The recent replacement of various street lamp posts and fittings in Quorn has caused significant controversy. The new lamps use almost 50% more energy than the old ones, and this has raised the profile of the replacement programme and heralded in discussions about experimental schemes to reduce overall street lighting energy usage in the county.
Light emission from the newly-fitted bulbs is far more controllable than the old ones which produces less light pollution in the night sky. Combined with modern fittings, they direct light more efficiently downwards with less light upwards and sideways. The penalty for this is that they need to be higher, and brighter.
Representatives from Quorn Parish Council met recently with Leicestershire County Council lighting engineers to discuss these issues. After a productive meeting, it was agreed that the power of many of the new lamps could be reduced to the consumption level of the original lighting units. Typically this applied to street lamps on village side streets. No agreement could be reached for the new lamps on Warwick Avenue, so they have been fitted with the new higher-power lamps.
Whilst the Parish Council has succeeded in reducing the energy consumption of the new lighting scheme, the overall scheme still uses significantly more energy than the old one. This does fly in the face of current thinking, and was recognised as less than ideal by both parties, but talks also explored the possibility of looking at future experimental schemes that could significantly reduce the overall street light energy consumption in the village.
All street lights off at mid-night? Think again ...
Quorn Parish Council has expressed strong interest in taking part in an experimental scheme to look at how the overall energy usage of street lighting could be reduced. At this early stage, nothing is set in stone, but the scheme could see a reduction in energy usage and hence attract associated benefits.
How will it work?
There are two avenues to explore:
High-tech bulbs
One idea involves using cutting edge lighting technology to provide adequate street lighting using bulbs (or equivalent devices) that simply use far less energy to produce the same amount of light. The gain comes directly from the reduction in energy usage.
Selected night-time switch off
The second idea is to look at areas of the village where it is felt there is some redundancy in lighting which could be reduced by switching off during the hours when most people are asleep. What is NOT proposed is widespread removal of street lighting resulting in some areas being in complete darkness.
This second scheme might for example see one street light in five turned off between midnight and 5.00am during winter. The result would be reduced lighting, but it will actually make almost no difference to people. Crucial areas of the village will not be affected, eg important road junctions.
Consultation
If Quorn signs up for the scheme, the first stage will involve the Parish Council in detailed discussions with Leicestershire Country Council to see how the scheme could be applied to the village. It is likely that opinions of Quorn residents will be sought, and the process will be widely publicised. Watch this space!
Turning out the lights
