Light Pollution: GLRPPR Sector Resources

Resource: Demonstration Assessment of LED Roadway Lighting: NE Cully Boulevard Portland, OR

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 15:25:17 GMT

A new roadway lighting demonstration project was initiated in late 2010, which was planned in conjunction with other upgrades to NE Cully Boulevard, a residential collector road in the northeast area of Portland, OR. With the NE Cully Boulevard project, the Portland Bureau of Transportation hoped to demonstrate different light source technologies and different luminaires side-by-side. This report documents the initial performance of six different newly installed luminaires, including three LED products, one induction product, one ceramic metal halide product, and one high-pressure sodium (HPS) product that represented the baseline solution. It includes reported, calculated, and measured performance; evaluates the economic feasibility of each of the alternative luminaires; and documents user feedback collected from a group of local Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) members that toured the site. This report does not contain any long-term performance evaluations or laboratory measurements of luminaire performance. Although not all of the installed products performed equally, the alternative luminaires generally offered higher efficacy, more appropriate luminous intensity distributions, and favorable color quality when compared to the baseline HPS luminaire. However, some products did not provide sufficient illumination to all areas--vehicular drive lanes, bicycle lanes, and sidewalks--or would likely fail to meet design criteria over the life of the installation due to expected depreciation in lumen output. While the overall performance of the alternative luminaires was generally better than the baseline HPS luminaire, cost remains a significant barrier to widespread adoption. Based on the cost of the small quantity of luminaires purchased for this demonstration, the shortest calculated payback period for one of the alternative luminaire types was 17.3 years. The luminaire prices were notably higher than typical prices for currently available luminaires purchased in larger quantities. At prices that are more typical, the payback would be less than 10 years. In addition to the demonstration luminaires, a networked control system was installed for additional evaluation and demonstration purposes. The capability of control system to measure luminaire input power was explored in this study. A more exhaustive demonstration and evaluation of the control system will be the subject of future GATEWAY report(s).

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News: Photographer Travels World For a Year to Capture Night Sky Without Light Pollution

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 15:25:33 GMT

It's easy for urban dwellers to forget about the tens of millions of stars filling the night sky. With so few stars visible in the world's cities due to light pollution, we often find ourselves shocked on camping or overnight boating trips to see constellations and even galaxies in the black reaches overhead. Photographer Nick Risinger spent an entire year seeking out such places, traveling 60,000 miles to create a 37,440-picture portrait of the night sky.

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News: OR: Students focus on future of street lights

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 15:49:17 GMT

Salem's more than 11,000 streetlights cost the city $1.6 million per year for electricity, maintenance and replacement. Students at the University of Oregon are studying how to reduce those costs with new technologies, better lighting designs and unique funding mechanisms. It's part of the Sustainable City Year program, an innovative program that pairs students in multiple disciplines with city projects.

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News: Light Pollution: Time to Turn On the Night?

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 15:47:03 GMT

There are eight registered Dark Sky Parks in the world, but is light pollution really that much of a problem for those of us in less rural locations? Is the only solution to turn all the lights off?

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News: IL: Applications now being accepted for 2011 Illinois Governor's Sustainability Awards

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 15:13:01 GMT

ISTC is now accepting applications for the 2011 Governor's Sustainability Awards. The application deadline is May 27, 2011.

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News: Study finds amplification of light pollution by clouds is large

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 16:25:06 GMT

A new study has found that clouds amplify ecological light pollution to a large extent.

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News: OH: Dark-sky laws aim to save the night

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 17:20:05 GMT

The night sky above this small Hamilton County suburban community isn't awash in bright, glaring lights. But primarily for cost-saving reasons, Madeira is considering "dark-sky" zoning legislation that is growing in popularity nationwide. If Madeira adopts this comprehensive anti-light-pollution legislation, it would be the first community in Hamilton County and one of a very few in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

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News: IL: 'Dark Sky' ordinance lightened

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 16:11:44 GMT

The Village Board has voted 5-2 in favor of the controversial Dark Sky proposal to limit outdoor lighting -- but exempted existing homes.

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News: Urban Light Pollution Boosts Air Pollution

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 15:39:36 GMT

Living in Manhattan, where on a good night you only see a couple stars in the sky and it's never truly dark due to light pollution, this one particularly hits home for me: BBC News reports that a new presentation at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco shows how bright city lighting makes air pollution worse.

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News: Live Chat with the EERE Information Center

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 22:35:28 GMT

A few weeks ago, the EERE Information Center launched a new Live Chat feature that, during chat hours, gives you quick, online access to knowledgeable folks at the Information Center who can help find answers to your energy-related questions.

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