It's certainly vital to adequately illuminate a parking lot. This reduces pedestrian injuries and vehicle accidents while enhancing security. It also makes the area look more inviting to potential visitors. However, excessive or poorly designed exterior lighting can become harmful, and it often wastes energy and creates light pollution.
Unnecessary outdoor light is detrimental in numerous ways. It interferes with nearby residents' ability to sleep, obscures the nighttime sky, and harms wildlife. Although brighter illumination should improve visibility, the resulting glare can actually reduce it. Wasteful power consumption boosts electric bills and contributes to air pollution.
Effective Solutions
The good news is that parking lot owners have successfully used various methods to mitigate these problems. They can create sufficient rather than excessive lighting by choosing appropriate light sizes, brightness levels, aiming, and placement. It's crucial to target places where people drive or walk. Artificial light shouldn't stray into a neighboring building, river, or forest.
The design of the equipment makes a big difference. For example, unidirectional lighting has the potential to reduce pollution and waste if used properly. This type of fixture channels all of the light into one area rather than scattering it in every direction. It achieves this by using metal shielding and certain types of bulbs.
Parking lot owners can conserve energy and decrease the light pollution of any equipment by turning off or dimming lighting when it's not needed. For example, less brightness is necessary after a business closes for the night. It's possible to accomplish this using manual controls, timers, or motion sensors.
The bottom line is that it's important to select the right fixtures, position equipment wisely, and shut off unnecessary lights if you want to illuminate your parking area in a way that doesn't harm neighbors or the ecosystem. These efforts will also result in substantial savings on electricity bills.