Safety lighting

You have several choices for lighting to make your property more safe and secure. The following information describes the main types of controls for your lights.

If you want to report a street light that has burned out you may report it with this form. We'll repair it if it's outside of the city limits of Vancouver. If it's a City of Vancouver street light they'd like you to call (360) 696-8177 to report it.

Photocells
Use: indoors or outdoors
For the outside porch light, consider switching to a fixture that includes a built-in photocell that monitors darkness and automatically turn lights on at dusk and off at dawn. These fixtures often come with an appropriate CFL, and others are frequently labeled if they are can be used with CFLs.

Motion sensors
Use: indoors
Motion sensors detect movement in the target area and turns on lights. They are handy for areas like workshops or laundry rooms, where you often have your hands full when coming into the room. The sensors also will turn lights off if they haven't detected any motion for a certain period of time, usually three to 10 minutes.

Fixtures with motion sensors typically aren't a good choice for CFL bulbs since they turn on and off frequently. They still provide significant energy savings with an incandescent bulb because they're not always on.

Motion sensors with photocells
Use: outdoors
Photocells prevent the light from coming on during the daytime when there is motion in the area, and the motion sensor keeps the light from being on all night. They activate only when it's dark to greet you with light as you enter driveways, walkways and entry areas.

Timers
Use: indoors
Timers plug directly into a wall outlet and allows you to set the specific times the lights will go on and off. You'll have to adjust the settings throughout the year because of differences in daylight hours.

Centralized controls
Use: indoors and outdoors
In this more expensive option a "master" controller sends voltage signals to other controls installed in lighting fixtures or wall outlets with lamps plugged into them. These controls, called "power-line carriers," allow central control of several lights in your home. Each light can have a separate schedule, and you can even control the whole system on your home computer if you wish.