Environmentally Friendly Lights
Dark Sky Compliant Lighting
Dark sky compliance is sometimes overlooked as an environmental consideration for lighting. But preventing light pollution is important when we consider the overall health of our planet.
What Is Light Pollution?
Light pollution is misdirected or excessive artificial light. It causes the night sky to be washed out, making it difficult to see stars. But a diminished starry view isn’t the worst thing about light pollution. Too much light pollution can disrupt ecosystems, waste energy, interfere with astronomical research, and have adverse health effects.
Human Health Effects of Light Pollution
Exposure to artificial light at night can be bad for human health. By disrupting the circadian rhythm, nighttime light exposure can increase the risk of depression, sleep disorders, diabetes, and more.
How Does Light Pollution Affect the Environment?
There is a direct link between light bulbs and the environment. “Sky glow” is a brightening of the night sky and especially common in urban areas.
As well as affecting human sleep patterns, sky glow harms animals’ sleep patterns. Light pollution can disrupt animal migration patterns, wake-sleep habits, and habitat formation.
For example, birds guided by moonlight alone can lose their way. It can also cause animals to wake earlier than they would in areas without light pollution, which disrupts the flow of the ecosystem.
Dark Sky Compliant Lighting
There are a number of steps companies can take to reduce light pollution. These steps are especially important if you’re looking for low light pollution outdoor lighting, since outdoor lights contribute more light pollution than indoor lights.
First, lights with lower color temperatures are considered to be more dark sky compliant than lights with blue wavelength spikes. So if you’re wondering, “are fluorescent lights bad for the environment?,” it is important to know that they often have cool color temperatures.
For an eco-friendly alternative, TCP’s SOListic LED lights mimic natural sunlight, making them a more environmental light than cool-temperature luminaries that produce high levels of blue light.
Apart from buying sunlight mimicking or warm LED lights to protect the environment, there are other precautions you can take to reduce light pollution:
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- Fully shielded lighting
- Turn off lights when not needed
- Dim lights as much as possible
- Only light the area that needs light
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Following these tips will help reduce the effect your commercial lighting has on the surrounding environment.
Why It’s Important to Be Green
There are important advantages to environmental lighting.
First, using environmentally friendly lights helps reduce your company’s carbon footprint. Green business practices are a great way to do your part in protecting the planet. Plus, these same business practices can save you money through lower energy bills and even LEED certification.
Ready to make a shift toward a greener lighting system in your commercial space? When it comes to LED lights, environment advocates agree they are the best option for the planet.
TCP is here to help. Reach out to our lighting experts to tell us about your project today!
