Dark Sky Lighting - Choosing the Right Fixtures for Your Home
When you use Dark Sky Compliant light fixtures for your home you will be able to enjoy light where it's needed while minimizing secondary illumination. Choosing light fixtures that save energy as well as reduce light pollution and extraneous glare will deliver benefits. You will be able to enjoy a lower energy bill while keeping the night sky dark. A darkened night sky is important in order to protect wildlife from light clutter and pollution.
If you already know how important it is to use Dark Sky lighting to illuminate your home, you are ready to start retrofitting your house with money saving, eco-friendly fixtures. We would love to help. The best way to be sure you are buying Dark Sky Compliant light fixtures is to look for the IDA or International Dark Sky Association stamp on the products you are looking at. If you are unable to find products that carry the IDA seal, you will need to look for important features in other night-friendly light fixtures that are available. You should always look for these very distinct dark sky features:
• Look for fixtures that are constructed with solid and opaque side and top covers. This will ensure that light is directed downward, never sideways or skyward.
• Look for fixtures that use a reflector that is mounted in the upper part of the casing that directs the light toward the ground.
• Look for flat, slight rounded lenses ant the base of the fixtures. This feature will reduce light spillage and glare.
If you already have outdoor lighting that you like and don't want to replace all of the lights on the home's exterior, you could retrofit the fixtures with light shield. The light shields are cylindrical covers that fit over the sides and top of the fixtures and effectively reduce up-lighting. The shields are available in a variety of colors and shapes, making it possible to closely match the existing fixtures. This gives you the ability to provide your home with a seamless look.
Using Dark Sky fixtures will result in lower utility bills. It is estimated that Americans waste in excess of $1.5 billion worth of light annually. This waste is caused by the enormous amount of light that we send toward the sky, where it is not needed. The city of San Diego recently did a retrofit of all their light fixtures, installing full cut-off lighting. It took them only three years to make the money back that was spent on the job itself. As a result of this effort, they are saving over $3 million every year on the cost of energy.
While it's true that your energy bills are not millions of dollars, any wasted energy puts an unnecessary strain on your budget. By installing full cut-off, specifically focused light fixtures to address your outdoor lighting needs, your energy bills will decrease as well as the number of fixtures that are needed.
So, just think! Rather than loading your yard up with a bunch of light fixtures, you will reduce the number of fixtures that are needed to light the area. Since the fixtures provide much focused, downward pointing light, you can likely use smaller bulls. These steps will add up to lower utility bills that will help you keep your money in your pocket. It makes sense to install Dark Sky lighting since the cost of energy is rising steadily, month after month.
If you already know how important it is to use Dark Sky lighting to illuminate your home, you are ready to start retrofitting your house with money saving, eco-friendly fixtures. We would love to help. The best way to be sure you are buying Dark Sky Compliant light fixtures is to look for the IDA or International Dark Sky Association stamp on the products you are looking at. If you are unable to find products that carry the IDA seal, you will need to look for important features in other night-friendly light fixtures that are available. You should always look for these very distinct dark sky features:
• Look for fixtures that are constructed with solid and opaque side and top covers. This will ensure that light is directed downward, never sideways or skyward.
• Look for fixtures that use a reflector that is mounted in the upper part of the casing that directs the light toward the ground.
• Look for flat, slight rounded lenses ant the base of the fixtures. This feature will reduce light spillage and glare.
If you already have outdoor lighting that you like and don't want to replace all of the lights on the home's exterior, you could retrofit the fixtures with light shield. The light shields are cylindrical covers that fit over the sides and top of the fixtures and effectively reduce up-lighting. The shields are available in a variety of colors and shapes, making it possible to closely match the existing fixtures. This gives you the ability to provide your home with a seamless look.
Using Dark Sky fixtures will result in lower utility bills. It is estimated that Americans waste in excess of $1.5 billion worth of light annually. This waste is caused by the enormous amount of light that we send toward the sky, where it is not needed. The city of San Diego recently did a retrofit of all their light fixtures, installing full cut-off lighting. It took them only three years to make the money back that was spent on the job itself. As a result of this effort, they are saving over $3 million every year on the cost of energy.
While it's true that your energy bills are not millions of dollars, any wasted energy puts an unnecessary strain on your budget. By installing full cut-off, specifically focused light fixtures to address your outdoor lighting needs, your energy bills will decrease as well as the number of fixtures that are needed.
So, just think! Rather than loading your yard up with a bunch of light fixtures, you will reduce the number of fixtures that are needed to light the area. Since the fixtures provide much focused, downward pointing light, you can likely use smaller bulls. These steps will add up to lower utility bills that will help you keep your money in your pocket. It makes sense to install Dark Sky lighting since the cost of energy is rising steadily, month after month.
