There is no better time than now for homeowners and municipalities to replace their conventional outdoor lighting fixtures with less light polluting dark sky lighting fixtures.
First, we will actually be able to see better at night. Bright lights that spill and glare provide little in the way of security, contrary to popular belief, because the glaring lights create blind spots where unwanted activity can take place right in front of our eyes without our ever being the wiser. Think about this, criminals use the cover of darkness to scope out potential targets. Uneven conventional lighting provides the perfect combination of shadows and light by providing pockets of unlit areas where intruders can hide. Dark Sky lighting can help you provide a uniform amount of light throughout your yard without the harmful glare.
Second, dark skyhttps://solarlightinc.com/lights help us become better neighbors. Who really wants to keep people awake at night because their back porch spotlight shines right into their neighbors bedroom. And cities, also take note. Bright glaring streetlights shine into 2nd story bedrooms creating an environment where nighttime never truly comes. Exposure to bright lights at night have been found to decrease the human body’s production of melatonin, a hormone secreted at night that regulates our sleep/wake cycles. Sadly, decreased melatonin production has been linked to higher rates of breast cancer in women.
Third, let’s think beyond our human selves. Bright lights are disrupting migratory bird patterns, and even causing birds to smash into brightly lit buildings thinking they are flying towards the moon light. Night-flying bats that hunt insects around lights make themselves vulnerable to predators such as owls while they hover in open spaces away from the natural protection of vegetation. Additionally, sea turtle species who lay their eggs in coastal sands, are avoiding beaches that are well-lit contributing to the sharp decline in turtle populations around the world. These examples are only a few, many more problems with excessive lighting and its impact on wildlife exist.
Finally, efficient outdoor lighting helps homeowners and municipalities achieve significant energy savings. is particularly helpful in this area because it focuses light where it’s required rather than wasting energy to shine where light it is not needed.
Thus, an investment today in dark sky lighting will not only pay off in savings for years to come, but is without a doubt the most environmentally and ecologically sound choice we can make. How we light our homes and cities is something we truly have control over and somewhere we can really make a difference.
Cheryl Marland is the publisher of
Skylights always seem like a great idea when you are talking with the architect about designing your home. That is until you are in the room and realize you can’t stop all that natural light from streaming in. Of course the simple solution is to install skylight shades. These control the natural light from your skylights and make the whole concept of the skylight remarkably sensible again.
There is noting like natural sun. Interior designers install them in interior rooms because otherwise the room cannot possibly be as bright as rooms with windows. However there may be instances when you do not want the light, and most people do not have shades installed on their skylights.
Cellular shades are the most common treatment because when opaque honeycomb shades are closed, they stop the light and significantly reduce heat transfer through the window opening. This is significant because so much heat is lost through the window. Remember how they say most heat is lost through your head? This is because the membrane is so thin there. The same way, how can you expect a 3/8″ window to provide the same insulation as a 10″ thick wall made of siding, plywood, insulation and drywall? OK so the head is also a major heat loss area because of all the blood used to supply it, but I am making the analogies here. It is not the skylight shade itself, but the air pocket created between the blind and window that provides the insulation. Cellular shades also have additional pockets inside the blind to create added insulation.
So you installed skylight blinds. Great idea huh? Oh wait, how to I open and close them? Usually they come with a pole or handle to retract the blind. This can be hard to do if the shade is really large or high up. So now those skylight blinds don’t seem like such a good idea huh? Well the lazy man’s solution is to install motorized blinds. These have a small electric motor attached to a switch or remote to control the shades. Of course this is also good for people who should not be going through gymnastics trying to move shades high above.
For ultimate light control you can install blackout shades. These will allow you to sleep, watch TV or see your computer screen without glare. The ultimate way to make your room multipurpose then, is to have light control for day or night.
People are concerned about making earth-friendly choices in all aspects of their lives, and outdoor lighting is no exception. Want to know how to find the perfect outdoor lighting that will meet all of your expectations for added security, decreased lighting pollution, reduced energy consumption, and above all, outstanding beauty? Stay up-to-date with dark sky and solar lighting news and look no further for dark sky compliant and quality solar outdoor lighting to meet all of your outdoor lighting needs.
