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Examples of Good and Bad Lighting Practices in Adelaide

Adelaide like most cities around the world has a range of good, bad and everything-in-between outdoor lighting. While street lighting has gradually improved due to evolving Australian Standards most commercial lighting is left to "self-regulation" and is rarely monitored. This allows buyers to fall for cheap and inefficient lighting fixtures that are often mounted and aimed without consideration for the amenity of the district. Glary lighting does not necessarily increase safety and can create a motoring hazard, disturbing sleep and in some cases can actually increase criminal activity. Bad lighting wastes light thereby wastes energy adding unnecessary atmospheric emissions and costs more in the long term. Good lights control the beam and are aimed at the target area. This improves general night time visibility and safety and promotes amenity, and in the long term saves energy and money.

Roadway lighting

Over the years roadway lighting has evolved with HPS (high pressure sodium lamps) illuminating the majority of highway lighting. The orange glow is due to sodium and is chosen for its better efficiency compared to most other high luminosity lighting. You may see them in various types of luminaire housings that resemble a "cobra head". There are two main varieties, semi-cutoff and full-cuttoff.
Note: Luminaire is the light fitting that contains the lamp, its housing and electronics but not the pole and rigging. Roadway lighting is covered by the Australian Standard AS1158


Fair While the refractor bowl on this semi-cutoff HPS lamp was designed for wide road coverage it still emits glary sidelight that dazzles motorists. [West Lakes Blvd].	Good Full-cutoff HPS lamps replaced with a flat plate that emits all light downward creating a well illuminated and minimum-glare roadway. Often known as aeroshields to avoid any uplight confusing pilots, they are seen in other suburbs due to their low-glare factor. [Sir Donald Bradman Drive]

LED Lighting (Light Emitting Diode)

The nighttime lighting situation is rapidly changing with the introduction of new technology LED illumination in recent years. It promises better beam control and colour temperature choice with computer control for dimming at curfew hours with significant energy savings. LED lighting is now replacing the older luminaires in street lighting, advertising, car parks, business premises, security etc, but almost none of the LED lighting installed up to date has any of the promising controls implemented. While local Councils tend to be more conscientious, businesses and private users often install LEDs with the same lack of due care as with previous older lights resulting in even more over lighting more glare and more light trespass. Adoption of LEDs with their higher intensity and blue-white colour means sky glow is expected to increase exponentially, diminishing the starry sky over cities faster than ever! (More to come on LEDs).

Residential streetlights

They come in a range of species from bad to fair. The worst are the "flowerpot" mercury vapour lamps that have almost no beam control. They are gradually being phased out in favour of Metal halide (white) and a lower wattage version of the highway HPS lighitng.


Bad This outdated "no-cutoff" and inefficient 80 watt "flower-pot" mercury street lamp emits considerable amount of side-light and up-light creating a harsh glare adding to sky glow. They still pervade many residential streets in Adelaide	Better This more efficient semi-cutoff 50 watt HPS street lamp is a better choice though some light still escapes uselessly sideways and forward creating glare.

Business and "Security" Lighting

This lighting varies more than any other kind. There is everything from extremely bad lighting to to very good lighting. The Australian Standard AS4282-1997 The Control of the Obtrusive Effects of Outdoor Lighting has been in existence since 1997. The Standard outlines recommendations for correct choice, fitting and aiming outdoor lights to minimise the obtrusive effects of glare, light trespass and sky glow on residents, natural preserves and observatories. Yet it never seems to be enforced. Local Councils tend to be lax or apathetic in dealing with widespread overstepping of the standard throughout Australia!


Bad Cheap, inefficient and glary metal halide lights in a Cheltenham car yard. These lights are aimed almost horizontally spilling light upwards and and dazzling motorists on Port Road.	Good Pooraka car yard uses quality full cut-off box lights that reduce glare and up-light. Creates a visually ambient environment that enhances the look of the sales stock.

Bad

Typical configuration of lumniaires found at commercial car yards, sports grounds and warehouse security.

Only the lower portion of the beam reaches the yard while the remainder (about 40%) escapes sideways and upward adding to glare, light trespass and sky glow, running costs as well as emissions from wasted energy.

Bad

Left: This unshielded flood light at a corner car sales yard emits glarey light far beyond the confines of the business premises, wasting light and...Right: forcing residents across the road to install heavy duty window shutters. This kind of light pollution detracts from amenity and can easily be remedied with a quality full-cutoff floods and after-hours curfew.


Bad This double-fluoro luminaire at a Port Adelaide warehouse has no shielding. Most of the light beams wastefully sideways and upward!	Good By contrast this Wingfield warehouse has installed a full cut-off luminaire that directs almost all of its light usefully downward to the property.


Bad These prismatic globe lights at a Council car park spray wasteful amounts of light sideways and upwards with poor utilization.	Good A better alternative is this excellent full-cutoff light that sends all of its light downward with good utilization.


Very Bad! No consideration was given to the aiming of this full-cutoff, forward-throw flood light mounted over a car park at Transport SA Port Adelaide. The light is incorrectly aimed so that and most of the light is wastefully beamed into the sky!	Good Here is the correct positioning of forward-throw floods at Glenelg Oval car park. They are mounted horizontally as prescribed to throw light forward and downward.


Bad Unshielded post-top lanterns kill off old style charm emitting glarey sidelight and over-lighting at Port Adelaide.	Good Shielded walkway lanterns at Semaphore foreshore avoid glare and keeps light levels to amenable levels while preserving utility.


Bad Annoyed residents on an Adelaide foreshore are forced to attach shields to block out light from the offending side of the lantern that creates light trespass, lowered amenity and disturbing sleep.	more Bad Here other residents attempt to paint out the offending side of the lamp or have the council insert a light baffle. Either solution is inadequate when more suitable lighting is available.


Bad The light patterns on the wall reveal how these "Yarra Post-top" walkway lanterns allow considerable light to wastefully escape sideways and upwards. Location: Mawson Lakes.	Good By contrast Adelaide City Council employs full cut-off light fixtures that aim all light down to efficiently illuminate pedestrian walkways along North Terrace.


Bad Billboard illuminated from below loses light skyward wasting energy creating glare to passing motorists and adding to sky-glow.	Better Down-lights illuminate sign from above reducing uplight and glare

Sports Lighting

Night time sports ground illumination is covered by Australian Standard 2560.


Bad One of several sports light fixtures at Lindblom Park, Pooraka fitted with a battery of almost horizontal floods. A substantial amount of light shines uselessly skyward and beyond the sports ground affecting wide residential areas creating nuisance glare and light trespass.	Good Largs Oval (Largs Bay) is fitted with full cut-off floods confining light to the sports ground minimising glare and light trespass in the surrounding residential area.

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