Dark Sky Lighting - Energy Waste |
| It has been estimated that
30% of all US outdoor lighting is being directed skyward as waste.
Conservatively estimated at $1.5 billion dollars in wasted electricity
yearly, this 30% requires the burning of 6,000,000 tons of coal each
year to generate this electricity waste (Estimated by the International
Dark-Sky Association).
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| Many properties are already
over lighted. In some cases, full cut-off fixtures will require less
power to achieve the same illumination because light is not wasted by
shining into the atmosphere.
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| According to studies by Dr.
Syuzo Isobe, a professional astronomer from Japan who has been doing
research to correlate the most recent satellite photos of the earth at
night with the amount of energy loss due to the light being lost to
space, the following losses have been measured:
Washington, DC = 41.8 million kilowatt hours / year Baltimore, MD = 29.2 million kilowatt hours / year Philadelphia, PA = 48.5 million kilowatt hours / year New York, NY = 136 million kilowatt hours / year
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