Proper Outdoor Lighting Requires Striking the Right Balance
At Evluma, we specialize in the development of energy efficient area light that works to keep neighborhoods safer, streets more visible, and public places the entire family can enjoy.
Creating an optimal outdoor lighting solution like our AreaMax presents numerous challenges.
First, you need to develop a product that can provide a satisfactory amount of light that will keep streets safe once the sun has dipped below the horizon.
Second, your light can’t emit too much light as that would bother residents who would prefer not having a spotlight shined through their bedroom window. Scan the local news, and you see stories about neighborhoods rebelling against the new LED street lights the city installed because they emit light that’s too bright and too blue.
Finally, you need to find the right balance between the two issue above while still creating a product that offers the long-lasting energy efficiency promised by LED lighting.
We believe it important that our energy efficient area light, whether the AreaMax or OmniMax, meet these standards so that we can create a better, safer community for us all.
While you might not notice street lights unless broken or too bright, you shouldn’t underestimate their importance. Let’s take a look the role proper outdoor lighting plays in our day-to-day lives.
Street Lighting and Safe Driving
As we drive down darken roads, we may not pause to consider the difference the street lights we pass under make helping us navigate our surroundings.
Whether to improve security or to brighten our surroundings, quality outdoor lighting remains a must. Not only would navigating in the dark make our journeys far more dangerous, trying to actually find the right way to go would become far more difficult.
A reduction in night time lighting can lead to an increase in night-time collisions. Of all the time motorists spend driving a day, only a quarter of it occurs during the hours of 7 pm to 8 am. Despite fewer cars on the road and less congestion, this time period accounts for 40 percent of all series and fatal car accidents.
As non-motorized forms of transportation become more common in urban areas – bikes and electric scooters the most frequently used – the need for effective outdoor lighting will become even more valuable.
To keep motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians safe while out on the roads and sidewalks of our communities, we need energy efficient area light solutions that provide the kind of clarity and visibility required to see properly. However, making a light too bright can cause a variety of problems on its own.
Lighting’s Impact on Mood
Our bodies evolved over thousands of years to respond differently to the stimuli of sunlight during the day and the darkness that descends at night. This relationship our bodies have with natural light is commonly referred to as the circadian rhythm, a term that refers to the 24-hour biological clock shared by nearly all living creatures.
Our body’s response to light, both natural and man-made, is the primary force that can disrupt our circadian rhythm, but other stimuli, such as temperature and the season, can also play a role.
The body’s internal clock is located in the part of the brain known as the hypothalamus, which is connected to photoreceptors throughout our body. These receptors work to synchronize our internal clocks with the light we absorb during the day. Maintaining the circadian cycle is important because it impact the rhythms of the human body and influences our mood, alertness, sleep patterns, and even our digestion.
Studies have shown that receiving an adequate amount of light can help to improve energy levels and mood, while poor lighting can contribute to depression and anxiety.
Street lights that shine brightly through our bedroom windows at night work to throw off our internal clocks. Just as watching TV in bed or using a laptop before falling asleep can interfere with your nightly rest. The so-called “blue light” these machines emit disrupt the body’s internal clock, and is the reason why doctors recommend leaving electronics out of the bedroom.
By creating a light like the AreaMax that emits a softer spectrum of light, Evluma works to keep communities safe while still considering how our bodies work.