The EU Green Public Procurement Criteria, 2019

This is applicable in the UK until the UK Government produces its own post-Brexit guidance. The guidance on procuring street lighting provides clear advice that “in order to reduce the risk of human annoyance, the CCT of light sources shall be ≤3000K and a dimming or switch-off programme shall be implemented*. 

These procurement criteria also point out a significant amount of light pollution is being missed as lighting installations shift to LED. This is because, unlike traditional sodium lamps, LED emits a significant portion of its light output in the 400-500nm range. Unfortunately, the sensitivity of the satellite-mounted sensor then used to measure light pollution (VIIRS DNB – Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite Day Night Band) is only useful between 500 and 900nm. So one consequence of a shift to LED based street lighting could possibly be a perceived drop in light pollution levels, which may not be true.

Previous Post: The French Government (ANSES) Report, 2019

Next Post: The EU SCHEER report on LED, 2018