16 Feb How Do SMART Street Lights Help the Environment?
How do SMART street lights help the environment?
- They help a city save energy.
- They reduce a city’s carbon emissions.
- They minimize light pollution and protect biodiversity.
SMART LED street lights incorporate sensor technology to allow real-time monitoring of buildings, public areas like parks or centers, and even roads and highways. Besides being remote-controlled from a specific location, these outdoor light fixtures can also be fitted with other kinds of technology like cameras, light-sensing photocells, or pollution sensors.
Besides being innovative and highly beneficial for urban planning, there are other benefits a city can reap from installing SMART LED street lights. Among these benefits is the value it affords to the environment.
In this article, we’ll discuss some of the ways that LED street lights help the environment.
They help a city save energy.
SMART street lights adjust their brightness based on the level of ambient light in a location as well as the presence of pedestrians and vehicles within it. In other words, when no one’s around, they can dim themselves, thereby consuming much less energy compared to regular streetlights that are always on.
Another factor is that SMART street lights can be remotely monitored and controlled from a single location. Because of this, should the light’s sensor malfunction or otherwise not be working, the light can still be dimmed through remote means. This can be done without going to the light’s location and actually turning it off, which in turn saves money, time and energy as well.
And speaking of saving money, a lot of resources will be preserved by choosing to invest in SMART street lights, simply because less electricity will be consumed by anyone using the SMART fixture—in this case, it’s an entire city, which exponentially increases savings on electricity expenditure.
They reduce a city’s carbon emissions.
This next benefit is still in line with SMART street lights consume less energy than regular ones. Most of the time, the electricity used by street lights is generated through the burning of fossil fuels.
Fossil fuel burning is the most common method of generating electricity at present, but it also releases significantly large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This has gone on for so long, and we as a global population have had such a big carbon footprint over centuries, that it has caused an environmental crisis in the form of climate change and other natural disasters.
The more cities turn to the implementation of SMART street lights, the less energy they consume. And less burning of fossil fuels equals a smaller negative impact on the atmosphere, giving the planet a chance to heal.
At this point, it should be said that a further step towards sustainable urban city planning would be investing in lights that use a different source of energy altogether, like photovoltaic or solar-powered outdoor lights. But that’s a concept for another day.
They minimize light pollution and protect biodiversity.
Light pollution happens when there is an inappropriate or excessive use of artificial lights. While its less harmful effects include not being able to see the stars at night, it can also cause significant harm to the human body and disrupt various natural ecosystems.
Since SMART street lights dim themselves whenever their brightness isn’t needed, this greatly reduces light pollution in areas where it often occurs. Urban cities are melting pots for people, vehicles, and industries, all of which require light but only during certain times. With SMART lighting dimming itself or turning off when no one is around, not only will we be able to see the stars again, but we’ll also be protecting ourselves from the ill effects of light pollution like sleep disorders, depression, and certain cancers.
Decreasing light pollution doesn’t just help us, but others as well. Cities are home to many other natural residents, like animals and plant life. Bright lights during hours that should be dark (like regular streetlights kept on during night time) often disrupt the behaviors of wildlife, like migration patterns and breeding cycles, as well as the growth of plants. These disrupted behaviors can lead to declines in animal population numbers and a loss of biodiversity. All the more reason to shift to SMART street lights!
Key Takeaway
In this article, we discussed how LED street lights help the environment. We hope these points have convinced you that these are not only beneficial, but necessary for the world at large.
For all your SMART lighting needs, rely on a LED lights supplier in the Philippines who doesn’t just talk the talk. We at Stealth Ventures are experts in lighting solutions and providers of highly professional, top-notch service. Contact us today for a quote on outdoor light fixtures, especially if you’re considering LED street lights for your city!