There are so many better solutions for security and for landscape and active outdoor area lighting.

Start by exploring low voltage landscape lighting and the many forms in which they come--ground mounted, tree mounted, house mounted, up and down lights, buried, etc. All that's required is a vision of how to illuminate important and desirable areas. After that, from a mechanical point of view, one needs the appropriate fixtures, wiring, a low voltage transformer and a timer. Simple.

And there are pros who purchase and install low voltage landscape lighting so that one doesn't have to even lift a finger.

So much better than what's pictured above.

I can not remember the last time I showed flood lights on one of my designs.

I wish my neighbor would turn theirs off at night.

We live in the country and don't have any street lighting so any lighting is on us. We used the same approach outside as in, layering different lights for different purposes. There are some exterior fixtures on the house, garage, and workshop, including some fairly attractive (lantern style by Heath Zenith) motion sensor fixtures on the workshop. We also have these outdoor mini recessed LED lights my husband found in the Lee Valley catalogue, and will be putting in landscape lighting when the snow melts; the wiring went in last fall. There are also lights along the driveway.

The house is close to the farmyard and there's a lot of back and forth so we need good lighting, especially during the times of year when we're working late or through the night (like calving season at the moment). And we're in western Canada, so during the winter it gets dark early, so more light then helps.

We're on a county road, dark, no street lights and have 300' of driveway from the road to the front of the house. We have floodlights, motion activated, that go on as we reach the house and light the way around the house to the detached garage. There are dark sky compliant lights over the garage doors, also motion activated. We've never seen one on our property but we have bears here and our neighbors regularly have them within 10' of their kitchen door. The light switch to activate the floodlights is in our bedroom closet and we usually turn them off at night but sometimes forget and wake up when they go on - usually from a coyote. They are timed for 30 seconds - I would never want something like that on all night, or any lights all night for that matter.

Oh and they are tucked up under the eves, same color as the house - not a big deal visually.

We've put in a flood on the back corner of the house pointed toward the RV pad. The only time we will turn it on is when we come home at night and need to park the RV. It shouldn't be too often. The rest of our exterior lights are all "dark sky" rated lights. I like the look of a house lit up at night, but not with floods.

At my previous house, we had a rash of robberies in the neighborhood, so most of the neighbors installed flood lights and left them on all night (even though all the robberies took place during the day). It took some getting used to as they lit up my bedroom at night, but I understood the need to feel safe. Thankfully, our new neighborhood is pretty much crime-free, so I hope that won't happen again.

We are rural, no lights around like beckysharp. We have spots on each side and back of the house. We use them when we are in the yard after dark or if we hear a bump in the night. They are motion detection, but we have them shut off until needed due to the wildlife always setting them off. Spots are on each side of the garage door to shine on the driveway. The driveway is 60ft and we can't see a thing backing up without the spots. We don't have runway lights up the driveway due to the fact that we would probably run them over with a car or lawn tractor and we don't like them. We have a landscape spot shining up into a tree in our front yard and one on the fountain. If I was building a new house I would put in spots, even if used infrequently. It is easier to install when the walls are open. There are new neighborhoods popping up around our area where an association tells you what and what not your allowed to do, down to I swear what color toothbrush your allowed to use. I know those houses are not allowed to use spots.

Be careful that you are not building in an area that has dark sky regulations --either through an HOA or the municipality-- our area has both. Fortunately, their are shields that can be retrofitted that are compliant.

Because we back to a creek which is a path for deer, bear (lots) and moose (mean), we were granted a bit of leniency in the back.

Fort, crime us practically non-existent in our area and we also have a padlocked six foot fence and a good securitt system.

What is your lighting intent? I like soffit-mounted lights, flush with the ceiling, to give a glow around the outside of the house.

My neighbors a couple houses behind us have floodlights that cast a shadow on my bedroom wall. I can't figure out which of two houses it is, so I can't ask them them point their back-patio floodlights down. Fortunately it will soon be summer and the leafiness will block it. A bit.

I bought 3 40,000 lumen 400 watt flood lights that would blow your mind. I can light up the place like Yankee stadium at night. Simple amazing. It's half for security, half so I can do anything I would like at night.

Good god. Dont show my neighbors.

My spouse has asked for more security lighting. No reason, particularly. Just spooked.

We have one large fixture mounted high with a switch by the back door. We use it for taking the dogs out at night. Allows us to watch the dogs from inside. Also to make sure there is nothing in the yard prior to letting the dogs out... Like the black bear just off the deck last year, or the one sitting in the yard with the birdfeeder a few years ago.

Taconichills that would do more than blow my mind.

Light pollution is real. And very disruptive.

The photo from taconichills is a perfect example of what not to do. There are so many other, better ways for exterior illumination.

jn3344 "My spouse has asked for more security lighting. No reason, particularly. Just spooked."

