Using Dark-Sky Outdoor Lighting To Protect The Pure Night Sky

In recent years, the number of outdoor lighting complexes built in urban and suburban communities has been increasing significantly. A study by the German Research Centre for Geoscience found that the earth’s artificially lit outdoor area is growing at a rate of 2 percent per year, and the hours of brightness at night are also increasing. Researchers conducted satellite observations and found that light pollution is actually more severe than they predicted. According to the night sky brightness map, 83 percent of human nights across the planet are at least 10 percent brighter than natural nights. If you live in a densely populated city, you want to see the bright Milky Way, in addition to the absence of haze will require a citywide blackout.

However, the development and application of dark sky lighting technology can help people stay dark at night while lighting efficiently.

What is Dark Sky Outdoor Lighting?

Dark Sky Outdoor Lighting is kinder to our environment and is supported by the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA).

Dark Sky Outdoor Lighting casts light downward, providing more light for what you need to see without wasting it into the night. Dark sky lighting also leaks little or no light from the fixture and minimizes or eliminates glare and light trespass.

What is dark sky compliance and why is it important?

In some parts of the world, people have never experienced a true night sky, and uncontrolled outdoor lighting deprives us of the experience of seeing a star-filled night sky. In An Ode to Darkness, author Sigri Sandberg writes, “The constant intrusion of light is undermining our well-being.

The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) estimates that at least 30 percent of outdoor lighting in the United States is wasted, largely due to lights that are not properly shielded. This amounts to about $300 million in wasted energy annually, or about half of the estimated cost of sending four people to Mars.

Appearing in Scientific American, the McDonald Observatory’s Dark Skies Initiative (DSI) explains how easy it really is to flip the switch on light pollution: “We can reclaim vast amounts of energy currently wasted inadvertently into the night sky…by using light We can reclaim vast amounts of energy currently wasted inadvertently into the night sky…by using light fixtures that are shielded to reflect light down where it is needed, as well as using the smallest number of lights and lowest wattage bulbs necessary to effectively light an area.”

It is a proven fact that poor lighting: poorly targeted, overly bright and improperly shielded outdoor lighting, will impact harm our well-being and cause energy pollution. There is an urgent need to protect the natural nighttime environment with less reflective, softer light, and more environmentally friendly fixtures.

Lighting standards for dark sky

If you want to reduce light pollution, there are only four key dark sky lighting principles you need to understand:

1. Minimize the amount of lighting：Don’t use more lighting fixtures around your home than necessary, and use lower lamp wattage.
2. Minimize lighting area:  Shine light only where it’s needed; aim fixtures downward so no lightis directed up or to the sides; ensure that little or no unwanted light falls onto adjacent properties.
3. Minimize lighting time：Install switches, timers anddimmers to turn off (or down)lights when not in use. In addition,timing can also be set using smart lighting.
4. Use long wavelength lights: Use bulbs with “warm” color temperatures below 3000K.

Dark Sky Compliant Lights You Can Buy

There is no better expert in smart lighting than SOTTLOT New Energy.

SOTTLOT New Energy is one of the world’s leading brands and suppliers of high-quality outdoor lighting. At SOTTLOT New Energy we offer a range of eco-friendly outdoor solar lights for local governments and businesses, and our solar lights have been put to good use in a variety of commercial and residential outdoor spaces.

Using these SOTTLOT New Energy Dark Sky Lighting Technology luminaires can reduce upward light spill by up to 98%!

1. Garden and pathway luminaires: Tracker Bollard Post Light
2. Shoebox (Parking Lot Lights): Navigator Area Light 

In outdoor lighting supply, SOTTLOT New Energy believes that by carefully designing eco-friendly outdoor luminaires, we will help reverse the environmental impact of light and protect the pure night sky we live in.