How to Reduce Light Pollution

My 7-year old son was recently given a telescope for his birthday. We were excited because we had recently watched an episode of the original Batman TV series where Bruce Wayne was unlocking the secrets of the universe to Dick Grayson through a telescope at Wayne Manor. No doubt Bruce Wayne – being a millionaire when millionaire meant something - had the top of the line telescope and that helped. But there was another reason why our telescope was not able to reveal too much about our universe: light pollution.

Light pollution is caused by improper lighting in heavily-populated areas. Light from outdoor fixtures is aimed improperly and causes light bouncing in all directions. You can see this in parking lot lighting that shines in every direction; street lighting that lights in too many directions; and house lighting that shines in your eyes and shines up instead of just lighting the ground.

Drive down a residential street at night and notice how many lights are shining right at your eyes instead of just lighting the path and the house. Some are a nuisance, while some can almost blind you. This is one of the complaints of incandescent bulbs: they shine in every direction, while you only need the light to shine in specific directions. This is one of the important advantages of LEDs - they are more directional. The typical LED shines a beam of about 120 degrees – putting light in only one third of the places that an incandescent bulb will throw light. This is the main reason that creating an incandescent bulb replacement using LEDs is so challenging. However, this is also why LEDs create much less light pollution compared to incandescent bulbs. And this is why light fixtures made with LEDs can be so much more efficient that incandescent bulbs and CFLs as well. Incandescent bulbs and CFLs emit light in every direction. Does your outside lighting really need to shine upwards?

I recently wrote about the cost savings of using the Mr. Beams battery powered LED security light versus using a traditional wired spotlight with an incandescent bulb. The cost savings is dramatic: If you would normally turn a 75W incandescent light bulb on all night (cost of $35.50 each year at $0.13 per kWh) then you can save about $33 per year by changing to a Mr. Beams battery operated Security Spotlight. The Mr. Beams LED Security Spotlight will only activate when it detects motion. The Spotlight also reduces light pollution. It s bright LED will only shine in the direction that you have pointed it. It is smarter lighting that will prevent light pollution while preventing wasted energy.

Please learn more about the Mr. Beams line of battery powered, motion sensor LED lighting at www.mrbeams.com