???

Also agree with the replies about light pollution.

http://www.darksky.org

There are so many better solutions for security and for landscape and active outdoor area lighting.

I can not remember the last time I showed flood lights on one of my designs.

So my instinct not to use flood lights is correct ... but I am not well educated on these other items.

I also just realized that one reason I don't use my flood lights is that I live on the corner and have a city streetlight literally next to my driveway. It provides light when I come home after dark or go out to the trunk of the car ... but we'll have a garage in our new house, so we'll have interior lights ... but we need to be sure to have lights in the guest parking area.

Okay, good first thoughts.
There are dark sky compliant lights

I don't know what that is, so I'll have to research.

We've put in a flood on the back corner of the house pointed toward the RV
pad.

That sounds like a reasonable use ... but also a specialized use not applicable to everyone.
At my previous house, we had a rash of robberies in the neighborhood, so most of the neighbors installed flood lights and left them on all night (even though all the robberies took place during the day).

Realistically, the vast majority of burglaries happen during the day while homeowners (and their neighbors) are away. I'm not overly concerned about flood lights keeping away burglars.

What is your lighting intent?
That's a good question, and it's not one I can answer at the moment. At a glance, I'd say these items -- but I'm not sure they're inclusive:

- Light the front door /porch

- Light the front of the garage

- Light guest parking

- Light the back porch /backyard for outdoor dinners

No need for:

- Lighting for trees and landscaping

- Wildlife -- we have deer, possums, raccoons -- bears don't really live here

Oh, my. That might count as "spotting", which is illegal.

Can you actually SEE the electric meter spinning when that light is on?

Does the power company send you a Christmas card?

We use it for taking the dogs out at night.

I live in a neighborhood now, and I often take my dog out for after-dark walks (he's blind, so what's the difference?). But that's not in my own yard.

Thanks, All. You've given me topics to study.

Each lighting situation is different. Our last house was 2 1/2 miles from the city limit and lived in the suburbs. It was never real dark at night between the light pollution from the city and the neighbors porch lights. Now we live 16 miles from the city and when it is dark, it is pitch black. We only put on the lights when needed. Same with the few neighbors.

Taconichills, where can I order that moonlight? :-) So cool! I often garden at night taking care of my 1000 roses, I use spot lights and camping lantern. I could use one of that in the land of thorns.

You will never get pricked again!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073VKVK96/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Interior and exterior lighting is simply another design issue, just as is almost everything else in a custom home design.

And like everything else, one needs to carefully identify their needs, wants and priorities when it comes to lighting.

Night time security and security from roaming wild animals is one set of priorities. Working outdoors at night is another priority.

But so too is having illuminated outdoors spaces which are pleasant and inviting in which to share family and friends time, whether actually outdoors or looking out from indoors. A key to this approach is the creative design of low voltage exterior features, which are available in a variety of forms and placement--not simply under the eve of the adjacent house or wall.

Low voltage landscape lighting puts lighting where it's most needed, and transforms the outdoors into pleasant and appealing design features.

It doesn't blast the exterior with hundreds of watts per fixture; most landscape fixtures are less than 5 watts each, on a 12-volt system!

Will landscape lighting keep bears away? Probably not. But not much will if a bear is determined--or curious. But landscape lighting on sensors and timers is an excellent security lighting feature, albeit one which is also pleasant for a family and friends to spend quality time together outdoors.

Great examples, Virgil!

We have several spot lights around the house. I use 5 of them every night when I let the dogs out in the yard and it is dark outside. No (or very few) street lights in my town. We aren't that far from downtown LA, but we have coyotes, bobcats, and mountain lions that are happy to snack on pets. We get bears too, but they are usually spotted during daylight hours! We also have rattlesnakes and tarantulas.

I'll continue to use common sense safety measures, such as turning on outside lights, for myself and my pets.

Adding after Virgil's post - we also have all that low voltage pretty stuff, but it doesn't light up the back yard for certain specific tasks, which is where the spotlights come in handy. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. We have different types of low voltage, on different zones, all with timers.

I hate all that dramatic lighting such as in the above pictures. Fortunately, only one house in my neighborhood has it. To me, it looks like a resort in Las Vegas. Most of us have a few low voltage lights in the back garden, or at the entrance to the front walk - the kind of kits one buys at a Big Box Store. They do the job with less "drama".

I had two floods installed on the back of my house to light up most of my small back garden. I did it as we have a skunk and coyote problem in our close-in suburban neighborhood. Having lived in LA and knowing how dangerous a coyote is to a small dog, I am taking no chances. I also keep a small canned air horn right next to the kitchen door and I watch when my dog goes out after dark. Between the light and the horn, I think she's safe.

I think it's useful to have flood lights even if one rarely uses them. If one hears something outside, turning on a flood can usually make it disappear, whether it's a two-legged or four-legged "nuisance".

