The International Dark Sky Association (IDA) is an international non-profit organisation headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, USA. As a global leader in the fight against light pollution, IDA is committed to restoring the nighttime environment and protecting communities from the harmful effects of light pollution through advocacy, awareness and conservation.
Light pollution is outdoor lighting caused by improper shading, which can allow unwanted light into our vision and the night sky. Among other things, the confusing light that hits the eyes is called glare, and the light that is projected into the night sky above the horizon is called glow. Improper lighting can also cause light to enter where it shouldn't, a phenomenon known as light trespass. The mission of the International Dark-Sky Association is to raise awareness and take action, including the use of dark-sky outdoor lighting, to protect the night sky and restore darkness by raising awareness of the impact of light pollution on the environment, human health and astronomical research.
What is light pollution?
Light pollution is the artificial alteration of natural outdoor light levels, i.e. inappropriate or excessive use of artificial light. Inappropriate or inefficient use of outdoor lighting can lead to light pollution that affects human health and wildlife habitat. It also limits our view of the stars and of course wastes natural resources. Light pollution consists of four main factors: glare, skylight, light trespass and stray light.
Glare: is the excessive brightness of bright light that enters the glasses and causes visual discomfort.
Sky glow: illuminates the night sky in the area where you live, making it brighter rather than darker.
Light Intrusion: light falling in unwanted or unneeded areas, causing unnecessary illumination and affecting the living environment of residents.
Clutter: Uncontrolled, aimless scattering of light due to bright, chaotic and excessive light sources that can cause all three of the above phenomena.
Purpose of IDA
The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) is the recognised authority on light pollution and the world's leading organisation in the fight against it. One of its main aims is to protect the night from light pollution. It develops and promotes standards and documents related to the reduction of light pollution, lighting manufacturers, electrical engineering companies, lighting and lighting industry related associations and certification bodies. These collaborations aim to promote the adoption of more friendly lighting solutions (DarkSky Outdoor Lighting) by the lighting industry, thereby reducing the negative impact on the nighttime environment by providing the following benefits.
a.IDA's purpose is to provide healthier habitats for wildlife.
b.IDA's purpose is to reduce glare that is unsafe for humans and animals.
c.IDA promotes more sensible lighting to save energy.
d.IDA promotes more even light distribution to improve visual comfort.
e.IDA promotes local astronomy tourism and recreation economy.
f.IDA offers DarkSky certification.
g. IDA helps you save on lighting and power consumption.
3 Principles of IDA
For safety at night, we need lighting. However, many cities are lit in an undirected way, wasting energy and causing light pollution. The International Dark Night Association (IDA) highlights three key points of lighting that require measures to reduce light pollution including shading, illumination levels and colour of light (CCT).
1. Firstly, shading is an effective measure to limit light pollution by reducing upward scattered light and effectively directing light to areas that need to be illuminated.
2. IDA requires that outdoor lighting should follow the appropriate lighting standards to ensure a reasonable level of illumination and avoid light pollution and energy wastage caused by excessive brightness. The standards for outdoor lighting include EN13201 for road lighting and EN12193 for architectural lighting. EN12464-2 for stadium lighting as well as car park lighting.
3, IDA recommends the use of light sources with warmer colour temperatures, typically 3000 K, 2700 K and 2200 K. Low colour temperatures reduce the sensitivity of humans and wildlife to light pollution.IDA believes that proper lighting begins with proper lighting design criteria, namely shielding, illumination levels, and CCTs as mentioned earlier.
IDA's Classification of Lighting Areas
Lighting zones are areas where the general conditions associated with the use of lighting vary widely, and therefore the lighting standards in the lighting code are somewhat different.
There are three ways of classifying lighting zones: The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) generally uses a system of ‘LZs’ to classify lighting zones to indicate different levels of light pollution. These levels range from LZ0 to LZ4 and represent different levels of light pollution and nighttime environmental quality:
LZ0: Uninhabited natural areas without any artificial light pollution. Often national parks and wilderness reserves and therefore need to be given all the protection they need to maintain their status. We categorise this area as LZ0 - Dark Sky Reserve.
LZ1: Rural or remote areas where light pollution is low and most objects in the night sky are visible. Typically buffer zones in some villages and national parks.
LZ2: Small towns or suburbs with moderate levels of light pollution, but where some level of light pollution of the night sky still exists. Usually located between dark areas and urban environments, i.e. small towns or suburbs.
LZ3: Higher levels of light pollution in urban and peri-urban areas where the visibility of stars and planets in the night sky is somewhat compromised. This includes some large towns and peri-urban areas.
LZ4: In areas of high light pollution, usually large cities or industrial areas, the night sky is almost completely invisible, with only the brightest stars and planets visible. These tend to be urban centres and industrial zones, which are also particularly busy at night.
Recommendations from IDA and Municipalities
According to the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) and municipal authorities, lighting fixtures should be shaded, and sometimes a complete cut-off of the light distribution curve is required. Use LED technology as a directional light source and limit the use of high pressure sodium and halogen lamps. Reduce luminous flux after 22:00 pm to minimise light pollution, depending on the requirements of the lighting area. In addition, lighting fixtures should be equipped with PIR or on/off switches or time-of-day dimming to illuminate when needed to reduce unnecessary lighting. Lighting fixtures should also be available in colour temperature options up to CCT3000K to meet specific requirements. Also, be sure to follow other recommendations from local codes to protect the night sky and natural environment. Below are the requirements of each municipality for lighting fixtures in their jurisdiction.
In summary, the IDA recommends that we take the following measures for DarkSky outdoor lighting: illuminate only the areas that need to be illuminated (using shading devices), illuminate only when needed (using dimming technology), and use only the necessary amount of luminous flux (adjusting the illumination level based on the lumen requirements), and selecting the colour temperature of the light source as needed (CCT).ROKEE believes that these measures are important to help achieve DarkSky's objectives and to minimise adverse impacts on the natural environment, wildlife and people. This ensures that our lighting is purposeful and only used when necessary, reducing unnecessary energy consumption while helping to protect the natural environment.
Outdoor lighting fixtures from ROKEE LIGHTING (street light manufacturer) fulfil the requirements of the International DarkSky Association. For example, ROKEE has developed luminaires in recent years that comply with shielding requirements. In addition, ROKEE's lamps are available in a choice of colour temperatures, including 1800 K, 2200 K, 2700 K and 3000 K. Lighting levels are strictly in accordance with lighting requirements and relevant standards. In addition, our street light can be equipped with on/off function and timed dimming function to minimise unnecessary period lighting.