Editing Light pollution (section)

===Over-illumination===

[[File:HPS-lamps.jpg|thumb|An office building is illuminated by [[sodium lamp|high-pressure sodium (HPS)]] lamps shining upward. Much light goes into the sky and neighboring apartment blocks, causing light pollution.]]Over-illumination is the excessive and unnecessary use of light.<ref name="Chepesiuk-2009">{{Cite journal |last=Chepesiuk |first=Ron |date=1 January 2009 |title=Missing the Dark: Health Effects of Light Pollution |journal=Environmental Health Perspectives |language=en |volume=117 |issue=1 |pages=A20-7 |doi=10.1289/ehp.117-a20 |issn=0091-6765 |pmc=2627884 |pmid=19165374}}</ref>

A large and overabundant amount of electricity is required to support light consumption in the United States. U.S homes consumed 81 billion kilowatthours (kWh) of electricity for lighting in 2020 according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA).<ref name="www.eia.gov">{{Cite web |title=Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) |url=https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=99&t=3#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20most%20recent%20CBECS%2C%20in%202018%2C%20electricity%20consumption,consumption%20by%20U.S.%20commercial%20buildings. |access-date=29 March 2024 |website=www.eia.gov |archive-date=29 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329024520/https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=99&t=3#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20most%20recent%20CBECS%2C%20in%202018%2C%20electricity%20consumption,consumption%20by%20U.S.%20commercial%20buildings. |url-status=live }}</ref> Additionally, the EIA reported that 208 billion kWh and 53 billion kWh of electricity were used for commercial and manufacturing buildings respectively in 2018.<ref name="www.eia.gov" />

Light use is not excessive in all developed countries. Amongst developed countries there are large variations in patterns of light use. American cities emit three to five times more light to space per capita compared to German cities.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kyba |first1=Christopher |last2=Garz |first2=Stefanie |last3=Kuechly |first3=Helga |last4=de Miguel |first4=Alejandro |last5=Zamorano |first5=Jaime |last6=Fischer |first6=Jürgen |last7=Hölker |first7=Franz |date=23 December 2014 |title=High-Resolution Imagery of Earth at Night: New Sources, Opportunities and Challenges |journal=Remote Sensing |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=1–23 |bibcode=2014RemS....7....1K |doi=10.3390/rs70100001 |doi-access=free}}<!--|access-date=8 March 2015--></ref>

Over-illumination stems from several factors:

* Consensus-based standards or norms that are not based on vision science;<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fotios |first1=S |last2=Gibbons |first2=R |date=9 January 2018 |title=Road lighting research for drivers and pedestrians: The basis of luminance and illuminance recommendations |journal=Lighting Research & Technology |volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=154–186 |doi=10.1177/1477153517739055 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
* Improper design, by specifying higher levels of light than needed for a given visual task;<ref name="EcoSky2">{{cite journal |last1=Kyba |first1=Christopher C. M. |last2=Mohar |first2=Andrej |last3=Pintar |first3=Gašper |last4=Stare |first4=Jurij |date=20 February 2018 |title=Reducing the environmental footprint of church lighting: matching façade shape and lowering luminance with the EcoSky LED |journal=International Journal of Sustainable Lighting |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=132 |doi=10.26607/ijsl.v19i2.80 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
* Incorrect choice of fixtures or [[light bulbs]], which do not direct light into areas as needed;<ref name="EcoSky2" />
* Improper selection of hardware to utilize more energy than needed to accomplish the lighting task;
* Incomplete training of building managers and occupants to use lighting systems efficiently;
* Inadequate lighting maintenance resulting in increased [[stray light]] and energy costs;
* "Daylight lighting" demanded by citizens to reduce crime or by shop owners to attract customers;<ref name="ReferenceB2">Over-illumination can be a design choice, not a fault. In both cases target achievement is questionable.</ref>
* Substitution of old lamps with more efficient [[LED|LEDs]] using the same electrical power; and
* Indirect lighting techniques, such as illuminating a vertical wall to bounce light onto the ground.
* Institutions who illuminate their buildings not to improve navigation, but "to show that its empire is inescapable".<ref name="The New Yorker-2023">{{Cite magazine |date=2023-02-20 |title=Is Artificial Light Poisoning the Planet? |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/02/27/darkness-manifesto-book-johan-eklof |access-date=2023-02-21 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-02-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221001754/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/02/27/darkness-manifesto-book-johan-eklof |url-status=live }}</ref>
** Lighting is less for the benefit of seeing at night, and more for institutions to push working hours beyond natural daylight hours. An economic and financial gain as opposed to a necessity.<ref name="The New Yorker-2023" />

Most of these issues can be readily corrected with available, inexpensive [[technology]], <ref>{{Cite arXiv |last1=Raki |first1=Gholamreza Fardipour |last2=Khakzad |first2=Mohsen |date=2024 |title=Silicon-Photomultiplier (SiPM) Protection Against Over-Current and Over-Illumination |class=hep-ex |eprint=2404.07875}}</ref> and with the resolution of landlord/tenant practices that create barriers to rapid correction of these matters. Most importantly, public awareness would need to improve for industrialized countries to realize the large payoff in reducing over-illumination. <ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kim |first1=Kyung Hee |last2=Choi |first2=Jae Wook |last3=Lee |first3=Eunil |last4=Cho |first4=Yong Min |last5=Ahn |first5=Hyung Rae |date=2015 |title=A study on the risk perception of light pollution and the process of social amplification of risk in Korea |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11356-015-4107-5 |journal=Environmental Science and Pollution Research |language=en |volume=22 |issue=10 |pages=7612–7621 |doi=10.1007/s11356-015-4107-5 |pmid=25649389 |bibcode=2015ESPR...22.7612K |issn=0944-1344}}</ref>

In certain cases, an over-illumination lighting technique may be needed. For example, indirect lighting is often used to obtain a "softer" look, since hard direct lighting is generally found less desirable for certain surfaces, such as skin. The indirect lighting method is perceived as cozier and suits bars, restaurants, and living quarters. It is also possible to block the direct lighting effect by adding softening filters or other solutions, though intensity will be reduced. <ref>{{Cite arXiv |last1=Miguel |first1=De |last2=Sánchez |first2=Alejandro |date=2022-09-05 |title=Pros and cons of gaussian filters versus step filters for light pollution monitoring |class=astro-ph.IM |language=en |eprint=2209.02100}}</ref>