There are several benefits associated with having an outdoor lighting system installed in your yard, summed up in our tagline, Safety. Security. Serenity. We’ve discussed the benefits many times here on our blog. But what about the dark side of lighting, like light pollution? (ha-ha! Get it? “Dark side?” Oh, I just crack myself up!).
Light pollution is caused by oversaturation of light or high light intensity which obviously occurs mostly in big cities – street lights, billboards, business lighting, etc. But it has grown in the suburbs and outskirts recently as well.
What exactly is light pollution?
- Skyglow—Too much light, discharging upwards into the sky; generally seen over cities. Hinders our ability to see the stars.
- Over Lighting – More is more, right?! If a little lighting is good, then a lot is better, yes? No! Too much is too much. In fact, too much lighting is dangerous and causes harsh glare and dark shadows, throwing people off rather than helping them.
- Light Trespass – This is a common problem with poorly executed landscape lighting. Light travels beyond the desired area and trespasses onto the neighbors’ yard, restricting their ability to enjoy their home or business and invading their privacy.
- Light Clutter – This occurs when lights are overly grouped. Clumps of lights can be a distraction to drivers and cause accidents.
At Southern Lights, we take light pollution seriously and work extremely hard to ensure we are Dark Sky Friendly at all times. We put this into consideration right from the planning and design stage. Southern Light’s employs downlighting techniques whenever possible, and use the lowest amount of lighting to achieve the desired moonlight effect. We use LED lights, which require much less electricity and operate at a much lower temperature than halogen bulbs. Our goal is to make your property beautiful, safe and usable, with the lowest impact on the environment possible. We want to keep our world beautiful, as well as your home or business.
