Houses with NO lights on in winter

[BruceAndNosh]

I guess it's more noticeable now the clocks have changed, but both our neighbours' houses are in total darkness at 7pm. It's obvious that no one is at home, the house is empty.
Is this not a security risk?
I think they both have burglar alarms but don't think either of them ever use it.

Yes, I know thousands of people can't afford to leave random lights on, but this isn't the case here.

I hate a dark house and have a couple of lights set to come on automatically at dusk.

What do you do?

No, nosy neighhours who think they can judge if I am in or not by trying to peer at my windows would be wrong.

I have blackout curtains on most windows, so it would not be visible if I were in a room with low light like just a lamp on or watching a movie with the lights out cinema style and even if they left the curtains open they'd also have no way of knowing if the windows they can see were dark because I happened to be in one of rooms without a window facing that way.

I don't fall for the 'buy timers and spend ££s more on your electric bill' line as a method to deter crime -- everyone I know who suffered a break in was in the house at the time, the thieves came in the early hours of the morning when they were all in bed and cleared out downstairs or cleared out garages while occupants were in the main part of the house.

We have solar LEDs on in the gardens. Does the job and looks pretty too

We're in a bungalow, bedrooms at the front, living space at the back, so even if we are in with lights on, you can't tell from the front anyway..!

If we go out we leave the kitchen light on, but given the above I'm not really sure why..!

@NameChangeADHD

Can anyone recommend plugs/lights for timers please? Preferably one that can be changed with an app

I use one called TCP, its a bit fiddly to set up but once its up and running its great. Dunelm sell one that woks with Alexa.

All my windows have blackout curtains/blinds so there really isn't much point me leaving a light on if I'm out....no fucker would see it anyway.

Agree with you OP, we always leave a light on. Lots of burglaries in our area so anything that helps make a house look less inviting to a burglar is good.

We have Hive for our heating . We have two living room lights to come on around 4pm . We can control these from our phones so we can adjust the timing of this as and when we need to. All done via the Hive App .

You sound like a curtain twitcher.

@Lotusmonster

You sound like a curtain twitcher.

OP was putting the bins out.

@Angel2702

Never leave lights on in rooms we aren’t using. From the front our house would look like total darkness most evenings even if we are in. Round here burglaries are taking place in early hours of the morning with cctv on and people at home. They don’t seem to care if house is empty or not.

Not a burglary but my car was broken into a couple of weeks ago, in full view of the very busy main road we live on, under a street light, and directly in the path of CCTV with people on the street watching.

They clearly didn't care, and despite CCTV and witness reports the police have failed to do anything (it took 5 days for them to even come view the crime scene as it was deemed 'non urgent').

Couple of lamps on timer and about 5 security cameras! X

@Bringonthepjs

I don't leave lights on, doesn't seem eco friendly.

I think in the grand scheme of things sticking a couple of low energy lights on a timer switch won't really make a whole heap of difference

If every single house did it, of course it would make a difference. What a waste of electricity.

@TuftyMarmoset

It’s never even crossed my mind to do this. Seems like pointless light pollution. Surely if they can see lights are on then the curtains are open and they can see there are no people in the room. And if the curtains are closed and the light is coming through you need better curtains tbh.

Most of the houses in my street have vertical blinds in the kitchen because the window is the size of patio doors at the front of the house. Mine are dark coloured but you can see whether the light is on or not.

If every single house did it, of course it would make a difference. What a waste of electricity

Reading this thread though not every single house does. It's not a waste of electricity if it's helping to prevent your house being burgled though, and makes you feel safer.

I never leave my outside porch light on - a sure signal that we're out.
The security lights will come on so we can see to put the key in the lock.

Also, a loud radio on a talk station will give the impression that people are at home.

We have a lamp on a timer in the front room of our house in winter. If we go out at night I put lots more lights on and leave the tv on.

@Whataday21

Just got my timer out the other day. It goes on one living room lamp.

Same here. My previous house was burgled, and this was advised by the police Crime Prevention unit at that time. A single LED bulb would cost about a penny an hour to run on a timer - way cheaper than the £250 excess on the house insurance should I have another break-in.😎

We always have some lamps come on at about 4pm in the winter - we use a timer. However, it isn't actually to prevent potential burglars but because we have 2 cats and I don't like to think of them in the dark while we're out

I don't leave lights on we don't need. Light pollution is an actual issue.
So is the safety on streets with light saving schemes.

Honestly, any time of the day is good for burglars, mostly the day time when they can easily predict no one will be at coming back home unexpectedly from 9 to 4 at least.

@GrandmasCat

Honestly, any time of the day is good for burglars, mostly the day time when they can easily predict no one will be at coming back home unexpectedly from 9 to 4 at least.

When it's dark it makes things considerably easier though, from a not being seen point of view. When people are out for the evening/night?

I sit in the dark and watch tv, Hate wasting electricity.

@GoGadgetGo

I sit in the dark and watch tv, Hate wasting electricity.

Then you are in the house to fend the burglars off.

@Bringonthepjs

I don't leave lights on, doesn't seem eco friendly.

I think in the grand scheme of things sticking a couple of low energy lights on a timer switch won't really make a whole heap of difference

It will if all 7 billion people on the planet do this! But in answer to the OP, we have dogs so I have to leave some light on for them. I have a plug in wax melter in the hallway and a led desk lamp - rechargeable thingy - in the living room. The dogs like to be in the kitchen so they have a light on in there,but that's only if we're not in. According to my solar read out, we use around 0.12kW of power doing this and powering other electrics on standby. Plenty of solar electricity in the battery to run a few lights etc.

My house is currently in darkness I have a candle burning and the TV on
that's it