If your community is looking for a quick and fairly simple way to improve safety and curb appeal, it is time to consider exterior lighting. Without dark spots and shadows, thieves don’t have places to lurk and your community will immediately reduce its chance of being targeted for burglaries. And as an added bonus, exterior light makes communities more welcoming which improves curb appeal!
Let’s talk about how your community can benefit from good exterior lighting:
- Improves Safety – This is two fold. Good exterior lighting deters would-be criminals and helps prevent people from tripping and falling in the dark. Make sure all common areas like parking lots, stairwells, and doorways are well lit. Also, consider installing decorative lighting in or around common-area landscaping to eliminate hiding spots. It is wise to encourage residents to keep homes well lit and to replace dead bulbs quickly. Dark homes are a target, even in an otherwise well-lit community.
- Property Ambiance – Dark, unlit areas are not only dangerous, but they are also perceived as unwelcoming. Take the time walk though your community at dusk to see where more light is needed. To make your community more welcoming in the dark make sure you light signage, add some landscaping lights, and swap out dead bulbs as soon as you notice them. Encourage homeowners to do the same on their property!
- Light Pollution vs. Ambiance – This is a common concern from HOA boards and even residents who can’t stand light pouring into bedroom windows at night. The best thing your board can do is find a balance. To do this, consider including language in your governing documents about exterior lighting. While your board can control the type of lighting used in common areas, you may have residents who install their own lights and end up upsetting neighbors (i.e. security lights shining into the neighbor’s bedroom windows). Having guidelines in the governing documents allows your board to take action!
If your board decides to update or upgrade exterior lighting in common areas, consider investing in LED and solar lighting over other options. In most cases the upfront cost of these choices may be more, but in the long run you’ll save money on your power bill.
If done properly, exterior lighting can be a win-win for any community. If you’re wondering how to best incorporate guidelines for exterior lighting, give Spectrum a call. We would be happy to work with your board to update HOA bylaws to include language around exterior lighting!
