neighbours security lights shining in my house

anne15

Hi,

the new people in the house over the garden wall have just built a new extension and raised deck. yesterday they had 2 lantern style security lights fitted. these are very bright and were on all night.

The problem is they shine directly in to my living room and kitchen. where one of the sofas in my room is the lights are in your eyes - can't avoid them. and when you open the living room door they are right in your eyes. it feels like an intrusion and loss of privacy - i have ventian blinds up in the open position but it feels like a spot light shining through them into the room.

the land slopes so his back door is level with my first floor living room so i couldn't block it from my garden level.

They are all round lanterns so its not like they could change the beam, they want their deck /rear of house lit for security,

anyone got any ideas /solutions for this situation ?


thanks
Anne

moneyistooshorttomention

Well...I guess its always worth hoping they don't realise and they are decent people as a starting point.

That is, go and explain to them what is happening and then hope they are decent people = in which case they would deal with it.

If they are aware and aren't decent people - then I hope someone can come up with a solution you can take to the problem they have created. I'm guessing that maybe blackout blinds behind the curtains might be one possibility.

lovinituk

Close the blinds at night?!

Davesnave

anne15 wrote: »

they want their deck /rear of house lit for security,

anyone got any ideas /solutions for this situation ?


thanks
Anne

I'm guessing from the first sentence above that you have already brought this to their attention, or how would you know?

If you haven't, then discussing it is the first thing to do.

Lights that are on all the time are wasteful, though I expect they are LEDs which use little electricity. They would still be more effective and economic if wired through a PIR to detect the presence of someone, however. Lights that are on all the time will be ignored by everyone.

If the people prove unreasonable or at least unwilling to listen to your concerns, there isn't much you can do, other than install blackout blinds..... or a large mirror, to send the light back from whence it came.

Stormrider83

As a first step I would talk to your neighbor. Calmly explain the problem and why it affects you.

It appears that light pollution can be classes as a nuisance now (I am a new user so cannot post a link but I found more information on Cambridgeshire councils website) so I would take it to your council as a next step.

caronoel

Plant a fast growing hedge at the rear boundary?

Cyberman60

Security lights don't need to be on all the time. If they have a sensor they can just come on when they detect movement/heat and then go off after a few minutes. My neighbour's shine straight into my bedroom but do go off after a few minutes, thankfully.

Perhaps suggest such a solution tactfully to your neighbour.

fordfocus-chav-car

Biggles

They might not realise how bright the LEDs are (that's the trouble with manufacturers still mixing watts and lumens). I overestimated the brightness of one of mine so got a lower LED and fitted it. Saved me energy too.

Worth talking to them.

System

fordfocus-chav-car wrote: »

It had to come I suppose, the same way that keying gets suggested for cars

moneyistooshorttomention

Davesnave wrote: »

If the people prove unreasonable or at least unwilling to listen to your concerns, there isn't much you can do, other than install blackout blinds..... or a large mirror, to send the light back from whence it came.

Shades of Feng Shui there with that mirror thought:rotfl: or a la Greenham Common protests back in the day and hanging mirrors up on the fence facing in towards the Cruise missiles to "reflect their evil back at them":rotfl:.

But, for a bit of lateral thinking, that could actually work if need be...:cool: