Empirical Measurements of Filtered Light Emitting Diode (FLED) Replacements
Abstract
Low pressure sodium (LPS) public lighting, long favored by astronomers and dark sky advocates, is in decline due to a variety of economic issues. Light emitting diode (LED) technology is a rapidly ascendant mode of lighting in everything from residential to commercial applications. The resulting transition from LPS to LED has been accompanied by great angst in the environmental community, but very little has been done in the way of empirical measurement of LEDs in the field and their actual impacts on communities. The community of Waikoloa Village, Hawaii is located on the western slopes of Mauna Kea, within direct line of sight view of the major astronomical observatories on the mountain summit. Waikoloa has been rigorously illuminated almost exclusively by LPS for many years in acknowledgement of the importance of the Mauna Kea Observatories to the Big Island of Hawaii. As LPS ceases to be a viable alternative for local government support, a decision has been made to experimentally retrofit all of the Waikoloa street lighting with filtered light emitting diode (FLED) fixtures. This action has rendered Waikoloa Village a unique laboratory for evaluating the effects of such a change. STEM Laboratory has been awarded a research grant to make a variety of measurements of the light at night environment of Waikoloa Village both before and after the street light retrofit program. Measurements were conducted using a combination of techniques: Satellite Data Surveys (SDS), Ground Static Surveys (GSS photometry), Ground Mobile Surveys (GMS photometry), Airborne Surveys (ABS photography), and Spectroscopic Surveys (SpecS). The impact of the changes in lighting sources was profound, and the preliminary results of this extensive program are discussed in this presentation.
- Publication:
-
Society for Astronomical Sciences Annual Symposium
- Pub Date:
- May 2016
- Bibcode:
- 2016SASS...35...75C