I'll take stars over exterior lighting - that's my preference. As pretty as those exteriors are, Virgil, they are still quite lit up to my eye. Our front porch light casts enough of a glow for a safe walk up the front walk by a guest and our 30 second timed lights illuminate the driveway around to the garage and then I get my stars back. We addressed our needs/wants with as little lighting as possible, not only as our preference but as a courtesy to current and future neighbors and I would absolutely want to know if my lighting (or lawn mower or whatever) was disruptive to a neighbor. Our dog is never out in the dark alone - part of the responsibility of living with the wild animals that were here first.

Our mountain house is in, well, the mountains, outside (but technically within town limits) of a community that has a dark sky ordinance, so our exterior lighting is dark sky compliant. No street lights in our area; no landscaping allowed, either, other than within 10 feet of the house. The area is home to moose, elk, deer, coyotes, fox and bear (etc.), and we love to see them in our "yard" (well, maybe not so much the bear). They don't like the bright lights either. We moved into their home, so we try to respect their space.

We let our large dogs into our yard with an invisible fence, but keep them close to the house and keep an eye out for moose (known to attack dogs).

We are installing flood lights. We are rural (no neighbors for several miles) sitting about 500 yards from the road. I'll have a light switch on my side of the bed... if I hear anything questionable, I can turn all the outside lights on at one time.

(This was DH's idea since he does travel for work quite a bit.)

We had floodlights at our previous house and DH used them quite a bit while working outside after dark. Fancy-schmancy landscape lighting like suggested above, wouldn't have met his needs.

Mrs. Pete, this sort of exterior fixture is considered dark sky friendly, because the shade keeps/forces the light downward, minimizing glare and also reducing light trespass and skyglow --

That's the sort of fixture we have on the exterior of our garage.

This website might help,

http://www.darksky.org

Where we live, when it's dark, it's pitch black, especially when there's no moon. Our focus is more on seeing any nocturnal predators -- bears, cougars, coyotes -- while we're out and about in the evenings and at night, so we can avoid them or protect ourselves and the animals, rather than relying on light to keep them away.

We don't have a dusk-to-dawn farm yard security light, the way many of our neighbors do. There are floodlights on old telephone poles set up all around the yard, and when they're on it is light enough to play baseball at night : ) . But it's also light enough to make sure that when someone is driving the tractor at night bringing in a bale for extra bedding, they can see even the smallest calf or lamb; you can also see the deer that can come bouncing out from behind the bales (the kids have each come close to getting knocked over by mature females); and you can see better to keep from slipping on ice and snow in the winter months. We also have a portable light tower/plant we bought secondhand at an industrial auction sale, and that thing is amazing when we have to work at night. When we use lights at night, the question for us is, is it necessary for safety? And from about May to October, we don't really need much light in the night.

Beth, you’re a brave soul! :-)

I escape to the country on the weekends, so I know how dark countryside is, it’s pretty spooky under the beautiful stars! I added a few lights to the property since we bought the place..... put out about 3000 (bulbs) solar string lights around decks and patios, installed battery operated LED spot lights.. I heard flashing string lights could keep deer away from garden. I even put a string on a volleyball net which is near a small orchard. The solar lights are not good for all weather though, I also have plug in patio lights and string lights on timers, will replace 4 flood lights this spring when the weather is warmer.

OK...I agree that many of the photos I found for landscape lighting are over done. I was disappointed that there were almost no creative and well-done low voltage systems images found during my search. It seems all of the vendors want to accentuate what they can do in their Internet photos. So, ugh from a creative design point of view...except to say that talented landscape architects, architects and lighting designers know exactly how to use landscape lighting in an appropriate manner.

And not the mega-gazillion lumens and bazillion watts of tacos photo!

"... Most of us have a few low voltage lights in the back garden, or at the entrance to the front walk - the kind of kits one buys at a Big Box Store. They do the job with less "drama"..."

And yep, I accept that many of the photos were overly dramatic. I was turned off by the Las Vegas Effect as well. But seriously...a custom and creative solution from Lowes and Home Despot? You don't know what you don't know...:-)

Sorry Virgil, my dog getting tangled up with coyotes, foxes, and bears are
far more important than you trying to star gaze.

I don't let my dog outside after dark by himself. He's only 25 pounds, and he's a special needs dog (totally blind from birth). We do have coyotes -- both here in my current neighborhood and on my farm -- and he'd have no chance against them. At the farm we carry pistols when we're out in the woods -- not because we're afraid, but because we LIKE killing those pesky coyotes! We've had problems the last few years with hunters coming on our property without permission ... they kill deer, cut the heads off, and leave the carcasses laying. We don't always find them right away, but they attract coyotes to our land ... they're now fat and happy, and they aren't a bit afraid of us. Suckers.

