Ever Google yourself? Our version of that at LEDs Magazine is using the Google search results on our website to find out what is coming up as most read and most recommended by Google with regard to a particular topic or keyword phrase. It’s a good break from current events for a few minutes.
Today we featured a news story on the latest report by the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, centered around experiments in outdoor area lighting and the perception of safety in parking lots. The LRC formulated a guidance document based on its findings. Read the story and you’ll find a link to the LRC’s full report PDF.
That publication led me to kick the “outdoor lighting” tires on our website to see what articles and blogs within the past three years came up highest in the results. The following are the top five results.
5. Decision makers let LEDs speak for themselves in outdoor lighting
In the summer of 2017, we posted a blog on a community outreach example in which a trial lighting installation was instigated by the local municipal authorities, where they collected feedback on the experience from the residents. I stand by the thoughts I shared there on a shared understanding the dynamics of outdoor LED lighting and the areas in which it is to be installed.
4. Tackle the top 5 challenges in municipal outdoor lighting
Not long after the August 2017 blog, we summarized some of the high points from a webcast that was presented by Smart Outdoor Lighting Alliance executive director Bob Parks. Although that webcast is no longer available, the points shared are worth reading; Parks did an excellent job of bringing five challenges or concerns into focus, and sharing his viewpoint on how to counter them.
3. IES and AMA debate outdoor lighting at Strategies in Light
In a Commentary column from the magazine, Maury Wright gave a rundown on a lively debate from Strategies in Light 2018. During a panel discussion, representatives from the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) and the American Medical Association (AMA) talked about blue-light concerns, issues with CCT as a metric for outdoor lighting guidance, and under whose purview such lighting guidance should fall. Suffice it to say, we didn’t see a resolution that day.
2. Prioritize photometrics in outdoor lighting retrofits
SIB Lighting’s David Etzler wrote about the essentials of understanding photometrics, providing insights on how such principles could be applied in outdoor lighting design plans. He also directly addressed the elephant in the room — bringing this information to the customer in a digestible way, with lots of visual evidence to support the plans and deliver return on investment.
1. Major study finds outdoor lighting cut crime by 39%
This article, originally published by our former colleague at Lux, grabbed lots of attention for its coverage of a New York lighting trial that showed evidence of reduced crime rates in well-lit areas at night. One of the commonly-touted benefits of properly-lit outdoor areas and streets is the ability to reduce crime. But as Parks pointed out in his webcast, that hadn’t been conclusively proven in any prior studies. Is it causation or correlation? I can’t say for sure. But investment into residential areas that have been underserved surely is beneficial.
