LOS ANGELES — LEDs or light-emitting diodes are much more energy efficient than traditional lighting sources and require less than 25% of the energy consumed by incandescent bulbs, but over the last two decades they have had a devastating impact on the night sky.
Travis Longcore, an adjunct professor at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, told “Inside the Issues” host Alex Cohen that LEDs originally rose in popularity following the 2008 recession. The Recovery Act funded several projects for cities to convert lights from older lighting technologies to LEDs. It helped save energy across the country and made LED bulbs much more commercially available.
In 2014, Los Angeles cut its annual carbon emissions by 43% and saved $9 million in energy costs by replacing bulbs in more than half of the city’s street lamps. However, the energy efficient lights had unintended consequences on the planet.
“As we’ve increased the efficiency of lighting, we’ve used more and really blotted out our ability to see the night sky,” he explained. “It also has increased impacts on other species, and that’s just simply about the amount of light.”
The UCLA professor said it’s a well known behavioral paradox that when something is less expensive, people have a tendency to use more of it. In this case, LEDs became cheaper and more readily available, so Californians added more bulbs to the landscape, resulting in a dramatic rise in light pollution.
He said the type of light LEDs emit also contributes to increased brightness at night. Typically, light from incandescent bulbs produces warmer yellow and amber tones, while LEDs give off harsher white and blue tones.
“That light scatters more in the atmosphere, so it contributes more to light pollution outdoors. Blue is also the color that we as humans and other organisms are very sensitive to determine whether it’s daytime or nighttime, and so human circadian rhythms and daily cycles are more affected by blue light paths,” Longcore added.
The increased amount of light and type of light from LEDs has negative effects on human and animal health. In humans, this leads to disrupted sleep cycles and an array of health problems associated with a lack of sleep.
Longcore notes the additional light in the night sky severely affects nocturnal animals in the region too.
“When you introduce as much light as we have, we have places where it never gets darker than what a full moon would create,” he said. “Those species that depend on there being natural darkness and natural monthly cycles for their risk assessments as they look across the landscape, they’ve got no place to go.”
The UCLA professor explained that light pollution doesn’t just affect nocturnal species, it also affects species active in the day that have their activities extended into the night. He said this results in more birds and insects flying into windows.
However, there are solutions to ease rising light pollution in Southern California. People can buy LEDs that produce warmer tones and they can simply turn off more lights at night that are not in use.
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Chances are you’ve heard of LED light bulbs before and probably have some throughout your home. But what exactly are LED light bulbs, and are they beneficial to human health? We break down the pros and cons for you.
LED bulbs, which stands for “light-emitting diode,” are one of the most energy-efficient bulbs. Compared to incandescent bulbs, they’re about 90% more efficient.
As mentioned above, LEDs are much more energy-efficient than a standard incandescent bulb. They also last much longer and don’t burn out, but instead they experience “lumen depreciation” where the brightness of the bulb will fade over time. The typical LED bulb has a lifespan of about 10,000 to 50,000 hours of use.
They also emit little to no heat, which means they can be left on for a long time and not be hot to the touch. This also reduces the potential fire hazard of your light bulbs.
LEDs are excellent at directional light, meaning they’d be good for targeted lighting such as recessed kitchen lighting or in the bathroom over a mirror. As some may prefer a bulb that emits light in all directions, the technology for LEDs is constantly changing to adapt to the desire for a more diffused bulb that emits 360 degrees of light.
LED lights provide some major benefits, however, there are some drawbacks. First, they’re not always dimmer compatible. This is due to an incompatibility between the light bulb, fixture, and dimmer switch. Be sure to research for an LED bulb that’s dimmer compatible, and rated as having low flicker.
Perhaps the biggest drawback of LED light bulbs is that they emit more blue light than incandescent bulbs, which are more on the red end of the spectrum. Blue light can cause a disruption in your circadian rhythm, negatively affect your ability to fall asleep and the quality of your sleep. If you have many LED lights in your bedroom, this can become an issue for getting healthy sleep.
Standard LEDs
Recessed or Can LEDs
Globe LEDs
Decorative/Accent LEDs
LEDs used to be on the pricier side, but as time has gone on, they’ve come down in cost. While they may cost more than incandescent bulbs, due to their energy efficiency and long lifespan, they’ll pay off in the long run compared to other bulbs.
When it comes to choosing the right LED bulbs, Brilli has a range of bulbs to choose from for each room of the house. For rooms that are used more frequently in the daytime, the Charge Up collection is a good option. These bulbs have the right amount of blue light for focus and clarity throughout the day and will help you feel more energized. All Brilli lighting also has a flicker percent of less than 1% and is dimmer-compatible.
For the evening use, turn to the Wind Down collection. These bulbs are specifically designed to imitate the warm, soft light of sunset. They also contain only 0.83% blue light, making it easier to fall asleep at night.
By using these bulbs, you can better regulate your circadian rhythm. Your circadian rhythm is regulated by light and uses it to inform your body when to wake up and feel alert and when to feel tired and sleep. By using the right light at the right time, your circadian rhythm will be more aligned.
If you’re looking for an adjustable LED fixture, the Get in Sync collection offers a low-flicker option to stay energized and alert during the day, and rested and relaxed at night.