LED Lights

Hi all

A couple of years back, my local council installed new LED lights in the area, to anyone who has not experienced LED lights, they are very white and very bright.  Two of them flood by back garden, I built a shield to block one, I am not able to do this for the second one, the shield would be too high, the light sits about four metres from the front of the house.  I contacted the council recently about a light shield and they came today to install one.  I eagerly waited for the dark, went out to the back garden with a sense of anticipation.  The garden was as flooded with white light as before.  The shield managed to block about 2/3rds of the light, but the remaining 1/3rd was still bright enough to make it appear as if nothing had changed.  It reminds me of a partial solar eclipse, 75% of the sun is blocked, but it is still enough to provide plenty of light.
I was talking to the man who installed the shield and told him how bright the lights were, he suggested contacting the council about their brightness and see if they can do something, which I did and it is being pushed to whoever deals with these things.  I am not optimistic.
I will have to get the thinking cap back on.

Paul

I don't think we astronomers have any relevance in this 'debate'. 99% of the general public will look at you like you're from Mars, if you suggest toning down the lights so as to see the night sky. The big farmers near me have arclights, yardlights, shedlights and every other kind of light, and the look on their faces if I suggested I want to see a faint galaxy would be priceless. This topic just doesn't exist imo.

Finbarr.

For me it is not so much the street lights - which are not immediately shining on my observatory - but rather neighbour's outside lights. In the picture, you can just make out the shape of the obs on the left side.



BUT - things could be worse. I have actually gone to neighbours that are away a lot and asked them to tone down the lighting....PLEASE....when they are not there. (Left my web site url with them so that they could understand what I was at).  My nextdoor neighbour was kind enough to actually put paper in the light fitings that then reduces the glare (also uses lower wattage bulbs). All this because I kept him up to date with my images and he now has an interest in thel night sky.

The two houses in the photo above don't worry me too much. the one on the left is a holiday let.....and although they leave the lights on all night.....they will be gone by the end of August. The house to the right of the Obs is an older couple. I have never asked them to reduce the lighting (it is not always as bright as pictured) because they turn off the outside lighting when they retire for the night....generally around midnight. I can live with that, knowing also that they are not compromising their own safety if they step outside the back door.

So....street lights or house lights....if you are in an urban setting then Narrow band really is the best choice. As for those dealing with big floodlights from industrial or farming activities.....there is no answer other than a trip to a dark site location.

How fantastic the night sky must have been before electricity was discovered!

I agree that the concerns of amater astronomers are of no interest to the vast majority of people.  However, the issue of bright lights shining all through the might may become an issue in the context of climate change.  It's such a waste of energy and, AFAIK, doesn't serve much useful purpose.  If it does become a topic for discussion in the media, there is a chance that people will become more aware of the arguments, and will begin to recognise that bright nighttime lighting is actually undesirable for several good reasons.  In my wildly optimistic moments I hope that we may get to a time when local authorities will reduce lighting, as they have done in several other countires.
Mike

There is an impact on wildlife, I had noticed last winter and spring that the birds were singing really early, long before dawn.  It has to be having an effect on those nocturnal creatures.

Paul

As i live in a housing estate i'm plagued with issues from public lighting as well as neighbours lights. Most people turn their lights off when going to bed but some don't. I was horrified recently when the neighbour joined on to us installed a very bright floodlight which shines directly onto my pier. They are aware of my hobby and do their best to turn it on only when needed but this one will destroy any subs while it's on. I'm going to speak with a carpenter soon about putting up some sort of shield that won't look hideous.

On the public lighting side of things, i noticed as the old sodium lights failed in the estate they were replaced by the most ridiculous white led lights that reflect terribly off the ground, especially when it's wet. The glare is awful when driving through. I phoned a customer of mine who i know works on large projects around Munster and he gave me the email address of someone in the council who is in charge of public lighting projects in Cork. He informed me that plans were in motion to upgrade all public lights to Led. They will be putting white leds on all roads and they are aware of the issues surrounding wildlife and even with astronomers, so the plan (pre covid at least) is to install leds towards the amber end of the spectrum in housing estates and for them to be dimmed at midnight. They should also be asymmetric in design keeping light scatter to a minimum. Good result really, and the best i could have ever hoped for.

This document should be of interest.  www.corkcoco.ie/sites/default/files/2020...ecification-2020.pdf
Regards,
Richard.