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Illuminating Light Pollution: Finding A Solution To Misused Lighting That Wastes Energy And Money
The invention of artificial lighting has made it possible for our society to prosper. It enables us to use more hours of the day and be productive even after the sun goes down. Outdoor lighting in particular is a beautiful thing. If done right it can highlight architectural features of a building, properly light a street, walkway or parking lot and create safe environments. It can bring landscapes to life and enhance nighttime outdoor experiences.
But more often than not, outdoor lighting is overdone. Lights are left on throughout the night even when no one is around. Fixtures are shining across the street or, worse yet, into the sky, polluting the atmosphere with light. This not only wastes energy and money, but also has detrimental effects on the environment.
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What is light pollution?
In short, it is misdirected or misused light generally resulting from an inappropriate application of exterior lighting products. Rather than shining onto an object, the light simply escapes into the sky, unnecessarily wasting energy and obscuring our view of the stars. Further, an artificially bright sky actually confuses wildlife, causing migrating birds to lose their way or even causing sea turtles in Florida not to find the ocean after hatching.
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Energy consumption
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, our country consumes 118 Twh/ yr (that's terawatt-hours and equals 118 billion kilowatt-hours per year) of energy just for outdoor lighting. That's more than double the energy used to light industrial facilities in U.S.. The study further shows that 83% of outdoor lighting is comprised of High Intensity Discharge (HID) sources with an average energy consumption of 240 watts per lamp. With advancements in LED technology, switching to solid state lighting sources could save the country at least half - if not more - in energy consumption.That's big bucks.
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Effects on wildlife
Song and shore birds rely on star constellation to guide them during migration. Light pollution makes it impossible to see these constellations, causing the birds to lose their way and unable to make it to their intended destination.
According to Daniel Klem Jr., biologist at Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania, more than 100 million birds are affected by collisions each year in North America and many of the species involved are recognized as endangered species
An estimated 90,000 migrating birds die annually when crashing into skyscraper windows that act as mirrors, distracting the birds in their migration.
Hatchlings of at least five sea turtle species found in Florida rely on an instinctive attraction to light to guide them to water. But lights on or near the beach can confuse the turtles and cause them to head in the wrong direction.
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Finding a fix
So what's the solution? Some of the latest outdoor lighting technologies take advantage of directional lighting and utilize LED lighting, which is dramatically more efficient than incandescent lights. Also available are specialized visor accessories that can be used to control the direction of the lighting. Contact a trusted lighting solution provider to learn what products may work best for your property.
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Julia Dolsen
Julia is the Marketing Manager for Energy Focus, Inc. and all its subsidiaries. Keeping a close eye on regulatory information as well as customer requirements make her the connection between Engineering and "The real world".
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Energy Focus, Inc. 32000 Aurora Road Solon, Ohio 44139 |
