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LED streetlights are coming to Portsmouth


Jonk

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This was in the post today:

IMG_4480.thumb.jpg.cb694958df89c04633473d85096f296b.jpg

It will be very interesting to see how it turns out.

I've just bought an ASI 178MC (colour) for my allsky, so should be able to do a reasonably direct comparison between the current orange glow and how it changes once LEDs are installed.

I don't like the sentence 'clearer white light', as we all know, will affect filters one way or another. it doesn't mention anything about dimming, which is a shame.

I do like the sentence 'will take 10 to 15 minutes' which means only the light unit is replaced, not the lampost, so no change in height to the lights, which is good.

Just another reason to move out to the sticks!

https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ext/environment/green-living/new-led-street-lighting

 

 

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A quick bit of further reading (https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ext/documents-external/trv-street-lighting-strategy.pdf) shows this...

"LIGHT POLLUTION
Councils must look into complaints about artificial light entering premises if the light could be classed as a ‘statutory nuisance’ (covered by the Environmental Protection Act 1990) However, statutory nuisance laws don’t apply to artificial light from street lights.
Street lighting must still be well designed to ensure it is lighting the street area as intended and no excess and or undesirable light is emitted towards residential properties or polluting the night time sky."

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Local council fitted LED lights in my street a few months ago. Have a light just at the side of my back garden that used to shine right into my garden but now the light has been reduced tremendously and it’s now more of a dim glow, The lights also dim down further late evening. 

Of course it all depends what type of LED lights they will fit.

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I'm lucky in the fact I don't have direct streelight views from my back garden. Insecurity lights and people's windows however are a different story!

I do have a lampost opposite the front of my house, so I'll take a photo of that later as seen from my upstairs bedroom window, then after it's replaced (late August in my road apparently).

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Would be an idea to enquire as to what temperature the LEDs will be. Anything above 3500K is not good and is classed as 'blue'cold light, which scatters more in the eyes than orange 'warm light' (up to 3000k). Long story short there has been research into the effects of blue light:

https://www.exeter.ac.uk/news/research/title_655460_en.html

http://darksky.org/why-is-blue-light-at-night-bad/#

In my current capacity we have been able to engage with the local authority to consider replacing the damaged cooler lights with warmer ones during repair schedules. This seems to be happening.

A letter to your environment and street lighting department might be worthwhile.

If the new LEDs are disrupting your sleep, it is possible to politely ask for solutions, such as part-night lighting, dimming or shielding.

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The new LED lights my council have fitted are an LED strip light with about a dozen LEDs. That seem to shine the  light where it’s needed. Softer light than the old type as well. Notice they’re only fitting this particular type in quiet side streets and cul-de-sacs though.

D8DC47E3-E79B-4268-BE8A-A8C2FE42A5AB.jpeg

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A lot of Portsmouth is already complete according to the website but where I am I only really drive in and out along the main road to the east, so haven't noticed.

I might go up Portsdown hill for a nose when it's dark to see what it looks like where they have been changed already.

 

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1 minute ago, Gina said:

Is The Tudor Sailing club still at the northern of Eastern Road by the creek?  I used to be a member there in the 1960's and 70's.

I learnt to windsurf there in the early 90s!

Yes it's still there http://tudorsailing.org.uk/TudorSailing/ but there is now a private football club on the adjacent fields, where it used to be public playing fields.

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The Council replaced our sodium lantern street lights  for leds last year ( Bingham market town Nottinghamshire) The new lights shine downwards in the main. The night sky shows no significant difference. The biggest problem is  house security lights. They are the things that people have because everybody else has got one and help the burglar find his tools in the dark No need to worry about the new street lighting it presents no problem.........Dave

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Hillingdon have been replacing all the streetlights with LEDs but I've noticed no significant improvement. A dry, clear night can be a bit darker, but any dampness or haze can make things much worse.

Where I'm moving to, there are no streetlights for miles :grin:.

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 Well said Daves. I used to be in the Central Band R.A.F. Uxbridge many moons ago and there was plenty of street lights around there in those days. If you are moving where there are no street lights for miles ,it sounds like somewhere in southern Europe........................Dave

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The street lights in our immediate vicinity were changed from full glare sodium lamps to well shielded LED units a couple of years ago. The streets are less bright and my back garden in notably darker. Wish they'd crack on an do the whole town!

To be any use at all, LED lighting needs to be well controlled with suitable reflective shielding. The old sodium and mercury vapour lamps generated so much light that they could be very poorly shielded and still throw more than enough light downwards. 

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I think,a lot of people don’t realise that there is a big difference between LED bulbs retro fitted to old street lamps and the latest properly designed LED light housings. The old LED bulb replacements could be worse than old sodium bulbs with more glare. So when I see someone state that LEDs are no improvement I know they’re not talking about modern LEDs.

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9 minutes ago, johninderby said:

I think,a lot of people don’t realise that there is a big difference between LED bulbs retro fitted to old street lamps and the latest properly designed LED light housings. The old LED bulb replacements could be worse than old sodium bulbs with more glare. So when I see someone state that LEDs are no improvement I know they’re not talking about modern LEDs.

Sadly the new ones are not always correctly installed as has been the case here recently. Completely new posts were put in with LED's but a number of the heads are pointing up above the horizontal, so spreading the light away from the road. It also doesn't help that they have installed approximately 30% more lamps in the same stretch of road, so there's no major saving on power either. Just more light.

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The local council seems to be doing it the right way and only fitting them to existing lights and fitting them correctly. The heads they’re using only face downwards and have an LED strip so simply aligning the head with the road puts the light in the right place. Also no extra lights.

 

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When my council installed them, I did SQM readings before and after. Allowing for variation within each set of readings, the figures seem to suggest a "darker" sky from my garden. But I think, because the new lights are more "directional", it can be a lottery as to whether you are a winner or loser.

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6 hours ago, Demonperformer said:

When my council installed them, I did SQM readings before and after. Allowing for variation within each set of readings, the figures seem to suggest a "darker" sky from my garden. But I think, because the new lights are more "directional", it can be a lottery as to whether you are a winner or loser.

Very true!.. While living in Warsash 7 years ago. They installed new posts and white LED's. What a nightmare that was. the posts were around 3/4 ft higher and I got into a battle after they changed the one off to the side of the house which turned the close into a football stadium!. They eventually came and fitted some baffles which were fin like into the head unit to stop sideways light scatter.

Sure it improved it.. but never the same

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