Focus products Q4 2023

Light pollution – a growing environmental problem

Birds, insects, trees: The increase in light pollution worldwide affects a wide variety of beings. Artificial lighting at night attracts millions of insects, who circle around the light endlessly, often driving them to exhaustion and death. Birds can fatally collide with buildings that are illuminated. This form of lighting also impacts the ability of trees to detect the current season and impairs their energy management.

The best remedy

The best light for nature is no artificial light at all. Outdoor lighting should only be used when needed and should otherwise be switched off or dimmed. Other important factors include:

No beams of light directed upwards
High degree of protection (prevents insects from entering and dying in the luminaires)
Only installing as much lighting as is needed
Lighting that tends to have a lower blue light content
More important than the light colour: switching off or dimming!

Intelligent solution A

ALVA bollard lights with integrated DALI motion detectors are ideal for reducing light pollution because they offer:

Automatic lighting only when needed thanks to the optional integrated sensor
Optional dimmed orientation light for low brightness when no people are present
Versions with transparent diffusers for optimal light distribution (beams of light are only directed downwards)
Protection type IP65

Intelligent solution B

Alternatively, the sensorless ALVA bollard lights can also be switched on and off on demand using separate outdoor motion detectors – for example, detectors from the RC, MD-W or DEFENSOR series. Those looking to ensure a permanent lighting solution for the early morning and evening can use the time-dependent operating modes of the DEFENSOR motion detectors.