Light Pollution – What Is It and How Can You Help?

Light pollution

Have you ever noticed how when you are away from heavily populated areas that the night sky is filled with stars? So why is it that you can’t see the same stars when you are in the city? The answer is light pollution! Thats right, light is considered a pollutant!

Light pollution is the obtrusive, excessive and unnecessary use of light used for advertising, security, street lighting, etc. that becomes misdirected and filters out towards the sky. This misdirection is due to poorly designed lighting installations and can be an issue for more than one reason. There are three different types of light pollution that occur as a result of poorly designed lighting:

Glare Light

Glare is caused when the excessive brightness of a light causes light scattering in the eye and reduces the contrast of what the eye can see. This reduced contrast can make it extremely difficult to distinguish scenes and settings and can be extremely hazardous when driving.

Glare light towards the eyes can cause temporary blindness and constant exposure to glare can have longer effects on the health of your eyes and it can worsen with age.

Light Trespass

Light trespass is the unwanted light entering a property where it is not needed, for example, street lights entering through a bedroom window at night. Not only can unwanted light be annoying while you are trying to sleep, but having a disrupted sleep can also be damaging on your health.

Skyglow

Skyglow is when the overflow of many sources of lighting brightens the sky over inhabited areas. In other words, when there are too many bright lights outdoors in one area, it can illuminate the night sky. This form of light pollution is of greatest concern to astronomers who study the night sky. The brighter the skyglow, the lighter the night sky and therefore the less celestial objects can be seen and studied.

The Effects Of Light Pollution in South Australia
The Density Of Light In South Australia

Why is light pollution bad?

First and foremost, light pollution is a large form of energy wastage. Lighting that emits too much light or is focused when and where it is not needed (i.e. upwards towards the sky) can have large economic consequences, as the wasted energy that is used to produce this light can contribute heavily to greenhouse gases and unnecessary expenditure.

Light pollution can also have environmental consequences and can be detrimental for both flora and wildlife that inhabit the areas.  All living  creatures rely on the steady rise and fall of the sun to regulate body patterns and quality of life. Their natural migratory and breeding patterns can be affected along with their ability to interact with one another.

As the rhythm of life is dependent and coordinated by the natural rise and fall of the sun, disrupting the pattern can severely impact the ecological behaviour.

The health of humans can also be affected by light pollution for almost the same reason. When we are exposed to larger amounts of light when we shouldn’t be, such as at night when we are trying to sleep our melatonin levels are suppressed. This can lead to many different issues such as sleep disorders, lowered immunity levels and increased levels of anxiety.

The Effects of Light Pollution
An Example Of How Light Pollution Affects Visibility Of The Sky At Night

What can be done?

While it is understood that there are necessary reasons that areas need to be lit up during the night, such as for safety on the streets and the ability to see in the dark, there are ways that it can be reduced around the home.

  • The most obvious way to curb your contribution to light pollution around the home is to switch off lights when they are not needed. Do not light up your front and backyard when they are not in use. This will also save you a large amount of money on your energy bills!
  • Have a motion sensor installed to switch your outdoor lights on and off when appropriate.
  • Replace your high-energy bulbs with much more energy efficient LED ones to reduce the carbon emissions that are being discharged.
  • Properly shield outdoor lights to focus the light where needed and avoid any misdirection.
  • Use dimmers where possible to control the amount of light that is being released.
Properly Shielded Lights Can Correctly Control The Direction Of Light
Properly Shielded Lights Can Reduce Light Pollution

Small Tips To Save On Your Power Bills

Overloaded Powerboard

Are you finding that your power bills are consistently too high and you’re unsure why? There are a few small changes that you can make around your home that won’t cost you an arm and a leg but can make a dramatic difference to how much you are spending on energy. The main reason that most households have a high energy bill is because they don’t completely understand their energy usage, and as Green Efficient Living are passionate about educating people to be more energy smart, we have decided to compile a list of ways to easily reduce your energy usage around the home.

