Security lights have two main purposes – bringing full exposure to anyone sneaking around the house, and lighting up tripping hazards, low-hanging beams, and toys that I always seem to trip on when I’m carrying groceries.

Instead of making a mess with making holes in walls and the hassle of wiring (and potentially electrocuting myself), I want to use only solar or battery powered devices. “Work smarter, not harder”, (which is how I justify my laziness). 

Motion-Detectors and Deterrents

As if by magic, the light that you didn’t know was there, pops on and let’s you know that you’re seen. That can be either a good thing or a bad thing depending on who you are.

I partnered with The Home Depot Canada to pick something that was both easy to install and was within my budget. There are plenty of options if you have an electrician available or are handy with that sort of thing.

As I’m an amateur and want a quick solution, I went with the Motion Security Light by Defiant. It gives 180 degrees of detection and is solar powered. As it uses LEDs, the light is extra bright without using much power. Here’s the full range. 

Welcoming Lights – for visitors you actually want

Whether it’s guiding you and your guests down the garden path, or on the fence posts so you can find the gate in a rainstorm, it’s always lovely to know where you’re going. It also helps to eliminate shadowed areas for any unwelcome guests to hide.

There are more options here for either plugged-in or solar powered. Having stand-alone lamps gives you more options for where to put them, but if they’re part of a circuit you may be able to turn them on or off from inside the house. It’ll also keep them nice and uniform along the path or around a garden bed.

A spot light will provide a focus on a point of interest like a path, a gateway or a plant you’re particularly proud of, or a lamp will give a general glow along the way.

Most of these have LED bulbs as they last longer, won’t fill up with water if they’re in the rain, and use less power so can work with the smaller charge that solar power will bring. Here’s the full selection 

WiFi Security Cameras

If you really want to go all-out, you could set yourself up with something very cool like the Outdoor WiFi security cameras from NEST. These stream to your phone and can even send you alerts when there’s someone at the door, although it’s usually a raccoon. Want more? Here you go. 

Right, that should be enough to keep your home lit up like a lighthouse. There’ll be nowhere for that pesky raccoon to hide.

Disclaimer: This post was supported by The Home Depot Canada. All attempts to deter my neighbourhood raccoons, words and opinions are my own.