For years I have left the porch light on at night. I like to leave it on even after I’ve gone to bed. I think a light by the front door heps welcome unexpected visitors or people who need help, and it helps deter people who are up to no good. Criminals prefer to do their dirty work under cover of darkness and light is a good deterrent.
When I had to pay for some vinyl repairs to the siding that was damaged in a hail storm, the men who were working on the siding told me they were going to have to remove the exterior lights and that if I want to go buy new replacements for the old and rusty ones that they would install the new lights for me at no extra charge.
That seemed like a generous offer, so I went down to Home Depot and looked at light fixtures. I didn’t like anything I saw there, so I went to Lowe’s and found some nice ones. I bought new exterior adjustable floodlights and a new porch light with a built in motion detector.
The motion detector comes on when someone approaches the front door, so I don’t have to leave the light on all night long any longer. If someone needs to come to the door the sensor will turn the light on automatically. And if a criminal tries to use the darkness to hide a break in the light coming on will hopefully alarm him to the point that he leaves without bothering me.