STANDBY POWER

Did you know that even though you’ve turn your television off after you’ve finished watching it, it is still consuming energy? It’s called ‘Vampire Power’, ‘Phantom Load’ or most commonly ‘Standby Power’ and has a significant impact on household bills. According to the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, standby power makes up approximately $100 of energy consumption costs per year for the average household. Plasma and LCD televisions are large consumers of standby power and Energy Rating states that every television that is sold or supplied within Australia must display an Energy Rating Label. This will tell you how much energy the television uses per year and gives you a star rating allowing you to compare the energy efficiency of different models.

But the biggest way to reduce your standby power costs is by unplugging your appliances, or turning off at the switch, once you’ve finished with them. Take a look around to see if any of your appliances have standby lights or are warm even when not in use, and make an effort to correctly turn them off so that your house isn’t consuming energy unnecessarily.

How power boards affect energy usage

LIGHTING

The lighting around your home can be a culprit for many reasons and there are a few ways that you can be smarter when it comes to your lights.

  • The most obvious way to save energy is to turn off the lights in rooms that are being used – don’t believe the myth that is uses more energy to turn lights on and off every few minutes. This is rarely the case and only applicable if you have large spotlighting or OLD fluorescent lights that take longer to warm up once switched back on.
  • Avoid using your heat lamps in your bathroom if you are only after light, because while the difference in energy usage isn’t too vast for short periods of time, it can add up when the bill arrives.
  • While energy efficient fluorescent globes may be slightly more expensive to purchase than your traditional incandescent globes, they use 80 percent less energy, are longer lasting, and are therefore the much smarter choice when it comes to saving energy around the home. They are perfect for areas where the lighting is needed for longer periods of time, such as the kitchen and living areas, and have a much longer lifespan, so the number of times you will need to change them decreases. Switch to save!
LED Lighting's affect on energy bills
Image by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

LARGE APPLIANCES

Dishwashers, washing machines and clothes dryers are some of the biggest culprits of energy wastage around the home because people don’t understand how to use them efficiently.

  • When using your dishwasher, ensure to use the economy setting if it has one, and only turn it on when it is full. This is much the same as the washing machine, in that it should only be used once you have a full load, and all clothes should be washed in cool water to save energy heating it up.
  • If you can, avoid using your clothes dryer and line dry instead. But if you need to, make sure that your clothes have been wrung out as much as possible to minimise the time needed in the dryer.
  • As your fridge is continuously running, always make sure that the door is sealed tight and that the unit has at least a 5 centimetre space surrounding the unit to allow air to circulate freely. If you can, set the temperature of the fridge at a consistent 3 to 5 degrees Celsius, and -15 to -18 degrees for the freezer.

HEATING AND COOLING

  • For Reverse Cycle Air Conditioners, keep the rooms that are not in use closed off, to keep the rooms that you are using cooler, and always keep your air conditioner filters clean.
  • Always close your windows and blinds in hot weather to reduce the amount of thermal ingress from outside. This will ensure that your air conditioner does not have to work as hard to keep the room cool.
  • In winter, close doors to rooms that you aren’t using to keep the heat in the rooms that you are and try to use extra blankets, wheat bags, or hot water bottles when sleeping to avoid running your heating in your bedrooms.
  • Keep your fan speeds consistent and always use the right settings for the right occasions.

For more tips on how to be energy smart when it comes to your air conditioner or heater, see here.

WATER

When attempting to cut energy costs, many people don’t necessarily look to their water consumption as a solution, but there are many ways that changing your water usage patterns can help shave dollars off of your bills. According to Energy.Gov water heating is the second largest energy expense in your home and therefore can result in large changes to your spending.

  • In the bathroom, changing your shower heads to energy efficient ones can save up to $200 a year on your energy bills.
The higher the water rating, the less energy is used
Before buying an appliance, look at their water rating to see how efficient they are. The less water that they use, the less heating is needed, and the more energy is saved.
  • Making the effort to have much shorter showers is also a way to cut energy costs, less water used = less energy needed to heat it.
  • When boiling water, opt for the kettle rather than the stovetop and keep lids on when cooking to reduce cooking time
  • Fix those leaky taps!

As you can see, there are many small and cheap ways to reduce your energy bills by a large amount. Start implementing these tips into your everyday life and watch the savings pile up! For further information on how to save energy, call Green Efficient Living today on (08) 8297 3422.