Obviously, I will own this house longer than I'll have this already-four-year-old dog, but I think I'm "downgrading" from big dogs to small forever, so I don't think I'll ever allow them outside alone.

And like everything else, one needs to carefully identify their needs, wants and priorities when it comes to lighting.

Yes, I'm realizing this ... and I'm not done with my thoughts yet.

Night time security and security from roaming wild animals is one set of priorities. Working outdoors at night is another priority.

Yeah, neither one of those is my personal priority.

But so too is having illuminated outdoors spaces which are pleasant and inviting in which to share family and friends time, whether actually outdoors or looking out from indoors.

Now that sounds more like me.

we have coyotes, bobcats, and mountain lions that are happy to snack on pets. We get bears too, but they are usually spotted during daylight hours! We also have rattlesnakes and tarantulas.

Holy cow! Why do you live there? I thought we Carolinians were kind of screwed, given that every poisonous snake in America lives in our state, but I can kill a snake -- I can't kill a mountain lion.

As pretty as those exteriors are, Virgil, they are still quite lit up to my eye.

Yeah, I also find them a little too bright. We country folks aren't afraid of the dark ... but that goes back to what a couple people have said about needing to define my wants.

Mrs. Pete, this sort of exterior fixture is considered dark sky friendly, because the shade keeps/forces the light downward, minimizing glare and also reducing light trespass and skyglow -

I did some reading on that topic earlier today ... in fact, I think that IS the website I read. I was entirely ignorant, but it doesn't seem to be too hard to choose a light to meet these ideals.

Again, thanks All. I'm working on defining my needs, and I know more than I did this morning.

I'm 74 years old, my back yard is down a flight of concrete steps, and going out with my dog after dark is just not an option for me. The garden is totally fenced - only area vulnerable to coyotes is the L-shaped picket fence around the driveway. It's fairly new and I'm not replacing it with a higher fence. So, I turn on the flood lights, stand at the all-glass kitchen storm door and watch my dog when she goes out.

Funny about all this no lighting. I spend a month on Martha's Vineyard every summer, and Edgartown does have street lights and most people have a porch light as well. I have a flood light out the back - unfenced - I rent, don't own - and I always put it on when I take my dog out on a leash at night - lots and lots of skunks! And I can still see the very bright stars.

We, too have floodlights. We live on 2 1/2 acres with coyotes, foxes, etc. We had switches all over the house to control them - could not access them from one location. We put them all on Lutron Caseta. We can now turn all of them on with one command should we hear anything. We don't let the dogs out by themselves when it's dark but we do see wild animals all times of the day. I do also like the ability to turn then on remotely when we are out of town. Are they beautiful? No. But I do feel more secure with them.

So...what many posters here are saying is that their primary lighting priority is security for themselves and their pets for going out once or twice during the hours of darkness and/or being able to create the light of day when suspicious noises are heard outside.

That's absolutely fine. Just do what tacoinchills did. It's very effective for these purposes, and may even fry the bears into small pieces...! :-)

my back yard is down a flight of concrete steps, and going out with my
dog after dark is just not an option for me

That's another thing I don't need: My farm is flat as a pancake, so no need for terrain lighting.

lots and lots of skunks!

Ugh, we have them in our neighborhood too. We're overrun with them. They live in the driveway culverts. They all have multiple "homes", so they're not always in the same place -- but, as far as I can tell, they don't share one another's homes. The old granddaddy skunk lives in my driveway culvert ... the albino skunk who's actually pretty lives in my backyard neighbor's yard ... sadly, I have given them all names. They share the same last name: Stink.

what many posters here are saying is that their primary lighting priority is security for themselves and their pets for going out once or twice during the hours of darkness and/or being able to create the light of day when suspicious noises are heard outside.

This is correct for us, personally. I don't want the house or yard lit up all night long. At our prior house, we may have gone weeks without ever turning the floodlights on. I don't see it being an everyday occurrence at the new house either.

We did have solar pathway lights around the front walk. That or low voltage would be a better choice for staying lit up all the time.

I only use the monster lights for when the dog goes out at night, and when it is needed for a specific purpose. Otherwise the other softer exterior (virgil approved) lights go on.

As I wrote earlier, lighting and illumination are like everything else in design--first figure out what one's priorities are, the needs vs. wants, and thereafter design accordingly.

I think a siren and several rotating, flashing red lights might be a useful add-on accessary to taconichills monster lights. :-)

When it comes to living in the countryside, the more lights the better, Most of spot lights have montion sensors. Even on a flat land, there are holes created by animals, walking in the yard in the dark it’s not a safe thing to do. I am not even talking about coyotes and bears. Bears can run 40mph, how fast can you run? At least the lights can help you to have an early start to run for your life.

Lights are good things in life, have you ever heard “ I see the light!”. It’s a good fortune too. Light can light up your life and your soul........:-)