Light Pollution in the Mountains

Window Film can reduce light pollution in the Mountains.  Excessive light in rural and mountain areas have far ranging affects on flora and fauna as well as animals, reptiles, insects and birds.  According to Winslow Briggs's book, Ecological Consequences of Artificial Night Lighting, exposure to artificial light can prevent trees from adjusting to seasonal changes.  This affects the wildlife that use the trees as their natural habitat.  Light confuses birds in their migratory habits.  Frogs stop calling their mates.  Some animals will stay hidden longer and that reduces the time they have to hunt for food.  There are many studies that prove the affects of light pollution. (www.nationalgeographic.com) Though light pollution in the mountains may affect the environment, it is also the easiest one to solve.  All that needs to be done is be aware of it and do things to turn off and/or turn down the light that is being put out by our living spaces.

More and more people are moving to the mountains, because they love being in nature and because of the spectacular views.  One might think, one home on the side of the mountain won't  harm anything.  Flood lights or lights left on all night may be on to show the beauty of the home or because one feels safer if they can see outside, but these lights may disturb wildlife.  Homes are also being built with lots of glass, because of the views and trends in architecture. This extra light also affects the natural environment.

Some solutions are:

• Don't have on more light at night than you need.
• Window film on the windows can reduce the light from the windows by 45%-50%
• Put other coverings on windows as well, i.e. shades, drapes, etc.
• Use low wattage lighting outside
• Have motion sensor lighting outside
• Have shades that slope down on outside lighting

Solar Vision's experts will help you choose the film that will emit the least amount of light and still meet your needs for enhanced beauty, energy savings, safety, and protection from UV rays.

Window Film Reduces Light Pollution

Window film can reduce light pollution.  Depending on the type of film, Visual Light Transmittance can be reduced by 45%-50%. According to Global Trends and Implications for Downtown Denver, a paper prepared by Progressive Urban Management Associates in 2006, 3 billion people lived in cities and by 2050 6 billion people will be living in cities.  The implications for energy consumption, transportation, food, and environmental protection caused by this rapid urban expansion makes the need for sustainability  critical.

The management of artificial light is one of the many areas urban planners must prepare for.

Light pollution causes:

• Sky glow which is the light surrounding the urban skies is caused by over illumination of commercial spaces and poorly planned street and building lights. The stars are difficult to see in urban areas.
• Light trespass is the light from a building shining into another building.  It may be difficult to sleep in an apartment building next to a building that has a lot of light during the night.
• Endangerment to wildlife who are confused by the light.  Nocturnal animals do not hunt or mate as they are meant to.  More animals are in danger of becoming extinct.
• Human health is being affected.  Vision, headaches, hypertension, and an increased chance of developing cancer are some of the health issues.  Sleep is disrupted by the light and melatonin is decreased. (physics.fau.edu/observatory/lightpol-environment.html)

There are things that city planners and all of us can do to decrease light pollution.  One of them is to apply window tint to windows that meets 45% inside to outside visible light transmittance and/or use window treatments.  On a beach in Florida, new construction is required to put in windows that meet the 45% requirement because sea turtles are confused by the light and go inland instead of going out to sea.  People that already have homes are helping to save the turtles by retrofitting their windows with window film to meet the requirement. (Thisbigcity.net)

Window film meets LEED Certification requirements in this area and is worth 1 point toward building certification.

Credit 7:  Light Pollution Reduction (1 point)

Intent: Eliminate light trespass from the building and site, improve night sky access and reduce development impact on nocturnal environment.

Denver is a city that is at the forefront of working to make sustainable urban environments.  Denver is also experiencing rapid urban growth.  The challenges in keeping up with all the facets of urban growth is being met by our city leaders and urban planners with great care.

Window Film Reduces Light Pollution

Window film can aid in reducing light pollution.  In creating buildings that are environmentally and socially responsible, designers seek LEED credits.  LEED is a building certification program developed by the US Green Building Council. Credits are given for new building construction and major renovations. There are 9 possible points a building project can achieve through the use of window film.  One credit can be earned in the area of light pollution reduction. Light pollution is misused light or misdirected light.

 The light pollution creates:

• Sky Glow which is a hazy glow over urban areas caused by light escaping into the night sky.
• Glare shining into the eyes of pedestrians or drivers.
• Light Trespass which is light shining into a neighboring buildings.
• Light clutter such as in the area of Las Vegas casinos.

Light pollution effects all of us by:

• Consuming valuable natural resources.  Hundreds of millions of coal and oil are used.
• Polluting through the use of fossil fuels.
• Disrupting nocturnal wildlife.  One example is the baby sea turtles in Florida who move toward the artificial light on the beach instead of the natural light of the moon's glow that leads them out to sea.
• Affecting human health by disrupting circadian rhythms and melatonin production, depressing the immune system, and disrupting sleep patterns.
• Destroying the enjoyment of the view of the starry night sky. (www.starrynightlight.com)

Window film is not the cure for all those things, but it can play a part.

The goal of the credit for Light Pollution Reduction is:

Minimize light trespass from the building and site, reduce  sky-glow to increase night sky access, improve nighttime visibility through glare reduction, and reduce development impact on nocturnal environments.

One way window film can meet this requirement is to reduce the amount of light passing through a window from the inside to the outside by up to 85% while minimizing the reflection from the interior lights. Even at night an amazing view can be maintained.  (multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/6636910/sustainable-design-information-sheet.pdf)

To see if a project qualifies for this credit most of the internal light has to fall within the building.  Luminosity measurements are taken outdoors with all the lights off and are compared to the measurements with all the lights on. The credit is achieved if the outdoor illumination level does not increase more than 10 % with the lights on.  Window films with lower visible light transmission ratings will greatly reduce the light trespass from the buildings.

Our Solar Vision representative can help you find the right film that can meet your needs for reducing light trespassing.