Boo! It's time for terrifying thrills and monstrous scares as Halloween night approaches. Soon you'll be carving pumpkins, perfecting costumes and chowing down on entirely too much candy. As you prepare for a frightful Halloween night, don't forget to think about your home lighting.
From sinister shadows and flickering lights to fun-filled designs for the kids, smart lighting is a great way to enhance Halloween fun. It's also a crucial step for maintaining a secure environment for trick-or-treaters. Here are some tips to turn your home into an exciting and safe Halloween haunt using smart lighting controls:
Home lighting will turn your house into a fun and safe Halloween haunt.Create spooky light design
Halloween is a great time to turn the lights down. Give your home proper haunted house lighting by installing dimmers or adding light fixtures with flickering bulbs.
Since you likely won't want to keep your Halloween lighting going 24/7, you can automate your lighting scheme to turn on only when you want it to. Use a timer on any decorative lighting so that it will only come on in the evening. You'll save money without having to remember to turn the lights on and off.
Additionally, you can program your regular lighting scheme to dim at the push of a button through Bluetooth home automation. Set schedules to have your lights turn on or dim automatically as your Halloween party guests begin to arrive. Or even set a countdown timer to have lights flash and create some added chills!
The GE branded Bluetooth Smart Controls do not require a gateway. All you need is the Bluetooth device and the free app.
(Insider tip: these items can also be found at major retailers like ACE, True Value, Sam's and Home Depot!)
Make believe beyond costumes
For the younger set, Halloween is all about costumes and their favorite characters. A Yahoo news survey found that princesses top the list of children's most desired costumes for the 11th year in a row, followed by Batman and action heroes. The study added that Anna and Elsa from Frozen are expected to remain very popular this year, with an estimated 2 million children dressing up like the Disney princesses.
Your kids are probably feeling pretty excited about putting on those costumes, so why not stretch the excitement of princesses and superheroes through the entire month? Adding Projectables night lights to your children's bedrooms will beam their favorite Disney princesses and Marvel and D.C. Comics heroes onto their ceiling. Whether your child is dressing up as Belle or Batman, it's a fun way to build their excitement for Halloween night.
Keep outdoor areas safe
"Poor visibility, cars, uneven walkways and tricky staircases increase the risk of injury."
Poor visibility, like that on a nighttime Halloween stroll, can lead to accidents. When you have large groups of children wandering through outdoor areas full of cars, uneven walkways and tricky staircases, the risk of injury only increases. In fact, Safe Kids Worldwide reported that children are twice as likely to be hit by a car on Halloween than on any other night of the year.
In addition to automobile-related accidents, the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons reported a high number of injuries to arms, hands and legs due to falling on Halloween night. Long costumes, masks that affect peripheral vision, and the darker nights of autumn all contribute to poor visibility and more injury.
You can make your outdoor spaces safer for visiting Trick-or-Treaters by installing a GE Wireless Motion Sensing LED Spotlight and adding LED guide lights to your stairs. Hanging outdoor lanterns in trees or on your porch will also add a festive glow while illuminating the path to the front door.
Smart lighting can reduce other Halloween dangers too. Though Jack o' Lanterns and luminaries are fun Halloween traditions, they also increase the risk of a fire. You can keep the feel of an open flame while reducing the odds of harm by placing flameless LED candles inside carved pumpkins and canning jars instead of traditional candles.
