View Full Version : Switch Off the Lights!!
Obviously the carbon footprint of Highland Council is starting to bite deeper into their conciences or pockets.
What do you think, should street lighting be turned off to save energy where possible?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7271428.stm
Next you''ll have us living in the cold and dark!!! It's safer to the towen leaving streetlights on, turning them off would be ridiculous!
Highland Laddie
01-Mar-08, 12:24
Read the link Rob16, it's lighting outwith the town/city they want to turn off.
NickInTheNorth
01-Mar-08, 12:25
I think we should get rid of at least half the lights in towns and cities too! They are far too brightly lit. Also it would be worth turning lights on at far lower light levels, and turning off again at lower levels than appears to be current practise.
danc1ngwitch
01-Mar-08, 12:31
And if you turn of the lights, you best be buying extra strengh locks.
:roll:
Highland Laddie
01-Mar-08, 12:33
I think we should get rid of at least half the lights in towns and cities too! They are far too brightly lit. Also it would be worth turning lights on at far lower light levels, and turning off again at lower levels than appears to be current practise.
If you turn off half the lights in my street NITN our street would be in darkness, as half the lights are usually out anyway. :(
It's a good idea but not from a safety point of view. Motorways and dual-carriageways do not need to be lit up like Blackpool illuminations on some stretches. Speaking of Blackpool I hope they use low energy bulbs! :eek:
They could start with turning of the lights that light up thurso bridge
And if you turn of the lights, you best be buying extra strengh locks.
:roll:It's a totally ridiculous Idea and the criminal element would have a field day. What an idiot.
a very dangerous place without lights..
Hmm. Turning out the lights might end up with people using torches when they go out. Torch bulbs (the filament kind) are inefficient compared to the tubes used in street lighting. You would also have to use a lot of batteries instead of main electricity, also an inefficient use of energy.
Highland Laddie
01-Mar-08, 17:37
I do believe the link said, streetlights outwith town and city centres.
lady penelope
01-Mar-08, 18:33
They could use solar lights or energy saving lights. Most people waste so much energy, without thought of the cost (money and enviromental) , the council should be trying to cut energy waste.
I used to live in a little village that didn't have any street lighting. It was not a nice place to walk about at night, you never felt safe even though you probably knew everyone who lived there. When the street lights eventually came we all breathed a sigh of relief and I'm sure if you asked everyone who lives there now, nobody would want to be without their street lights.
What about trying to save energy by all of these offices, shops etc. switching off at night when everyone has gone home - a complete waste of energy. I'm sure there are many more ways of saving energy than getting rid of street lighting.
Mr Park added that electricity bought for street lighting was "green".
This might explain the inconsistencies with Highland Council's attitude towards windfarms.:eek:
I'm da Mamma
01-Mar-08, 21:06
This might explain the inconsistencies with Highland Council's attitude towards windfarms.:eek:
Rheggers
Agree - do you think Mr Park understands how the national grid actually works. This is extremely frustrating considering he is a decision maker!
Cheers
There are already several such schemes being tried in this area.
The lighting now works at a much lower level than in the past and is being replaced with non glare which means you can get to see the stars at night, also some test cases where street lighting will go off at 1.00am and comes back on at 5.00am.
It will be interesting to see what public opinion feels after the six month trials and whether the fears of increased crime are substansiated.
Personally it would n't worry me if they go off for a few hours each night having been brought up in the country where there was no lighting.
out with the town centers.. what about all the residential areas?
in the winter it is dark more than light, and unless they want us to go back to the dark ages then we really do need lighting in the residential areas as well.
you dont realise how dark it really is until all the lights go out!
Highland Laddie
02-Mar-08, 14:06
out with the town centers.. what about all the residential areas?
in the winter it is dark more than light, and unless they want us to go back to the dark ages then we really do need lighting in the residential areas as well.
you dont realise how dark it really is until all the lights go out!
A councillor wants at least half of the street lamps in the Highlands, outwith town and city centres, to be switched off to cut emissions and costs.
Do people read links before they post!!!!!
Next you''ll have us living in the cold and dark!!! It's safer to the towen leaving streetlights on, turning them off would be ridiculous!
