Because electrical installation is one of our three core trades alongside fire and security, the engineer fitting the light can also test the circuit supplying it and provide the appropriate certification once the work is complete.
What you will often find is that places that tend to need attention are not always the obvious ones. For example, a property may already have a bright light over the front door while the side gate, rear entrance or far end of the driveway remains completely dark, so those are often the areas we look at first.
There is little value in covering an entire garden simply for the sake of having more light, and if we think a proposed fitting will make no useful difference, we will say so.
Every installation starts with a free site survey, after which we provide a fixed written quotation covering the fittings, cabling and labour before any work begins.
Choosing the best security lighting
Most properties need more than one type of external light because the fitting that works well over a back door is rarely the one you would choose to cover a driveway, yard or larger commercial area.
We therefore specify the lighting position by position during the survey, taking account of what each part of the property actually needs rather than simply fitting the same unit everywhere.
LED floodlights and LED security lights
LED floodlights are now the usual choice for driveways, gable ends, yards and other areas where a broad spread of light is required. We still replace plenty of older halogen fittings, but there is little reason to install them on new work when an LED fitting uses considerably less electricity, produces less heat and normally lasts far longer.
The difference is particularly noticeable on commercial properties, where the cost of maintaining an old fitting can matter as much as the electricity it consumes.
A failed lamp mounted several metres above the ground may require access equipment and a separate callout simply to change it, whereas a good-quality LED fitting can remain in service for years. LEDs also reach full output immediately, without the warm-up period associated with some older types of exterior lighting.
PIR motion sensor lights and sensor floodlights
A PIR sensor detects the movement of body heat across its field of view, which is why passive infrared detection remains the standard method of triggering domestic security lights. The principle is straightforward, but the usefulness of the light depends heavily on how the sensor has been positioned and adjusted.
A PIR that is set too wide may react to passing traffic, animals or movement on a neighbouring property, with the result that the light spends so much time switching on that nobody pays much attention to it.
Equally, a sensor with too narrow a field may fail to pick somebody up until they are already at the door. We therefore set the detection angle, sensitivity, lux threshold and run-on time on site, then walk-test the area so that the coverage can be checked properly before we leave.
Wall lights and bulkhead fittings
Floodlights are useful where a large area needs to be covered, but they are often excessive around entrances, stairwells, closes and communal doors.
In those situations, a wall light or bulkhead fitting usually gives a more suitable level of illumination without throwing unnecessary light into windows above or across neighbouring properties.
These fittings are designed for exterior use, with appropriate weather protection, and they can also be controlled by dusk-to-dawn photocells where permanent low-level lighting is preferable to motion activation.
That works particularly well at shared entrances where the aim is simply to make sure the doorway and surrounding area are never left in darkness.
Solar-powered security lights
Not every location warrants the disruption involved in running a new electrical circuit. If the position is a shed, outbuilding, rear gate or another area where laying cable would mean crossing a driveway or excavating finished ground, a solar-powered fitting can sometimes be a sensible alternative.
There are limits, particularly in Scotland during the winter months. After several short, overcast December days, a solar unit is unlikely to provide the same consistent output as a mains-powered floodlight, so the decision really comes down to how important the light is.
Where it is supplementary, solar may be perfectly adequate; where the property owner is relying on the light every night for security or safe access, we will normally recommend a mains supply.
Where to position security lights around your home or business
The position of a security light generally matters more than its output. We regularly come across powerful floodlights mounted high on a wall and aimed straight down the garden, which produces plenty of glare but still leaves the side access or the corners of the property in darkness.
It can also work against the CCTV, particularly when a bright foreground forces the camera to compensate for the light and loses detail elsewhere in the image.
Around a house, the areas that usually deserve attention are the front entrance, driveway, side access, gates and rear door, while commercial premises may also need coverage around loading areas, bin stores, fire exits, car parks and vulnerable sections of the boundary.
The aim is not to make the entire site as bright as possible, but to remove the darker routes and working areas that somebody could otherwise use without being seen.
Where we can, we aim fittings downwards and slightly across the area rather than straight out from the wall. That puts the useful part of the beam on the ground and on anyone moving through the space, while reducing the amount of stray light reaching neighbouring windows.
Security lighting that works with your CCTV and alarm system
Lighting, cameras and detection are three parts of the same job, and they work far better specified together than bolted on one at a time by three different trades.
Colour cameras need real light to hold a usable image. Without it your CCTV systems drop to infrared night mode and give you a monochrome picture that’s much weaker for identifying a face or a number plate.
We can tie external lighting into an intruder alarm system so a detector triggering outside brings the lights up, and we fit and monitor CCTV in Glasgow for the same customers on the same visit.
