Often wondered why street lights on all night. Wasted energy etc. Also unnecessary pollution where electrcity is generated by coal or other fossil fuel. Could save some small municipalities some cost?
Apparently a German town/city has decided to turn them off.
However provision is made for residents to call a telephone code that will switch them on for a timed period in their area. The call can be made from a home phone or from a mobile/cell phone etc.
So it would appear that a householder could turn them on; as could someone making a late night delivery, a taxi driver looking for certain street etc.
But we have too many lights were no one is using them. Look at the empty parking lots and building that are well lit at midnight. Every time I'm in a plane landing at night, I just marvel at the waste of electricity. Motion detectors would make sense, At least reduced lighting in many places.
Well we have to keep our No1 position in everything, using the most energy also. We need V8s, incandesant bulbs, non condensing heating and big houses, we need big lights.
The value of overnight street lighting was established CENTURIES ago. It provides improved public safety, particularly crime suppression.
One man's "waste" is another man's "value".
True "pollution" by such industries has all but been eliminated, compared to a mere, few decades ago. Most so-called environmentally conscious or proactive folks are not old enough to remember how things were. I remember black clouds of coal smoke. "Chimney scrubbers" were developed and deployed, to name just ONE of the many improvements that have made low sulphur coal combustion almost clean.
...and carbon dioxide, a gas produced by ALL living creatures, is NOT a pollutant despite baseless, contrary claims.
On the surface or "up front", eliminating overnight, public lighting might appear to save some money. In reality, the CO$T to a community from such "savings" would quickly become apparent in the form of diminished public safety (increased accidents, etc) and increased crime.
If you think there are too many tire slashings and window smashings NOW, just turn off the street lights for a while and see how much such crime increases.
Great. Let them test such folly - then get back to the rest of us.
That's almost a cliche of the Environmentalist Wacko movement: Spend millions of dollars to save a few dollars. Penny-wise and pound-foolish.
The irony of such technology is that it ignores the very basis of what has driven mankind since the wheel: Cost vs value.
You can bet that at least ONE householder in each area would turn the lights back on - EACH NIGHT - just for the security they offer.
It is simply appalling to me that so many (too many) folks believe that such a system would be a good thing. They are incapable of seeing beyond the simple function of turning off a street light.
I am honestly concerned for the future should such folly take an even greater hold of our society. There are so many BETTER things to concern us and on which we should spend our money.
Therein lies one of my concerns, Ed: I fear for the day when like-minded folks gain control of such things. The decision by the Ministry of Overnight Lighting to force private consumers into darkness (among many, other things) would be a terrible thing.
Have you considered WHY they are empty? One reason they are empty is BECAUSE they are illuminated.
That is a ridiculous statement, but I'll leave the ridicule to other, enlightened persons. If you wish to save energy or, amazingly, the planet, take the train or stay home.
The next time you are in a plane landing at night, advise the Captain that you'd like the airport to turn off their lights to save energy. Better yet, make the flight on ONE engine. Sheesh!
A long time ago, SOME of us learned that constantly turning-on and turning-off a lamp was usually more expensive than leaving it on. This hasn't changed.
Completely disregarding actual CO$T, virtually anything is possible and considered by too many to be worthwhile.
As kids, playing outdoors at dusk, one of us was the "winner" if we were the first to call out "street light" when it came on. The advantages of turning-off public lighting during daytime hours are well known. The advantages of turning-ON such lighting after dark are likewise well known, at least by those with half a brain.
Switching on-and-off overnight lighting with each passing vehicle or at the whim of the public with a mere phone call is folly.
Parking lot operators are driven by cost, just like any other business. When it is clear there is money to be SAVED (overall) by keeping their property in the dark overnight, it will happen on its own. I rue the day when it is mandated by government.
This is great. Was hoping to get ALL views of such an idea. Additional views are most welcome. Please.
Here; in addition to two or three street lights within view from this home in a smaller town not too far from a small city in North America we have the following for outside 'night' lighting.
1) One 50 watt 'long life' bulb over front door step. This mainly to ensure that there is a steady light in case someone does come to the door and for visiting neighbours who drop in for a chat and cup of tea. It also would satisfy an insurance requirement that we, as householder provide suitable lighting. The bulb is on for about ten to
12 hours per night (at this time of year). And is replaced every few years. It can be reached by standing on a chair. It can also be operated on/off via a key chain 'fob' similar to that used as car remote door opener.
