Biologically speaking, humans are not nocturnal animals. We’re diurnal, which means if left to our natural rhythms, we’re awake during the day and asleep at night. Our eyes, therefore, are not built to function well in the dark. However, we’ve developed a social infrastructure that depends on—even thrives in—nighttime activity. And who would blame us? Nighttime is fun time! Unfortunately, powering all of the lights we need to illuminate those after-dark endeavors is NOT fun for our pocket books or the planet. Just think about the millions of street lamps the burn bright every night across the nation. Our society as we know it could not exist without them and yet, our planet as we know it might disappear if we continue to use such inefficient lighting methods on such a large and damaging scale.
There is hope, however, in the form of LEDs. LED streetlights, for instance, use 50—70% less energy and have a lifespan that’s three to five times longer than the traditional sodium street lamp. Another benefit is that the light from LEDs is more easily directed than that of incandescent bulbs; urban dwellers will appreciate the newfound darkness of their bedrooms when LED street lamps are installed.
For these reasons, forward-thinking cities everywhere are switching their civic lighting templates to include LED lights. Seattle recently announced that it would replace its 40,000 streetlights with efficient LED fixtures. Like many cities country-wide, Seattle received a federal “Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant,” which will help pay for the transformation.
But even if your concern isn’t lighting the streets, back alleys and parks of your city, and maybe you just need to illuminate your driveway or the pathways that run through your back yard, we’ve got the waterproof spot or strip lighting to meet your needs.
