Have you ever been temporarily blinded or unable to see when walking or driving at night because of bright street lights or blue-and-white headlights? Have you ever gazed up into the night sky, expecting to see the glittering stars but instead seeing a shimmering halo?
Due to the predominance of overly bright nighttime use, poorly aimed, poorly veiled, and in many cases unwanted artificial light, light pollution is becoming increasingly hazardous for both humans and wildlife. According to the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA), which promotes, conservation, and standards-setting leadership, this incorrect illumination wastes electricity and produces light pollution by distributing light into the sky rather than focusing it on regions and objects that require it. On a global scale, combat light pollution.
Although the IDA recognizes the importance of outdoor lighting, it promotes smart lighting solutions that reduce detrimental consequences. To reduce light pollution and improve human and wildlife health and safety, IDA encourages businesses to select high-quality outdoor road lighting solutions with smart controls.
When it comes to outdoor lighting, the IDA suggests that it should:
Reduce blue light emissions (ideally use “warm white” or filtered LEDs with a color temperature of 3000K or lower).
Pointing down when shielded.
Dimmers, timers, motion sensors, and network illumination are all possible with the controls.
Be purposeful, but not excessively so.
Switching to more energy-efficient lighting is not only beneficial for humans and wildlife but also saves money. This can result in cost reductions that communities, businesses, and consumers would appreciate.