Street lights are essential in today’s culture. They promote human safety by illuminating the nighttime routes, which prevents accidents. Humans can also feel more secure because most of us are terrified of the dark. Indeed, street lighting has grown to be an essential component of cities all over the world.
Street lights are a vital part of every contemporary society, but they are also a huge source of energy waste, carbon emissions, and light pollution.
However, reducing the street lights, especially when no one is around, is definitely achievable and advantageous. Turning off the street lights completely will save energy, reduce carbon footprint, and stop light pollution.
Motion sensors and light controllers in smart street lighting dim the lights and provide genuine light-on-demand, reducing energy use, CO2 emissions, and light pollution without sacrificing public safety.
The ecosystem of our planet and nocturnal pollinators could both benefit from intelligent lighting! According to recent studies, reducing or turning off the lights for merely a few hours is enough to allow moths to behave naturally at night.
Pollination, Moths, and Night Lighting
Moths contribute significantly to the pollination of plants, including vital food crops like rapeseed, soybeans, and peas, a contribution that is sometimes underestimated. In some ways, this lepidoptera does the same job at night as bees and other pollinating insects do during the day.
However, night lighting interferes with moths’ ability to pollinate plants at night. Moths are drawn to artificial light at night, which keeps them away from plants and fields. As a result, moths eat less frequently, which eventually has an impact on pollination.
Researchers from York and Newcastle Universities found that pollination success under part-night lighting conditions is identical to that under complete darkness in a recent study that was published in the Ecosphere. In other words, if street lights are dimmed or turned off (which is ideal in most places), especially when people aren’t there, they won’t harm the ecosystem in any way or impair the nocturnal pollination process directly.
Managing Street Lighting
Undoubtedly, traditional street lights contribute to light pollution. Additionally, both people and wildlife are impacted by light pollution. However, modern lighting technology allows local government agencies to remotely control street lights.
Intelligent street lighting includes motion sensors, lighting controls, IoT modules (energy meters, CCTV, etc.), and a light management software suite that allows local governments to gather useful data on community activity and light levels and remotely adjust street lights as needed.
Controlling street lights in accordance with the necessary specifications entails limiting energy usage, CO2 emissions, and—most importantly—light pollution. In addition, remote control street lighting allows nocturnal pollinators to effectively finish the pollination process and benefit the ecosystem by dimming or turning off the lights in locations where they are not required during a set time period.
Bottom line
In human culture, street lights are crucial. They brighten the roadways every night, which reduces accidents and raises public safety. But street lights also contribute significantly to energy waste, carbon emissions, and light pollution, especially when (and where) they are not required. It is not advisable to turn off the street lights to address these problems, but lowering them is a viable and beneficial option.
Cities must use smart street lighting because it is a practical technology, especially if they wish to benefit both urban society and the environment. Intelligent lighting options, like those from Yibai LED Lighting, reduce light pollution, conserve energy, and reduce carbon footprint without sacrificing people’s safety or enjoyment. They also assist in building a strong foundation on which cities may quickly incorporate IoT gadgets and apps from outside companies for the benefit of their inhabitants.
Finally, intelligent lighting will help nocturnal pollinators efficiently carry out the pollination of crucial plants and contribute to the preservation of the earth’s environment since it allows towns to remotely manage street lights and reduce light pollution. Adopting intelligent lighting is a win-win situation for cities because it reduces energy use and costs without compromising public safety while also promoting the survival of our night fauna.
In order to manage, monitor, operate, and maintain the public lighting infrastructure throughout cities, Yibai is a market leader with a focus on sensors, wireless lighting controllers, and a full range of street lighting management software. Our open API and smart lighting platform enable integration with the city’s choice software platform, providing an open, trustworthy, and dependable foundation for smart cities and the internet of things. Over 300 projects have been implemented by the company in 20 different nations, including famous cities and important infrastructure all over the world. To discover more about Yibai LED Lighting, visit us at: www.yibai-lighting.com
