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Need suggestions on complicated issue
First of all I want to say that english is not my first language so please bear with me.
I know that this is a forum for professional lighting designers in the movie and television field, however I don’t really know where else to turn with this question.
My problem is following: I live in a area with the houses really close together and want to stop insight trough my window night time, or when its dark outside and I have some lamps lighted up in my apartment. The thing is that I don’t want to have curtains or shades since my place is not big and if I cover the windows it almost feels like a prison, also I enjoy the street lights and the view when sitting and working night time. However still I have some annoying neighbors in the house in front that likes to sit and watch and this feels very unpleasant.
So I wonder if there is a way to solve this, I am willing to go to extremes if necessary since this is such a big issue for me and any suggestion is highly appreciated.
I have been thinking of putting some led lights inside the windows ( I have double glas and there is space between them) or maybe led lights around the whole window however I am not sure how effective this would be. Also I don’t know what angles the lights should have if doing so. Or should I just put up really strong spotlights in each window aiming towards the neighbors?Please wright if you have any good suggestion and what you think of my ideas.
Thank you very much.
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5 Replies
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You’re right that this isn’t the best place to ask. However, I’ll suggest that you can buy mirror-finish reflective tint film for the windows that is easy to apply onto the glass from the inside. This will reduce the amount of light coming into the house, but that might be ok. From outside in daylight, you will not be able to see in, but can still look out, the same as with mirror sunglasses. At night, if lights are on inside, those lights will become visible to the outside, but not very distinctly. Objects very near the light may be somewhat visible, but again, not very clearly. With inside lights off, the interior becomes invisible at all hours. Same principle as the one-way mirror window in interrogation rooms.
You could also try what are called reverse window shades, that roll up from the bottom to the top, creating a barrier to anything at or below that height.
You should probably also make formal police reports when you catch the neighbor spying, so his behavior gets on the record. In the future, that will be important if some worse incident happens. You might put fake or real camera in one of the windows, attached to a long-endurance recorder, to catch the peeper in action as evidence, but this may backfire if they a call the police first. -
It’s not a technological solution, but a time honored one. Landscaping. If your circumstances allow it, plant (or purchase large BOXED versions) of screening shrubbery placed outside the window. It filters the incoming light, Breaks up the sight lines from outside, and depending on the type of shrubs you plant (thorns) , can even be an effective burglary deterrent. On that subject, make sure you don’t plant something so far away from the window that you totally screen the window from street view but allow enough cover for a burglar to use to work privately while breaking in.
Just another angle on the problem.
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Thank you guys for all suggestions, really appreciated. However I was hoping to get some answer about lighting and how that affects visual insight. Its well known that if you put a large candle or have a table lamp in front of the window, gives the effect that the amount of light inside the building sipping out will be less. And so making it little more difficult to see in from the outside. This is on night time when its dark outside and light inside. I wish some one with knowhow within visual effects could suggest best placement/angles of lamps in order to maximize this effect.
Thank you for all your help.
Best regards
John
Edit: The statement that the amount of light sipping out is less because a candle is infront of the window sounds stupid when I think about it and is of course not scientific established in any way, however it creates some kind of effect.
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Again, this is really the wrong place to ask the question, but what you’re talking about seems to be the effect often seen at drive-in movie theaters, where they put up floodlights near the roadway that interfere with the vision of people trying to steal a glance at the movie screens for free. The bright light forces you to close down your irises, which ruins your night vision and makes the movie screen behind the lights non-viewable.
Really, you don’t want to solve this neighbor peeping tom problem by hanging floodlights outside your windows. Ultimately this is a police or court system problem, not a technical one.
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First I am very sorry for asking this question here, if you know a better forum for this kind of question please let me know.
Yes what you are talking about is exactly the effect I’m looking for. Not so extreme of course but maybe by installing some spotlights in the window frame or similar. I am not sure in what angle etc I should put them to maximize the effect I am looking for.
About the police its not possible since they don’t do anything about things like this over here. They only recommend you to put up blinds or similar.
Once again thank you.
/John
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