Scientists at the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Troy, NY-based Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed the first-ever comprehensive method for predicting and measuring various aspects of light pollution. Too much nighttime illumination can cause problems for stargazing and animal healthand may even compromise sleep, but light pollution may not be an issue that most facility managers and building owners consider a top priority. Balancing public and private interests for nighttime lighting has been a difficult undertaking--too little lighting may increase safety and security issues, and too much lighting may cause problems for the environment and human well being--but the LRC research hopes to simplify the problem.
The LRC method, called Outdoor Site-Lighting Performance (OSP), allows users to quantify and optimize the performance of existing and planned lighting designs and applications to minimize the amount of excessive or obtrusive light that leaves the boundaries of a property.
"Until now, the conversation about light pollution had been just that--a lot of talk with no data," says Mark Rea, LRC director and principal investigator for the project. He also says the new method "is a power tool, allowing users to address three important aspects of light pollution--sky glow, light trespass, and discomfort glare--quantitatively and at the same time."
Developed as a practical system for assessing outdoor lighting performance, the OSP method can be used with any commercial lighting software. A database of results has been created to help users compare the performance of their own projects to the glow, trespass, and glare levels measured at nighttime lighting applications across North America and Europe.
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