A well-lit porch is every homeowner’s dream.
Porch lights give your home an unmatched ambiance and improve personal protection. However, leaving your porch light on all night comes with real costs.
Whether to leave your porch light on or off often presents a dilemma to homeowners.
Most security specialists advise against leaving your porch light on all night long.
Continue reading to gain insights into the actual costs of doing so.
What are the Real Costs of Leaving Your Porch Light on All Night?
It is okay to switch on your porch light when you need to check something in your foyer in the dead of night.
However, leaving it on all night comes with real costs ranging from financial to security implications. The costs include;
Financial costs
A substantial porch light cost includes a higher electricity bill.
If you are an eco-conscious individual, this is a big deal.
If your porch has an ordinary incandescent bulb, the electricity bill is higher.
What to Expect? An incandescent bulb consumes approximately 0.75 cents every hour. If you leave your porch light on for 8 hours every night, this translates to 6 cents in electricity costs every day. Your porch light could easily add $2 to your electricity bill at the end of the month.
Using an eco-friendly LED bulb could help reduce the financial cost of leaving your porch light on all night.
An LED bulb consumes about a sixth of the electricity an ordinary incandescent bulb consumes.
The actual consumption is contingent upon the wattage of an LED bulb.
On average, an LED porch light consumes about 1 cent every day when left on for 8 hours.
Compromised security
While leaving your porch on all night might seem like a good idea, most security specialists state otherwise.
Security experts note that an illuminated porch can distort your household security architecture.
Leaving your porch lights on gives night burglars a clean line of sight and eliminates the element of surprise.
Security experts agree that leaving your porch light on at night does not deter potential burglaries.
Most burglaries happen in the daytime when neighbors can see robbers breaking into your house anyway.
An illuminated porch also compromises your home security because it can make potential robbers believe you’re not home.
The security implications of leaving your porch light on at night in your countryside home are even greater.
Keep in Mind – It is vital to leave your porch light off in rural homes even though the surroundings are pitch dark. An illuminated porch draws attention and gives burglars the ability to see their surroundings.
They also don’t have to worry about being spotted by neighbors since rural homes are far apart.
The security implications of leaving your porch light on all night in urban areas are not as dire as in rural areas.
However, your illuminated porch can be a nuisance to your neighbors. It can also compromise their home security and individual protection.
Bug attraction issues
Incandescent and LED bulbs often attract swarms of bugs when they are on.
The bugs often block the bulb’s light, hence defeating the purpose of leaving them on all night.
Bugs also excrete on the bulb, leaving you with the extra task of cleaning it up later.
When Can You Leave Your Porch Light On?
While leaving your porch light on all night is generally a bad idea, there are exceptions to the rule.
Here are the instances you can leave your porch light on.
When you are home during the night
Switching on your porch light alerts potential robbers of your presence. Leaving the porch and indoor lights on acts as a greater deterrence to burglars.
A well-lit porch lets you see individuals, objects, and animals approaching your front door.
If you have a motion-detecting light, you do not have to leave your porch light on in the nighttime.
It is worth noting that a motion-detecting light turns on when an animal or person walks within several feet of your porch.
The light could scare aware intruders who get too close to the front door.
When you know, you’ll be late to return home
If you suspect that you or your roommates will return home late in the night, it is a good idea to leave your porch well-lit.
Doing so allows you to unlock the door safely. An illuminated foyer prevents you from tripping over the steps leading up to your front door if you do not have a flashlight.
Also, a well-lit porch enables you to spot any intruders from afar.
This is particularly important because it saves you from confrontation and gives you the chance to alert the police.
When you leave your kids at home alone
When you go out at night, you want your kids to feel safe.
Children ordinarily feel protected in illuminated spaces compared to dark surroundings.
You can supplement the foyer light with indoor lights to give potential intruders the impression that several individuals are at home.
When you are expecting a delivery
It is generally a good idea to leave your porch light on at night if you expect a delivery.
The additional light gives the deliveryman the impression that you’re home.
Leaving your porch light on also lets you see the deliveryman approaching the front door.
Consequently – You cannot get spooked by a random knock on the front door.
When You Should Leave Your Foyer Light Off at Night
There are many occasions when leaving your foyer light on all night can translate into real costs.
The instances include the following.
When going on a long trip
Leaving your porch light on when going for a long trip can inform intruders of your absence.
This makes your home a potential target.
You can acquire porch lights with pre-programmed timers to give potential burglars the impression that you are home.
Ideally, you can set the lights to turn on during certain times of the night to create the illusion that someone is home.
When going to sleep
When retiring to bed, you should consider switching off the foyer light as you switch off the bedroom light.
Doing so leaves any potential intruders guessing whether there is anybody home.
Luckily – Most porch lights come with infrared sensors that prompt them to switch on upon detecting motion on the front door.
When you are home alone
It is not unusual to feel anxious when you are home alone.
Turning off your porch light can help alleviate any feeling of anxiety.
You must know that robbers often conduct surveillance on a home for a while before striking.
If they notice that you are home alone, they can view that as the perfect opportunity to strike.
Bottom Line
Leaving your porch light on all night comes with high costs that range from financial expenses to security implications.
Using an incandescent bulb in your foyer leads to even higher costs.
It is, thus, advisable to deploy an LED bulb on your porch to save on electricity bills.
While security specialists advise against leaving your porch light on all night, there are certain exceptions to the rule.
One such exception includes instances when you leave your kids at home alone.
