your kids at home alone
When you venture out at night, for your own peace of mind, you want to ensure your children feel safe.
Children typically feel safer in an illuminated place rather than a dark setting.
You can pair the light at the front of your house with the lights on in your home to create the illusion that more people are home.
When you are expecting a delivery
If you are expecting a delivery, it is usually best to leave your porch light on at night.
The light adds an element to the deliveryman that you are home.
Also, you will get a visual on the deliveryman approaching your front door.
So – you won’t get freaked out with the random knock on the front door.
When You Should Leave Your Foyer Light Off at Night
When your foyer light is left on overnight, it’s not only a waste of energy but also liable to most likely cost you real money.
Some likely situations include:
When going on a long trip
If you choose to leave your porch light on when you are away for an extended period, the intruders will know you’re not home.
If they’re aware that you’re not home, it might make your home more appealing.
You can purchase porch lights with timers pre-programmed to turn them on, giving the impression that someone is home.
Ideally, you can program them to turn on at different times during the evening to give the impression of someone being home.
When going to sleep
When settling down for the night, you might think about turning off the hall light at the same time you turn off the bedroom light.
That makes it harder for a potential intruder to know if there is anyone home.
Fortunately, most porch lights include infrared sensors so that when they sense movement at the front door, the lights will illuminate the front porch.
When you are home alone
Feeling a little nervous when you’re alone at home isn’t uncommon.
Switching off your porch light may lessen any feelings of nervousness.
In fact, most burglars will observe a house for a while before they break in.
If they notice no one is home, they may think that’s an ideal chance to break in.
Bottom Line
Leaving your porch light on all night can have a great deal of costs, from the financial cost to the security or opportunity costs.
Using a traditional incandescent bulb in your foyer will have an even greater financial cost.
So, it is advisable to use an LED bulb on your porch to save on your electricity bill.
While all security experts warn against leaving your porch light on all night, there are exceptions.
For example, there are times when you might have left your children home alone.