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Post by alf1951 on Oct 15, 2015 6:10:24 GMT
In the last couple of weeks installation of new LED streetlights (replacing the old sodium type) has been completed on a section of the 'A' road through a village 2 miles north of where I live. The glare is dreadful when you drive through at night going into it from unlit roads and it takes a while to adjust the dark again as you drive out - I'm sure a safety hazard. What is really annoying is that the glow from the lighting now blocks out any chance of seeing stars in that section of sky let alone the aurora should I be awake at the right time. Has anyone else been experiencing this problem and had any luck with the powers that be in reducing the glare? Our local County councillor lives there but, based on previous contact, I'm not optimistic about getting anywhere with him. Alf
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Post by Tringa on Oct 16, 2015 13:08:08 GMT
Here in Gairloch some of the sodium lights have been replaced by what I assume are LEDs.
The new lights are white and very bright. However, they appear to be very directional (which is not surprising for LEDs) and almost all of the light is directed downward with very little spread in other directions. They do not seem to intrude as much as the sodium lights.
Perhaps the lights used in your village are of a different type that have a greater spread. Have you had a look at any local social media pages to see if anyone else feels the same way about the new lights?
Dave
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Post by alf1951 on Oct 18, 2015 7:50:52 GMT
Because LEDs are directional, those along the sides of the light unit are angled outwards slightly to cover the area between lamp posts. Light however is reflected from the surfaces it illuminates spreading the light in all directions. Very bright white light produces very bright white reflections. There is also an unusual structure illuminating a pedestrian refuge in the centre of the road which features a large globe mounted high up and sending light in all directions including upwards.
Another issue when taking photos is the wavelength of the light. Sodium produces yellow light confined to a very narrow band of the spectrum. This can be filtered out with the right equipment or can be removed later with software. This is just not possible with white light. From our viewpoint a couple of miles away we could see the old lights as yellow spots of light twinkling through the trees but the sky remained dark.
Further to your suggestion Dave, I will check out the local paper to see if there has been any mention - that's as near social media as it gets around here!
Alf
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Post by alf1951 on Nov 11, 2015 8:13:53 GMT
It's humble pie time!
Seems I've wrongly accused the council's LED streetlights for local light pollution. Already, the few people from the village to whom I had spoken on the issue seemed fairly indifferent to the new lighting and I must admit that even I had become accustomed to it when having to drive through in the hours of darkness. I was also puzzled that the glow varied in intensity at times and often disappeared completely well before dawn.
With the gales of the last few days stripping leaves from the trees, the lights of the village are again visible through the denuded branches. But I was amazed to discover that they are not the source of the bright glow affecting the night sky to the North of us. In fact the village is a few degrees west of the offending illumination. I have now discovered the source to be a couple of miles further away in an already controversial industrial development construction of which has been taking place at the same time as the streetlight installation. Hopefully the need for such intense illumination will be less once work there is completed in the months ahead.
Alf
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Post by alf1951 on Jan 27, 2016 15:37:07 GMT
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Post by rowanberry on Jan 31, 2016 8:30:05 GMT
"The council said that even if the street lights appear darker they meet the British standard and the new white light deters criminals and is better for CCTV systems." Oh, well that's alright then! The camera will be able to see your mugger, even if you don't. Unless, of course in order to save even more money they never put any film in it in the first place.....
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Post by snowlynx on Feb 19, 2016 8:33:22 GMT
They're starting to arrive in our area now. Taking dog for a walk last night, they are really hard on the eyes, despite being placed on lamp posts that are higher. Only advantage I can see is that you can distinguish the colours of things around you, not possible with the sodium lamps. Luckily there are fields just a minutes walk away if I wanted to get a good view of the night sky.
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