2) Motion detector twin light fixture over garage door; it operates only after dusk and comes on when a person or vehicle is about half way up driveway. Presently adjusted to stay on for several minutes. Long enough to get groceries out of vehicle.
3) Similar motion detector on other end of house where there is some 8 to 10 feet clearance from fence and next house is some 50 feet away. This sometimes gets operated by a prowling cat or tree movement during heavy winds.
4) Two enclosed bulb fixtures 40 watters IIRC, on patio deck, operated by a switch located next to sliding glass doors to deck at rear of house. Occasionally operated, don't think have replaced a bulb in them for past 5 years.
There is very little activity either walking or vehicles after say
1.00 AM. With my existing lighting the street lights could be out I reckon. In fact if my motion detector lights came on in otherwise darkness it would signal neighbours opposite that something was moving around my house..
Oh by the way it is possible to, electrically, connect to the output wire of those motion sensors and via, say a low voltage transformer, operate a buzzer or even use the low voltage as input to my house alarm system.
Four statements in that sentence. The first three are unsupportable mythology, the last, "perceived" safety, is certainly correct. Fighting crime through lighting is one of those "commonly accepted as true" ideas that the data doesn't support.
Yes, in Europe most communities switch off some though not all lights during times of low traffic flow when they aren't useful. That includes overhead street lighting as well as traffic signals. But in the parts of Europe where I lived, people went to bed early too, so it might not work as well in the US.
Not to mention the increased costs of installing and maintaining the motion sensitive stuff. The increased costs related to replacing lights that burn out faster because they are turned on and off more often. Etc., etc., etc.,
Ignoring the costs of setting up and running a system, even if computer run. I am not sure how they would spend the 20 seconds of savings before kids decide that turning on the lights is this generation's equivalent of calling a store to see if they had Prince Albert in a can.
I hate street lights. They block out the night sky. Thankfully I don't have a street in front of my house but I can see one down the road. They can all be put on motion detectors for security. No need to have lights on when nobody is home or anywhere around is there? It's a real ignorant energy wasting idea.
For the same reason that street lights are (usually) not on during the daytime. Street lights are on at night so people (mostly) and animals can see.
They also act as a deterrent - roaches don't like light.
I live across the street from an apartment house. There is a largish street light in front of my house that illuminates the street (of course) and the parking lot of the apartment complex. Every time the light goes out (the last time because some fool hit it while doing about 100mph) the goblins at the apartment house come out to play. For all I can tell, they are dancing around semi-naked while chanting unintelligible incantations to something that cannot even charitably be called music. It's spooky and the only thing I can do is maintain a well-armed vigilance lest their witch-doctor lose control or they run out of virgins.
No. Lights do not deter crime. Lights do move it however.
Many years ago when I was studying stoical analysis I remember a famous study done by a maker of street lighting equipment and the commercial power companies. They took a high crime area, they studied the crime in the area, then they put street lights up on even numbered streets and left the off numbered street without. After some time they then gathered the information and found that crime on the streets with lights was greatly reduced. After some effort as they did not initially publish it, it was found that crime rates on the streets that were not lit almost doubled, so there was no statically significant reduction in overall crime.
The real conclusion to be drawn is that someone who wants to commit a crime will not be stopped by a light, but may move his crime away from the light.
Another study proved that putting lighting on the freeways near the entrances exits and other high risk areas reduced he overall accident rates much better than lighting all the freeway. It is believed that the additional lighting helps wake people up and get their attention when they will need it most.
By selectively reducing the lighting on our freeways, we could reduce accidents. Have we done it. Very little. People tend to believe more is always better so they want more, not better.
A low buzzer, like noticing "Oh one of the outside lights is on. I wonder why?" and then investigating is not a nuisance. It merely tells you that one of the neighbous kids has walked past on the way to some evening event at the nearby school!
No raccoons here; neighbours cats are known and usually in at night.
Also do not assume the alarm is tied into an alarm company, it's not. However on the odd occasion we are away it sounds across the street in my neighbour's house (I do the same for them if/when they are away) and operates a small horn and some other devices I will not mention for security.
It is harder to sue someone in Germany too. In the US the day someone is robbed or has a fender bender in an unlit parking lot, the cost to the business will probably be a few years worth of electricity. Same with municipalities. It is not economical to not have street lights.
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