Surrey CC goes 'white-light' street lighting

[nytecam]

Reported on BBC TV News yesterday and our local 'rag' that Surrey is to phase out both low pressure sodium [orange] and hi-pressure sodium [pink] street lighting for white [broadband spectrum] light - the latter will be brighter [as aways !!] but dimable electronically to save energy and electricity.

Bad news for astronomers [as it can't be filtered-out to make the sky 'darker'] but good for 3AM dogwalkers. Coming to to town near you sooooooooooon

[animartco]

Originally Posted by nytecam

Reported on BBC TV News yesterday and our local 'rag' that Surrey is to phase out both low pressure sodium [orange] and hi-pressure sodium [pink] street lighting for white [broadband spectrum] light - the latter will be brighter [as aways !!] but dimable electronically to save energy and electricity.

Bad news for astronomers [as it can't be filtered-out to make the sky 'darker'] but good for 3AM dogwalkers. Coming to to town near you sooooooooooon

bad news for moths too. animartco

[Doggle Avaddit]

My street in Leeds has had some new white lamps fitted recently. Don't know if they dim or not, I'm not usually walking about at 3am.

At first they looked really spooky, a bit like this

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f9...oviePoster.jpg

Especially when it is a bit misty or foggy as they project beams rather than blanketing everything in orange.
Its a very different experience - there is a lot of contrast between the well lit pavement and the much less lit middle of the road.


I noticed today the main road into the city is also being converted with much bigger lights than my side street mini version, maybe these will dim.

[snowdrop]

We've had them for some time. I quite like them as they light their surrounding areas much more efficiently than the old orange type.
Unlike the old ones, whose rays were emitted in a global fashion, the new ones spread their light in a downward/outward fashion thereby defining a much bigger street area. (Great for checking nighttime noises.)

If the lamps are producing excessive upward light they may need adjusting.

However, I am still skywatching from my back garden, which is more convenient but is lit in a great part by orange road lamps, which interfere with my viewing.

[BobinPeterboro]

I believe they are a hazard when driving at night. At present if you are driving around a blind bend in town an oncoming cars headlights will show up as a white light against the orange street lighting. In my town we have a couple of random white street lights and everyone who drives around those bend slows down as they believe a car is coming the other way. Once white street lights become common, drivers will become accustomed to them and no-one will slow down when they see the white lights and will find out, possibly too late, that is WAS a car after all.

[nytecam]

Interesting comments coming in from existing white-light experiences

I've spied the lamps that Surrey CC got featured on BBC TV and will be out with my cam + spectroscope tonight to see what 'white-light' is made of and whether [if of emission bands] it can be filtered out for astrophotographers

[nytecam]

Above is the spectrum of the new white-light street lighting in Epsom Surrey with the older hi-pressure [pinkish] sodium lighting in the same street - there is a generally similarity in the bright emission lines - I make it 8 in WL and 7 in HPS but they don't coincide so a sodium-like astro-filter won't work to block lines in WL
And please don't say they look pretty!

[nytecam]

YouTube - New pure-white streetlights a blight for stargazers? gives a hopeful analysis of these lamps

[brightlightfight]

Originally Posted by nytecam

Reported on BBC TV News yesterday and our local 'rag' that Surrey is to phase out both low pressure sodium [orange] and hi-pressure sodium [pink] street lighting for white [broadband spectrum] light - the latter will be brighter [as aways !!] but dimable electronically to save energy and electricity.

Bad news for astronomers [as it can't be filtered-out to make the sky 'darker'] but good for 3AM dogwalkers. Coming to to town near you sooooooooooon

Hi guys,

I am currently battling with the local authority here in south Manchester regarding their use of Phillips Cosmopolis (white) street lights.

They claim that they are more cost-effective than SON-T (pink) bulbs but are they really?

Can I sugest you lodge an FOI request on your council and ask them for the data.

Fact is these bulbs cost a fortune, and by my reckoning any savings won't kick in til 30+ years!

Prod and poke away. Make some Highway Engineers life as miserable as he's making yours!

[nytecam]

Originally Posted by brightlightfight

Hi guys,

I am currently battling with the local authority here in south Manchester regarding their use of Phillips Cosmopolis (white) street lights. They claim that they are more cost-effective than SON-T (pink) bulbs but are they really? Can I sugest you lodge an FOI request on your council and ask them for the data. Fact is these bulbs cost a fortune, and by my reckoning any savings won't kick in til 30+ years! Prod and poke away. Make some Highway Engineers life as miserable as he's making yours!

Hi - the replacement 'white' streetlights were installed this morning near my house as below. I've had full tech data from Surrey CC including lamp type/ spectral emission etc and made sure this morning the lamp orientation, as previous LP-sodium lamp, remained unchange. The lamps are wireless- internet connected and are dimmed 50% from 1130pm to dawn. The lamps are, to my inspection, fairly standard in design and cost with good vertical cut-off [much superior to previous LP sodium lamps] to minimise skyflooding light pollution. At a practical level the new lamps should not have any adverse effect on my astroimaging - I don't 'eyeball' nowerdays.

Do badger your city lighting engineer to get satifaction - I've done my bit down the years via the BAA including attending lighting engineers conferences on these issue so now it's your turn so over to you. Good luck