According to Chabad custom, we light the menorah at home immediately after the true moment of shekiah (sunset) between Minchah and Maariv on each night of Chanukah except for erev Shabbat (which requires an earlier lighting) and motzei Shabbat (which requires a delayed lighting).
It is the Chabad custom to fill the menorah with sufficient fuel to burn for at least fifty minutes, so that it remains lit for half a hour after nightfall. It is customary to remain beside the menorah for the first half-hour after its kindling. However, if you are not able to remain, you should still light on time rather than postpone it. Nevertheless, make an effort to at least linger briefly before abandoning a newly-lit menorah. The best option when forced to leave is to appoint someone else to continue watching the menorah until the end of the thirty minutes.
It is the custom of the Chabad Rebbeim to position the menorah in a doorway to a room in the home, and not to place it on a windowsill facing the outside. Light the menorah in the room in which meals are consumed on a regular basis, if there is a choice of multiple rooms or even homes. When visiting a friend, even for a meal, return home to light the menorah.
Rav Yosef Yeshaya Braun, shlita, member of the Badatz of Crown Heights. 1 Minute Halacha, reprinted from crownheightsconnect.com
