Make or Break

[Hertford Stargazer]

Sorry another LED lamp post thread.

I observe from my south facing front garden with a sodium street light only a matter of 15 foot from my garden. Today the light fitting was replaced with an LED unit which is now about 3 or 4 foot higher then the previous one. My garden is lower then the footpath so the lamp is now above gutter height, I think the glare from this thing is gonna be the end of my astronomy. If I get time later I'll post an after dark photo.

[Peter Drew]

Ouch! 

[Thalestris24]

It's an increasingly common problem unfortunately and which I've posted about before too. Any chance of travelling elsewhere (maybe a short distance away)? How about imaging in the opposite direction of the lamp?

Louise

[Hertford Stargazer]

22 minutes ago, Thalestris24 said:

It's an increasingly common problem unfortunately and which I've posted about before too. Any chance of travelling elsewhere (maybe a short distance away)? How about imaging in the opposite direction of the lamp?

Louise

Hi Louise.

My back garden is screened by 45 foot trees owned by the council. I have a small public field at the end of the road which has reasonable views east and south and is fairly screened from street lights, the biggest problem though is it's unsafe, there was a drug related stabbing only a couple of weeks ago  and I've no transport to go further afield.

I think my only hope will be requesting a shade, a few more hours and I'll see what the situation is 

[Thalestris24]

"there was a drug related stabbing only a couple of weeks ago "   That's not good! I have to admit I'm a bit sheepish about going out on my own up here after dark but - I have to get out! For me it's been a dream but I'm getting there slowly. Hope you can find a solution.

Louise

[RayD]

Sometimes when they swap to LED, in order to fulfil the energy saving commitment they also introduce timed operation.  Wait to see what happens later also to see if they have done this with your lamp.

[Hertford Stargazer]

3 minutes ago, RayD said:

Sometimes when they swap to LED, in order to fulfil the energy saving commitment they also introduce timed operation.  Wait to see what happens later also to see if they have done this with your lamp.

Hi Ray

I have been lucky in that the last few years the old lights went out at midnight. Unfortunately in other areas of town which have just been changed over to LED's they seem to be doing the opposite and reverting back to all night illumination because of the cheaper energy costs.

Time will tell  

[niallk]

I cant observe from my garden anymore either... you have my sympathies

[RayD]

20 minutes ago, Hertford Stargazer said:

Hi Ray

I have been lucky in that the last few years the old lights went out at midnight. Unfortunately in other areas of town which have just been changed over to LED's they seem to be doing the opposite and reverting back to all night illumination because of the cheaper energy costs.

Time will tell  

Oh no, well let's hope not.  Fingers firmly crossed!

[DAVE AMENDALL]

Surely there must be some light pollution laws here. Maybe you should contact the 
Council,particularly if the light shines into your bedroom windows. I know in this country we do not seem to have the austerity laws on lighting like Tenerife but I think it's worth a try............Dave

[Hertford Stargazer]

6 minutes ago, DAVE AMENDALL said:

Surely there must be some light pollution laws here. Maybe you should contact the 
Council,particularly if the light shines into your bedroom windows. I know in this country we do not seem to have the austerity laws on lighting like Tenerife but I think it's worth a try............Dave

Yes I will at least try communicating with the council if its gonna be an issue, I think it depends on what it's back scatter level is. One thing in my favour is that the lamp post does lean back a few degrees which will direct more light away from the house.

[jam1e1]

suggest to ask them to come out to investigate and fit a light shroud to narrow down the light spill - worked for me where used to live

[Hertford Stargazer]

22 minutes ago, jam1e1 said:

suggest to ask them to come out to investigate and fit a light shroud to narrow down the light spill - worked for me where used to live

I think that's the approach I'll take, I'll post a photo soon once it's fully dark but already I'm noticing the way it reflects off the parked cars is pretty bad.

[Hertford Stargazer]

I'll let the photos speak for themselves, the first one amazingly enough shows Jupiter rising above the front of the white van. The second photo shows my observing area complete with Dobsonian platform.

[Olli]

22 minutes ago, Hertford Stargazer said:

I'll let the photos speak for themselves, the first one amazingly enough shows Jupiter rising above the front of the white van. The second photo shows my observing area complete with Dobsonian platform.

That's not good at all hope you get it sorted out soon. By those photos looks like you have flood lights

[Thalestris24]

LED lights are becoming a curse! I've not tried (not needed to yet) to filter them but I think it would be difficult. At least sodium lights could be filtered quite easily. Sigh. There's a large scale plan to switch Glasgow over to LED streetlighting. I emailed the council about the general potential problems with blue-rich LEDs a couple of months ago but didn't get a reply .

Louise

[Hertford Stargazer]

33 minutes ago, Olli said:

That's not good at all hope you get it sorted out soon. By those photos looks like you have flood lights

Yes it does a good impression of a floodlight in some regards, just hope it will switch of at midnight.

 

24 minutes ago, Thalestris24 said:

LED lights are becoming a curse! I've not tried (not needed to yet) to filter them but I think it would be difficult. At least sodium lights could be filtered quite easily. Sigh. There's a large scale plan to switch Glasgow over to LED streetlighting. I emailed the council about the general potential problems with blue-rich LEDs a couple of months ago but didn't get a reply .

Louise

I must admit it's something I've been dreading, but I shall live with it for a while so I'm not accused of jumping the gun when I complain.

[Hertford Stargazer]

Sorry I've not been back to update but Saturday our dog (Hugo) took a turn for the worse after living with heart mitral valve disease for two years (it didn't stop him living a full life) we rushed him to our veterinary hospital where he was put to sleep. It's been a difficult few days 

Regarding the new LED lamp post, it's currently on all night, strangely the only one in the entire road. I have via the fault report system made contact with the council and am currently awaiting a reply.