It's the same every July. The cases are by the door, someone's checking the passports for the third time, and the house is about to sit empty for a week or two. The trouble is, burglars know that pattern as well as you do. Break-ins across the UK actually fell about 8% last year — from 226,177 reports to 208,612 — but the ones that still happen tend to land on homes that look empty. And summer leaves a lot of homes empty.
What an empty house looks like to a burglar
Most break-ins aren't clever. Around three quarters happen through a door, not a window, and about a quarter come in round the back where nobody can see. A dark drive, a side gate in shadow, curtains that haven't moved in days — that's the picture someone's looking for when they're deciding whether your house is worth the risk. Take that picture away and most of them move on to an easier target.
Why solar makes this easy
You don't need an electrician or a trench across the garden to change that picture. The two things that put burglars off most are light and the feeling of being watched. When researchers have asked ex-burglars directly, well over half said they'd abandon a job the moment they spotted a camera, and homes with a visible camera were far less likely to be targeted at all.
Solar handles both without any fuss. Our solar street lights and security lights charge during the day and switch themselves on at night — no wiring, no timer to set, no meter ticking over while you're away. Solar CCTV works the same way: wireless, running off its own panel, recording whether you're home or not. And because it all runs on free sunlight, leaving it on for a fortnight costs you nothing — which matters a bit more this year, with the energy price cap up 13% from July.
Three things worth doing before you go
- Light the way in, not just the door. A bright solar street light over the drive or path takes away the dark corner a burglar wants. It also means you're not fumbling for keys in the dark when you get back.
- Put a camera where it can be seen. The point isn't only to record — it's to be noticed. A solar CCTV camera at the front door and another over the back gate covers the two spots most break-ins come through.
- Make the place look lived-in. Lights that come on at dusk on their own do a lot of the work. Add a bin left out on the right day, or a neighbour popping round, and the house stops looking empty.
The bottom line
You can't watch your house from a sun lounger, but you can make it a poor target before you leave. A bit of light and a visible camera is usually enough to send someone looking elsewhere — and with solar, you set it up once and forget about it, with nothing added to your bill.
Have a look at our solar street lights and solar CCTV cameras, or browse everything in one place. Not sure what suits your place? Drop us a line and we'll help you work it out. Free UK delivery on the lot.