Residents on a street in the west London borough of Hounslow are complaining that new LED street lamps are so bright that they are affecting their quality of life.
The 8-metre tall columns were installed on Whitehall Park Road in the borough three weeks ago and residents have taken to blacking out their windows with gaffer tape and black cardboard to reduce the glare from the fittings.
Speaking to BBC London news, a resident of the street called Christina said: "It's like a great big spotlight beaming into your face when you're trying to relax with your family and watch TV in the evening."
Another resident likened the fact that he had to resort to boarding up his windows as being 'a bit like World War Two'. "We had no idea this was going to happen and it's not a great way to live your life," he said.
Hounslow Council plans to install LED street lighting throughout the borough and has looked at the idea of dimming the streetlights to deal with the problem.
It is not thought that the problem is down to the use of LED technology in general. Conversely, when Lighting canvassed the opinions of specifiers in a recent article about the pros and cons of LED street lighting, the consensus was that there was not enough spill light from some LED luminaires. Eddie Henry, operations?manager at Southwark Council in London said, "We need a bit of spilled light so people?can see as they leave the public highway and step across?their gate, and it doesn't go from being very light to?completely dark very quickly."?
At the time, Martin Thompson, UK?product manager, outdoor, for Thorn Lighting tried to address this point by saying:? "The LED is very?much predetermined by design; it allows you to put?the light exactly where you want it," he said. "So, in an?average street, it will punch the light down to the road but?the houses behind would be left in comparative darkness."?
When Lighting contacted the Institute of Lighting Professionals (ILP) to comment on the Hounslow residents' complaints it said: "The ILP cannot interfere or comment on a dispute between a Local Authority and resident as we?have no knowledge of the particular circumstances?or the?Local Authority's lighting policy. The ILP would expect the local competent lighting professional to be aware of the ILP guidance on intrusive light and light pollution."
