Lighting Guide 21: Protecting the night-time environment

Liz Peck and Benedict Cadbury

• Publisher: The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers/ The Society of Light and Lighting
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN:
  9781914543036
• eBook ISBN:
  9781914543043
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Construction & Architectural Engineering
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Exterior lighting can make a valuable contribution to people's work, safety and enjoyment after dark, but it can also be obtrusive or harmful. This is not inevitable, but it is possible and is highly dependent upon how the lighting scheme is designed and technology operated. This guide outlines the causes and consequences of obtrusive light and, more importantly, how good design can minimise these effects, not just on the human scale, but also for the wider nocturnal environment.Harmful effects of outdoor lighting at night have been usually divided into three categories: — sky glow— light intrusion (nuisance)— glare.These are the visible effects for humans, but it is of equal importance to consider the less visible effects of ill-designed lighting schemes on flora and fauna: this Lighting Guide is intended to explore these in more detailin order to generate a wider perspective.The definitions of the principal forms of obtrusive light are outlined below and, whilst they are principally associated with impact on humans, they can also relate much more broadly.

Table of contents

• Contents
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Consequences of light pollution
• 3 Design
• 4 Common applications
• 5 Resolutions
• 6 Summary
• Bibliography
• References
• Glossary
• Appendix: list of protected species
• Index
• Blank Page