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Responsible Lighting

Dark Sky Friendly Fixtures

The RASC is a strong advocate of Full Cut-Off (FCO) fixtures. The International Dark Sky Association (IDA) have links to manufactures with FCO fixtures which are approved under their Dark Sky Friendly Seal of Approval program which is endorsed by the RASC.

Though not specific to dark sky friendly fixtures, a long list of outdoor lighting manufacturers are listed on the National Electrical Manufactuers Association (NEMA) website. NEMA also publishes a white paper on outdoor lighting issues.

There is an alternate product for the dreaded "Wall Packs". These are usually used on the walls of commercial buildings. Wall mounted luminaires tend to spray light far an wide - which is why they are used. However, they also produce intense glare and light trespass. For relatively low level illumination, a Glare Buster may be a good alternative. Especially when it is to illuminate pedestrian walk ways. The lighting here is more inviting and produces almost no glare. So, pedestrian are more easily seen (and avoided) by drivers in the parking lot. There is at least one distributor in Canada (Luminescence Inc., 79TH Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 0P2 [Part of the ReLumen Group] Phone:(780) 426-6662 Fax:(780) 426-2935.

You may also learn from the material on the General Lighting Product and Component Information site.

Progress Lighting have a series of dark sky friendly lights. We have been told their products #5641, #5643, #5674 are quite good.

Starry Night Lights also have some full cut-off sconces.

 

FCO Luminaires (Full Cut Off )- online survey

The intent of this list is to act as a resource for individuals who want to effectively spread the good word of environmentally friendly lighting.

There are four subsets on the list. The first, observed FCO- FCO luminaires that are seen going up anywhere in any amount.  The second group is for communities with verified developer or municipal language, i.e. development codes. The third set is for those communities creating lighting bylaws that would be eco friendly, not just with FCO luminaires either. For example lighting restrictions and so forth.  The fourth is a listing of communities that have FCO Bylaws in place.

 

Observed FCO Streetlight Luminaires Verified FCO Street Light Policy  FCO Development Stds/Policies
 FCO Bylaws
    
Hampton Village, SK
Prince George, Bc
Essex, ON
Richmond Hill, ON
Yorkton, SK
British Columbia Highways
LaSalle, ON
Saanich, BC
Mission Ridges Estates,   SK
Calgary, AB
Abbotsford, ON
Mississippi Mills, ON
Pentiction, BC
Essex, ON
Windsor, ON
Manitoulin Twnsp., ON
Cambridge, ON
Kingsville, ON
Kingston, ON
 
St.Catherines, ON
Leamington, ON
  
London, ON
Amherstburg, ON
  
Springbrook, ON
LaSalle, ON
  
Pickering, ON
Tecumseh, ON
  
Kingston, ON
Lakeshore, ON
  
Brockville , ON
Trent, ON
  
Clarington, ON
Peterborough, ON
  
  
  
    

 

 

Images of NON-Compliant LED Street lighting

Images taken by Wayne Liebau (Welland, Ontario)

       

Images of the underside of the fixture, side views and on a pole.

 

There are a growing number of  energy-efficient, carbon-friendly ways of producing light pollution. And the above light in question is a good example!
 
There are numerous agencies that are talking about carbon footprint (Suzuki,  Gore,, Earth Hour ,PowerSmart{a branch of BC Hydro}), and while  carbon and climate are extremely important, some carbon saving measures  actually increase light pollution.  For example, replacing a bare 60 watt  incandescent outdoor bulb with a 26 watt compact fluorescent bulb will
 receive applause from the above agencies and yet it will increase light  pollution, because a 26 watt CFB puts out the equivalent of 100 watts of light.
 

 Examples Of Good Lighting from Manufacturers Examples of Bad Lighting from Manufacturers
Green Earth LightingSolar Lighting from Carmanah
Starry Night Lights 
Beacon Products 
Luxim Corporation