Eco street lights set for Brighton and Hove trial

New eco-friendly lights are set to be trialled as part of a bid to slash Brighton and Hove’s energy output by nearly half.

They will be installed in street lamps in Brighton and Hove, despite some residents fearing they will be too dark.

Leaflets posted through doors in trial areas including Coombe Road, Brighton, have pictures of what |the lights will look like before and after.

But the letter, sent by the council’s street-lighting team, said: “It is not indicative of the final result.”

One resident told The Argus: “It is quite worrying.

“Coombe Road is already quite dark and these images suggest that the street is only going to get darker – I hope that this is not the case.”

The lightbulbs are also set to be installed in lamps in Montpellier Road, Brighton.

Reduced emmissions

Brighton and Hove City Council said: “LED lights are being trialled in Coombe Road after a discussion with the local action team.

“The trial will increase the number of lamp-posts from 15 to 22 and will also result in a drop in running costs from £517 to £442 per year, despite there being seven more columns.

“Carbon emissions will also drop by 14.5%.

“Overall we are looking at making carbon and energy savings of between 40% and 45% across the city as a whole.

“It depends on the level of work being undertaken to each street.

“Coombe Road is only a 14.5% reduction due to the increase in the number of columns, but Montpelier Road to Seven Dials will produce savings of almost 70%.

“White lighting is also being installed across the city in many different locations, which is brighter, more energy efficient and cheaper.

“You can see examples of white light areas on London Road, The Drive, Elm Grove, Stanford Avenue, Preston Drove and Surrenden Road.

“In some areas it will be dimmed between midnight and 6am depending on the locations – the north end of London Road for example will be dimmed – but it won’t be dimmed towards the city centre where there is more footfall.

“All lighting is subject to a full lighting design and is in accordance with recommended guidance.”

 

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Comments(7)

pistachionut says...
4:46pm Fri 12 Oct 12

Be warned, the lovely council re-positioned a lamp post outside my house which shone into the bedrooms so bright it looked like summer inside.
I did find out that they did not follow the British standards in inspecting the works prior to the placement of the new light.
When i complained i was asked "to take some time to become accustomed to the change".

kopite_rob says...
4:47pm Fri 12 Oct 12

I hope these new lights are the type that direct light down onto the street rather than letting light escape upwards and into peoples windows.
The last few weeks I've really enjoyed decent sleep & rest until some overefficient councl worker replaced the bulb in the street light outside my bedroom window. I wouldn't mind but I didn't want the light repaired.

Maxwell's Ghost says...
5:39pm Fri 12 Oct 12

I noticed the shiny new lamposts going up in Coombe Road and thought, hooray, much brighter lights on this key main route used by traffic on the one-way system and crossed by dozens of kiddies on the way to the school.
The Victorian lamps are gloomy and dark.
I hope they are brighter than the Victorian ones because this part of town has suffered increased low level criminal activity and antisocial behaviour by drunken students which has been reported by Sussex Police and the local action team.
The word eco generally puts the fear into people as it usually means: It wont work very well.
An electrician said to me recently: "The eco light bulbs were the best invention this century for the electricity companies."
I asked why, thinking that it was saving power. He replied: "They are so dark and gloomy that electricians have seen an incredible increase in business of people installing halogen spotlights by the dozen and uplighters in their homes to compensate or avoid the eco bulbs."

HJarrs says...
10:21pm Fri 12 Oct 12

What generally counts is the lux level at street level whatever technology is used. I hope that this is the case for Coombe Rd, which is what the increase in lamposts would suggest.

It will be interesting to see what this lighting is like. You should be able to see full colour but will it seem dimmer than the sodium lights?

Maxwell's Ghost says...
11:11pm Fri 12 Oct 12

It would have been even more Eco to use the existing lamp posts but I suppose these lovely old items which have proved their Eco use will be dug up and dumped on a slow boat to china to be turned into old tat to be sent back here.
Please don't let the council wreck them. They don't seem to bother looking after that part of town despite the railway history of the town and the fact the houses have an historic importance even if they are a bit scruffy.

Cold cold ground says...
3:20pm Sat 13 Oct 12

kopite_rob wrote:
I hope these new lights are the type that direct light down onto the street rather than letting light escape upwards and into peoples windows.
The last few weeks I've really enjoyed decent sleep & rest until some overefficient councl worker replaced the bulb in the street light outside my bedroom window. I wouldn't mind but I didn't want the light repaired.
Have you thought of getting black out blinds or curtains?.......just like turning all the lights off in the street!

Just an idea.

Kedge says...
11:44am Sun 14 Oct 12

Like some of the other posters, I have a street light shinging directly into my house. I don't really want to install blackout blinds in bedroom, bathroom, hall, thank you very much. It was never a problem when lamps had those old-fashioned "hats" which directed the illumination where it should be, onto the road and pavement. But it's good news about the white light. I really hate the yellow light which distorts colours. By the way, can anyone tell me why lamp standards on main roads (not m/ways) need to be two storeys or more high? The current design throws light sideways and upwards, contributing greatly to light pollution.

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