That may be so.... so why not trun of every other one? That would halve the power consumption.
Do people read links before they post!!!!!
Nope!!:eek:
percy toboggan
02-Mar-08, 16:17
Urban motorway lighting could be turned off in the early hours - cars have powerful headlights after all...most rural motorways are unlit so whats the difference?
im confused now.. i dont live in the town center, i do live in the town though.. but if you walk a few streets up the way you are outside the town.. and its pitch black. i was just thinking about walking bubbles at night. when you go up the trinkie road their are no lights at all, and let me tell you .. walking a black dog in the dark.. not easy! *G*
but i was under the assumotion that the town center is the town center not the residential areas around it? i may be totally lost and cluless as usual, but sorry if ive gotten it wrong.
A councillor wants at least half of the street lamps in the Highlands, outwith town and city centres, to be switched off to cut emissions and costs.
Do people read links before they post!!!!!I wonder did the councillor think before he opened his mouth?:lol:
ywindythesecond
03-Mar-08, 02:28
Obviously the carbon footprint of Highland Council is starting to bite deeper into their conciences or pockets.
What do you think, should street lighting be turned off to save energy where possible?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7271428.stm (http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7271428.stm)
I don't think this is about saving energy, I think it is about wasting energy.
ywy2
Lolabelle
03-Mar-08, 12:31
I think the comfort and safety the lights give are pretty important too. Think of the insurance claims, all that paperwork and extra computer time would more than likely leave an even bigger carbon footprint :eek:
Kevin Milkins
03-Mar-08, 16:22
Interesting debate with many different opinions. I have spent most of my working life out in the sticks without any lighting and because it was never their we never thought about..We had a intruder light and a dog and never encounterd any problems with security for the 25 years we lived in the same house.I now live in a house in a street and I am just getting used to having a light outside the house. I enjoy the night skys when it is clear and have to drive out towards Sibster forrest to get away from light pollution to really enjoy star gazing.I think it would be a good idea to try a suck it and see approach and try several different ways IE switch every other light off or try a street for few days to see how people feel about, and then have a debate.
You never know you might just like it.
Switching of some streetlights after midnight in urban areas used to be the norm, and that was when lights on side streets had nothing more than a normal sized domestic bulb.
It says a lot about the amount of wasted electricity when you realise that the glow from most large towns and cities can be seen from up to 30 miles away.
I fail to see the point of me rushing round the house making sure all the lights are switched off and nothing is left on standby when the average street is blazing away all night using more electricity than I have just saved. Apart from saving money on my Electricity Bill that is.
I'm surprised how many people seem so terrified of a little bit of darkness, I had got over that long before the age I started school.
Isnt about switching the lights off at a certain time, when it causes the least inconvenience. I thought it was from 12am to 4am......something like that anyway, when most people are in bed, surely you cant see a problem with that?????
How about using motion sensitive street lights?
How about using motion sensitive street lights?
Swaying trees etc and the cost might be a problem.
I wonder if there was a crimewave when the war blackouts were on?
Just shove some energy efficient light bulbs in the street lights, make the street lights shorter (not as much metal has to be made and cut! :P) Erm.. You'd probably be better off making less street lights but have them brighter than making lots of dimly lit streetlights.
Most streetlights are in place beside a footpath to make it safer for pedestrians even without towns or some even to highlight main junctions which I have to agree, does make it a lot safer and I'd hate to drive towards a big round-a-bout in the middle of darkness. If it's a road you haven't been on before, it's more than likely you'll end up flying an aeroplane over the top of a round-a-bout than going around it.
You need them in town incase you stand in some dog poop when your out :(
skinnydog
03-Mar-08, 21:09
Councillor Park stays in Auldearn, which would class as outside of town. As he lives right next to the road, which is well lit for his convenience, I dare say that he did not, in fact, think before he opened his mouth. I can hardly see him creeping about his garden in the pitch black for more than 6 months of the year just to get to his front door!!
Swaying trees etc and the cost might be a problem.
I wonder if there was a crimewave when the war blackouts were on?
Probably not if all the men were sent away to fight.
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