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GuestbookIf you've found this site useful in helping you to find a suitable light fitting for your property, or have a light pollution experience that you'd like to share with other visitors, please add it here. Thank you.
Antique light fittings Posted by Steve Rogers on 30 October 2011 Hi Steve. That's a tricky one. My own feeling is that it's a bad idea to try to fit in with an historic setting by using a faux period fitting. This tends to look Disneyesque. For instance, in my own town, much of which is traditional and conserved 19thC architecture, the streetlights used by the council are fake Victorian gas-lamp style. The result to my eyes, and those of many I've talked to, is _awful_. Makes the town look like a cheap theme park. Much better, in my view, to go for a modern minimalist style with good and efficient technology which doesn't clash with the historic location, but also doesn't pretend to be something it isn't. You may have problems, though, as the planning people in some areas prefer, oddly, the fake period look. Sorry I can't be more help. Posted by Colin [Editor] on 10 November 2011 The permission has been granted with a reduction from 4 to 2 outside lights. I suggested the full cutoff lights on your webpages and these are acceptable, though the planners have also suggested a range of olde worlde lanterns. Since the owner (who is a friend) only wants them for decoration and not for practical illumination of the pavement the wattage should be low so I am fairly relaxed. She also said they would be on a timer which will turn them off at 11pm. Posted by Steve Rogers on 03 December 2011  Smartflood? I found your information on 'lighting' most informative and gave me great confidence in respect of the right choice of security lamp. Having made contact by telephone with the company CFL in respect of "Smartflood" (my choice) they informed me that this light could not be attached to a seperate Pir and will not work with one? Posted by Danny Quain on 10 October 2011 The Smartflood lights are made by ASD in Rotherham. I've bought these fittings from them for years, and many are fitted to PIRs and work very well. A farming friend swears by them, too. If in doubt, though, 'phone ASD directly on +44 (0) 1709 374898. Posted by Colin on 14 October 2011 Rasmi Hi there. I found your page extremely interesting and as I am looking at replacing my old security lights for more energy efficient ones this was a great read. Doing further research of my own I've come across a rasmi motion and sensor energy efficient security light and wondered if you have any opinion on this particular model.? Posted by Trudy on 05 October 2011 I've not come across Rasmi lights before, but having done a search and looked at their fittings on Ebay and their own site, can't say I'm impressed by their light designs. They don't look as though they've put much thought at all to ensuring their lights balance good lighting with minimising light spill or sky glow - no cowls and little control over downward pointing, and the appear to use quite high wattage bulbs - costly to run and wasteful. I'd look elsewhere if I were you. Posted by Colin [Editor] on 14 October 2011 Light Pollution I have read you article on light pollution and found it a good grounding for the general public who may not be aware of these issues. On the subject of health and wellbeing, I have presented a paper on the effects of lighting on circadian rhythms and would be only too happy to send you a copy should you wish. One of the main issues with security lighting which I have found is that firstly and incorrect reflector type has been selected and secondly it is generally improperly installed. Use of symmetrical floodlights (torch light reflectors) and parabolic floodlights (where the reflector is shaped like the letter "C" or box shaped with the lamp located in the middle) should be avoided on all but the largest areas to be illuminated. If a security floodlight is required, it should be asymmetrical in reflector shape with the lamp being located near the bottom of the floodlight. These are intended to throw more light forward when aimed flat thus reducing or preventing upward light. However, in a lot of instances even these floodlight types are installed incorrectly as they are normally secured to the wall and elevated so that the front glass of the floodlight is pointing outwards. Not only does this cause light pollution along with glare to persons walking by or towards the floodlight, or to those whose bedroom window faces the offending floodlight, but it also defeats the object of lighting an area securely as most of the light will not be directed in the area of the wall or door area where the floodlight is mounted but will light an area some distance in front of it. Best regards Jonathan Green MSLL AMILP Posted by Jonathan Green MSLL AMILP on 19 September 2011 Still confused! Hi I have found your site very interesting and informative but despite this and spending several hours on further research I am no further forward in knowing what the best lights would be for me purchase. I would like to fit 2 lights outside my house. I think I need 2 lights because my drive is L shaped and if you park outside the front windows, any light activated for this area would not be of much help once you go round the corner and up the drive to the front door. The street lights in my close go off at about 1am so if you have to go out after this time the road is very dark. I wish to use the lighting mostly for practical reasons: - I am in a wheelchair and need to be able to see what I am doing to put my wheelchair back together when I get home. - My dad is elderly and needs to be able to see any hazards etc. as he walks down the drive. - Without lighting by the door it is hard to see where you are putting the key. The "startle" effect of a light coming on suddenly is not that important to me, but that said I don't want to be waiting a long time for the lights to reach full brightness. I also don't want to the the light on all the the time so a PIR makes sense. I know very little about light bulbs so please forgive me if I am asking something that should be really obvious! I can understand that compact fluorescent bulbs don't work well with PIR's in the Glarebuster but I am not sure if there are other bulbs a PIR on the Glarebuster will work well with. Would the Smart Flood Light be more suitable for me? It says it comes with a "TCD lamp" - does this work well with PIR's? Are there any suitable energy saving bulbs that are pretty much instant in their brightness that can be used with PIR's for security lights? Do you have any thoughts on what should I be looking at? I am not sure when you posted the information on this website but I am guessing it was quite a while ago and I am wondering if changes in technology mean that there are any other lights you would recommend people like me look at? Many thanks in advance, Fiona Posted by Fiona on 27 August 2011 Hi Fiona. Apologies for the delay in getting back to you. Firstly, I should stress that I'm not a lighting engineer, just someone who's taken more than an amateur interest in the topic. So, all I can give you is an opinion, and I'd recommend your going to a qualified electrician for professional advice. It sounds to me as though you need two separate lights, with each activated by a separate PIR unit. I'd be inclined to go for a light with a built-in PIR at your house, and a high-mounted floodlight triggered by a low-mounted PIR unit for your drive. That way each one will operate independently, and you get the benefit of the lower light near the house, and better wide-area lighting from the floodlight. As to bulbs, certainly the switch to CFL bulbs has been a bit of a problem with PIR activated lights. However, generally the good quality bulbs these days are much better than the earlier models, and the delay between activation and the bulb lighting now pretty negligible. They are still a little prone to coming on at about 80% full power then gradually brightening to full power in about 10-15 seconds, but unless you require immediate full brightness this shouldn't be a problem. If you're concerned about this, then I'd recommend a good-quality halogen floodlight of about 150w or 200w maximum instead, sited high and pointed down as much as possible (not across!), linked to a PIR near your drive's entrance. However, I'd recommend getting a qualified electrician to do this properly to make sure it all works correctly. Hope this helps, and good luck. Posted by Colin [Editor] on 31 August 2011 |
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Are you aware of any similar designs for the UK market that would be acceptable to our town planners?