Security lighting for commercial premises, car parks and loading bays
Badly lit ground on a commercial site is a liability as well as a security gap, and trip hazards in a dark car park sit squarely inside an employer’s duty of care.
On large commercial premises we design by zone rather than by fitting, working out mounting and column heights, spill onto neighbouring plots, and which areas need permanent light and which can run on detection.
Loading bays are the usual weak point on business premises. Stock moves through them out of hours, they sit at the back of the building where nobody passes, and they’re often the last part of a site anyone thinks to light properly.
Outdoor Security Light Installation, wiring and RCD protection
Anything permanently wired outdoors is a circuit exposed to rain, frost and physical damage, so it needs armoured or correctly rated cable, weatherproof glands, and IP-rated enclosures at every joint.
Outdoor circuits also need RCD protection under BS 7671. An RCD is the device that cuts the power fast enough to matter when water eventually finds a damaged cable.
A plug-top extension pushed out through an air brick meets none of that. The cable isn’t rated for UV or frost, the joint isn’t sealed, and there’s no RCD between the fault and whoever next touches the fitting.
Our electricians test, certify and hand over the work to current industry standards, and because we already provide electrical services to the same commercial customers, a lighting job can be picked up alongside an EICR or a board upgrade in one visit.
Security lighting installers and lighting services across central Scotland
We work from two offices, Glasgow and Perth, which between them cover the central belt, Ayrshire, Edinburgh and the Lothians, Tayside and most of the rest of Scotland. We’ve taken jobs as far out as Oban.
Our own engineers turn up on site, not a subcontractor booked through a call centre, and the same team come back out across central Scotland if something needs adjusting six months later.
Central FS Lighting & Security Accreditations
We’re SSAIB approved on security and BAFE accredited for fire, so the way we design, install and document a system is audited by an inspection body rather than taken on trust.
Those accreditations cover the fire and security side of the business rather than the lighting itself, but they’re the highest standard we hold any job to, and our lighting specialists work to the same handover and certification process.
Dangers of Poor External Security Lighting
Cover for Intruders & Burglars
A dark boundary or rear access gives somebody somewhere to remain while they work at a gate, door or window without being easily seen from the house, neighbouring properties or the road. Security lighting cannot remove every risk, but it can take away much of that cover, particularly when it is positioned around the routes a person would actually have to use.
It is also one of the relatively inexpensive improvements that can be made to an existing security setup. A correctly aimed floodlight or PIR fitting can make an approach to the property much more obvious and deter intruders, whereas an excessively bright light aimed in the wrong direction may do little beyond illuminating an empty section of garden.
Less Effective CCTV
CCTV is affected in much the same way. A camera facing a dark yard may record movement without providing enough detail to identify a face or vehicle when the footage is eventually needed. In that sense, poor lighting can undermine money that has already been spent on cameras, which is why we prefer to look at the two together where possible.
Security Lighting Glasgow FAQ
How much does it cost to have a security light fitted in Glasgow?
Most of it comes down to whether there’s an existing supply nearby or a new circuit has to be run back to the board. Swapping a failed floodlight for an LED on an existing point is a short visit, whereas a lit car park is a design job.
We survey and quote free, and the quote includes the certification, so there’s nothing to add at the end.
Do you need an electrician to fit a security light?
For anything permanently connected, yes. Outdoor circuits need correct cable, weatherproofing, RCD protection and a certificate at the end.
Landlords get asked for electrical paperwork under the Repairing Standard, and an inspector will pick up uncertified outdoor work on the next EICR.
Can neighbours complain about security lights?
They can. Artificial light is a statutory nuisance in Scotland under the Public Health etc. (Scotland) Act 2008, and a council environmental health team can investigate a light that shines into somebody’s home.
If a complaint has already been made, it’s usually fixable without replacing anything. Fitting a shield or a hood, dropping the mounting angle and narrowing the sensor field will normally settle it, and we’ll come back out to do that.
How long does a security lighting installation take?
A domestic job with one or two fittings on an existing circuit is normally done inside a day. Anything needing a new circuit run, a trench, or column-mounted lighting on a commercial site takes longer. We put the expected duration in the quote, not on the day.
Are LED security lights a more cost-effective upgrade than halogen?
Considerably, though the bigger saving is usually maintenance rather than electricity. You’re not getting a ladder out to change a lamp on a fitting ten feet up, and on a commercial site there’s no access equipment to hire and no callout to book.
Get a security lighting quote for your Glasgow property
Central FS provides security lighting surveys for domestic and commercial properties across Glasgow and Central Scotland, with a fixed quotation supplied before the installation goes ahead.
Call our Glasgow office on 0141 530 1244, Perth on 01738 500006, or email info@centralfs.co.uk to arrange a survey.
