First, you are probably wondering what “dark sky compliance” even is. If you are ever in a large city at night, you’ll notice that the sky is not exactly “dark.” Rather, a yellowish glow covers the stars and Milky Way, so you mostly just see an overcast sky haloed by city lights.

To try and combat this effect and bring back the true night sky, the International Dark Sky Association (IDA), a non-profit organization, formed and is committed to protecting the night skies for current and future generations, while also supporting energy conservation.

The Need for Dark Sky Compliance

As the world becomes home to more and more people, we see the growth ofindustrialization to support us, constant development of neighborhoods, streets and better-lit places to visit in the evening. All of this contributesto the fact that the true night sky, complete with stars and all that our wondrous heavens have to show, is becoming harder and harder to see.

If you think about it, when was the last time your neighborhood had a power outage and you took advantage of the darkness by going outside to marvel at the night sky and all of its stars? It usually takes an event like an outage for us to remember what a truly amazing night sky we have over us. The good news is that the IDA is working to promote dark skies and help bring back those naturally starry nights once again. The best part? It’s not that hard to help.

How to Help Support a Dark Sky Environment

First, you have to consider the fact that for every home in your neighborhood there are dozens of outdoor lights contributing to light pollution. If you go outside at night and walk around your home, how many outdoor lights do you have on? Better yet, how many of those lights light up more than the intended area? Your answer will undoubtedly surprise you. Here are a couple of ideas to reduce the light pollution created around your home:

Use Shielded Lights Outdoors

When we refer to a “shielded light,” we are talking about one that has an overhead shield and directs the lighting from its source downward. This alone significantly reduces the light pollution emitted from that light.

Use LED Lighting Outdoors

Another way to help eliminate outdoor light pollution is to use LED lighting. LED lights used in conjunction withan overhead shield help direct a small, natural-looking light directly to the target area. Also, LED lights use only a fraction of the electricity that incandescent lights use.

By making sure that your outdoor lights have overhead shields and use LED bulbs, you are not only helping to support the dark sky initiative, you are also saving some money and creating an economical, energy-saving source of lighting as well.

For more information about the Dark Sky Initiative, visit www.darksky.org, and make sure to browse through our blog archivesto learn more about energy-saving LED lighting products and services. We have been Denver’s choice for electrical service and repair for over 16 years and specialize in energy-saving, environmentally-friendly, cost-efficient lighting solutions for your home and business. Call us at (303) 399-7420