Outdoor Lighting

Outdoor lighting provides safety, security, aesthetics, and economic development opportunities. There are many valid reasons to light the outdoors. However, it is important to understand how much outdoor lighting is enough and how to balance the need for light while minimizing light pollution and increasing energy efficiency.

The LRC investigates effective outdoor lighting techniques and equipment that provide cost-effective energy improvements and minimize wasted light, light pollution, glare, and trespass. The Transportation Lighting Program at the LRC explores the interaction between vehicle, roadway, and signal lighting and offers new guidelines or cost-effective use and safety. Also see Security Lighting and Automotive & Street Lighting.

Publications

Articles

NLPIP Lighting Answers: Light Pollution - A general guide that discusses the three elements of light pollution (sky glow, light trespass, and glare) and gives examples and recommendations for minimizing or eliminating the undesirable effects of each element when designing and using outdoor lighting.

NLPIP Specifier Reports: Parking Lot and Area Luminaires - A detailed report discussing critical performance and application issues for parking lot and area lighting luminaires, including an evaluation of commercially available luminaires.

Implementation of Decision-making Tools That Address Light Pollution for Localities Planning Street Lighting - A white paper on efficient street lighting and light pollution that outlines issues to consider before embarking on an outdoor lighting project and summarizes good practices for outdoor lighting.

View more Outdoor Lighting publications

Books

The Outdoor Lighting Pattern Book - By Russell P. Leslie, AIA, IES, and Paula A. Rodgers, IES. A hardcover guide to the development of effective and attractive outdoor lighting designs.

Related Programs

Transportation Lighting - Vehicle, roadway, signal
NLPIP - Product testing

Projects

Thinking inside the box: A new look at light pollution - As more and more communities tackle the issue of light pollution, they are enacting new laws that often restrict the type of luminaires (light fixtures) allowed for outdoor lighting. But are these restrictions actually reducing light pollution? To answer that, the LRC has developed Outdoor Site (Lighting) Performance, or OSP, a comprehensive framework for quantifying light pollution for specific installations.

Outdoor Site Performance (OSP) - Academic paper detailing results of LRC's Outdoor Site (Lighting) Performance, or OSP, published in "The Lighting Journal" from the U.K.'s Institution of Lighting Engineers (ILE).

Tackling Light Pollution with OSP - LRC has developed Outdoor Site (Lighting) Performance (OSP), a comprehensive framework for quantifying light pollution for specific installations. View project sheet

Decision-making Tools Address Light Pollution for Localities Planning Street Lighting - The LRC developed a series of documents to provide municipalities, specifiers, designers, and other lighting decision-makers about street lighting and light pollution.

Revising the Lighting Requirements of the New York State ATM Safety Act - The LRC proposed modifications to the lighting requirements of the NYS ATM Safety Act that maintain a perceived level of safety at ATMs while minimizing visual discomfort and light trespass.

Smart Luminaire for Roadway Lighting - The LRC designed a new roadway luminaire that combines energy efficiency with light control.