LED lights article

[JG777]

Interesting article about LEDs

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-38526254

[johninderby]

Just read that a few minutes ago.  Have one of those evil lights very close to my house.

              John

[Knighty2112]

Way to many of these little blighters in my back and front way. Going to request my council to put shades around them to reduce the glare. Whether this works or not I await to be seen. 

[SteveNickolls]

The new LEDs can be bright. Our council hasn't replaced the original  glass lamp covers and one light on the road throws a strange fractured light pattern while the rest give an even downwards glow. If we lived closer to it something would have to be done to stop the glare into bedrooms. The council didn't replace the posts or the timing mechanisms either so our lights don't go off in the wee hours. I'd be happy with no lights and no one champions the facts and studies that show that crime does not increase when he lights are dimmed or switched off, even the criminals it seems are afraid of the dark. I do despair of the names in UK astronomy not doing more to champion darker skies.

Cheers,

Steve

[oobydooby]

While they may be a nuisance to astronomers, haven't these people complaining about them shining into their bedrooms heard of curtains?

[JG777]

I meant also to write that they are installing them where I live. The local council wrote to our astronomy group and asked if we were able to supply some night sky before and after photos as they were convinced the LP would reduce. Trouble was they were quite a way in already on the install so any images might not have been that accurate anyway. They said all the posts would be dimmable 0% tilt but again not sure if this has been adhered to. They also said they had a number of heritage lamps on a separate project but I don't know what that entails, however the ones they replaced so far are new posts or heads, the taller ones seem very bright and harsh to me.

You would hope that a once in a generation thing like this there would be every chance to get it right, just seems to me that the availability of LEDs is driven by a cost saving rather than an environmental improvement when it could be both.

 

 

[laser_jock99]

With LED's being cheaper to run- so in many cases there more of them are being installed and left running all night than might otherwise have happened.  The availabilty of cheap domestic and comercial premisses LED lighting isn't good either- again usually badly installed and left running all night, because it's cheap. I drove past a horrendous installation last night in the Warks countryside which I shall be reporting to the Council. The glow coming off it was like Wembly Stadium....

The new LED street lights are claimed to be more directional- but that doesn't stop all that extra 'cheap' LED light reflecting right back up in the sky after it's hit the ground.......

[Uranium235]

Am I being too sensible? But if all this swapping over to LED lights is for saving money on leccy bills, then why not just provide a simple plastic colour filter for each lamp? Win-win for everyone, they save leccy, and nobody gets upset by the colour temperature of the light.

However, while I'm here I need to gently remind everyone to stay onside while discussing this issue

The one area where LEDs are getting up my nose at the moment, is in car headlights.... theyre just plain dangerous for other road users.

 

[Hawksmoor]

We have just had our Council replace the sodium street lamp with a very bright white LED. We are lucky for several reasons: the lamp post is at the front of our property and my astronomical pursuits are undertaken on the otherside of our house, to save energy the Council turns it off at midnight, the lamp post is not tall and the shading is adequate to prevent too much light spillage. The lamp post is however, very close to our bedroom window and the utilisation of other than black out curtains does not prevent light incursion and issues for my partner who is a poor sleeper at best.  My son who lives close to a road junction in Southend is not as lucky. His night has been turned into day by the recent installation of LEDS on mast like lamp posts which floodlight his house all night long.

The article was interesting and contained a number of issues worth discussion.  I would like to destroy one myth that surfaces in this article.  High levels of illumination do not remove the shadows in which miscreants are believed to reside.  In fact high levels of illumination create greater levels of contrast maximising the creation of localised areas of shadow and opportunites for crime.  As an architect I sat on a number of community and police groups in which this was the accepted wisdom underpinned by independant research.  I am more than prepared to accept that LEDS are more efficient and effective than low or high pressure sodium lamps but simply changing the bulbs without reconsideration of the location, height and design of the lamp housing and post will not in itself provide better lighting or a safer environment.  If we are  really concerned about our planet having some regard for when we need to turn the lamps on and off rather than how cheap they are to leave running might be a good plan.

Light willing I'm now off to bed. George

[laser_jock99]

22 hours ago, Hawksmoor said:

 I am more than prepared to accept that LEDS are more efficient and effective than low or high pressure sodium lamps but simply changing the bulbs without reconsideration of the location, height and design of the lamp housing and post will not in itself provide better lighting or a safer environment.  If we are  really concerned about our planet having some regard for when we need to turn the lamps on and off rather than how cheap they are to leave running might be a good plan.

Light willing I'm now off to bed. George

Smart lighting. It's the future!