18 W LED Street Lights

[solissydney (Ken)]

Some 1700 LED street lights by Sylvania are to be installed in Baulkham Hills, Sydney.
No specifications at this stage.

[glend (Glen)]

Ken, most important in this rollout will be the lense/enclosure used. If they are going to be directed straight down onto a road surface then it's not so bad but if they use unmasked bucket type lamp covers then the light will be spread over a 360 degree area of the street light. Being so high up these bucket type dump white light into just about every backyard in the area. I have one of these bucket lense LED street lights at the top of my street and it is a real problem for me when imaging. All the other street lights still use the baffled downlight type lense and can be avoided. I have planeted a row of Leighton Green trees to grow a massive high hedge but it's only at fence height now so a couple of years from being able to stop that light. In the interim my observatory slide off roof provides some baffling as the peak slides towards the light source. The use of a deep light shield on the scope helps some, but on nights with some moisture in the air I can see a light layer hanging over the street due to it reflecting off the water vapour. Of course being white light broad spectrum it cannot be filtered out effectively. Complaints to Council about that one light have fallen on deaf ears, they did send out an inspector (apparently) and reported back that it was within guidelines (but no mention of what those guidelines are). Good luck, I am considering moving to a rural area to escape this menace.

[solissydney (Ken)]

I will let you all know when I get the specs.

[cfranks (Charles)]

Originally Posted by glend

........The use of a deep light shield on the scope helps some, but on nights with some moisture in the air I can see a light layer hanging over the street due to it reflecting off the water vapour. Of course being white light broad spectrum it cannot be filtered out effectively. .......Good luck, I am considering moving to a rural area to escape this menace.

I live in a rural area and 'they' have just installed a lamp about 4x brighter than previously at the corner of my block. I am shaded from direct light by a shed but the SE metal fence and large tree is illuminated brighter than the moon and shines directly onto my equipment (permanent pier MX + Losmandy G11 on a Tripod). The sky to the east is very washed out and may kill my imaging altogether. The council passed the buck to the electricity supplier as it is on one of their poles. As a pensioner and renting this place, I'm not able to move anywhere. There is no foot traffic on this road at night so I wonder at the rational behind the brighter light.

Charles

[glend (Glen)]

Originally Posted by cfranks

I live in a rural area and 'they' have just installed a lamp about 4x brighter than previously at the corner of my block. I am shaded from direct light by a shed but the SE metal fence and large tree is illuminated brighter than the moon and shines directly onto my equipment (permanent pier MX + Losmandy G11 on a Tripod). The sky to the east is very washed out and may kill my imaging altogether. The council passed the buck to the electricity supplier as it is on one of their poles. As a pensioner and renting this place, I'm not able to move anywhere. There is no foot traffic on this road at night so I wonder at the rational behind the brighter light.

Charles

Well there are ways to make a street light go out of service, that I don't want to suggest in print here. The problem is that you've raised the issue with Council so now they know where to look if it suddenly gets damaged. Next time you see the electricity guys in the area ask them to put a shield on it - that's the nice way to do it, or ring them up and see what they can do. If your the only one around that light then they should consider your wishes.

[gary]

Originally Posted by glend

Ken, most important in this rollout will be the lense/enclosure used. If they are going to be directed straight down onto a road surface then it's not so bad but if they use unmasked bucket type lamp covers then the light will be spread over a 360 degree area of the street light.

Hi Glen,

Ken in fact is president of the Sydney Outdoor Lighting Improvement Society (SOLIS), has been lobbying
hard over the years and has a deep appreciation of the various technical measures that can be taken to minimize light pollution
including well designed fixtures with cut-offs.

The amateur astronomy community is highly appreciative of his efforts.

Best regards

Gary

[ZeroID (Brent)]

One of the USA solutions is to raise a complaint about the light preventing you from sleeping due to intrusion into your windows rather than mentioning Astronomy. Seems to hit more nerves with people than a minority hobbyists complaint. Mutterings of 'Elf and Safety' and sleep deprivation gets more attention.

[lazjen (Chris)]

Originally Posted by ZeroID

One of the USA solutions is to raise a complaint about the light preventing you from sleeping due to intrusion into your windows rather than mentioning Astronomy. Seems to hit more nerves with people than a minority hobbyists complaint. Mutterings of 'Elf and Safety' and sleep deprivation gets more attention.

I did something like this and the council sent someone around to measure the light levels in the bedroom. They weren't sufficient to warrant dealing with the light unfortunately.