Residential
Do you have a neighbor whose property is a source of glare onto your property, needlessly lights up the night sky, or worse yet, shines light into your bedroom windows all night?
Often such lighting is inspired by one or more of the following: 1) Your neighbors moved up from the city and brought with them the justifiable security fears they had in their prior home; 2) Your neighbors are so proud of their home that they feel the need to light its front facade; 3). They are unaware that their lighting is obnoxious; 4) They just don't care about anything but their own property, 5) They claim their daughter comes home from work at 3 a.m. and needs to have the lights on.
Or are you looking for ideas on how to improve the quality of your lighting?
This Residential Section contains constructive information on the identification of good and bad lighting, the consequences of bad lighting, what you can do to solve lighting problems, how to talk to a neighbor with bad lighting, where to get more information and where to buy good lighting.
Light Trespass is light going where it isn't wanted!
 Courtesy RAB Lighting
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 Courtesy RAB Lighting
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Dealing With A Neighbor Who Has A Bad Light
Discussion of things to consider when a neighbor has a bad light. They have a right to lawfully illuminate their own property. They don't have the right to illuminate your bedroom.
Light Trespass Success Story - Click here to view it (pdf)
Outdoor Lighting Tool Kit for Homeowners
We have all experienced the annoyance and sometimes frustration when we are confronted with the oncoming headlights of a thoughtless driver who leaves the high-beams on. The glare dazzles us and we lose our ability to see the road ahead. It is that same phenomenon, although usually to a lesser degree, that may occur on our or a neighbor’s property at night. We too may be projecting glare onto our neighbor’s property or the street or into the night sky. This Outdoor Lighting Tool Kit will provide you with lots of useful information about good and bad lighting, the consequences of bad lighting and most importantly, what you as a homeowner can do to improve the quality of your outdoor lighting to be a good neighbor, to reduce light pollution, to save money and energy and to protect the environment.
Click here to view the Tool Kit or to print or download it (pdf)
How to TAME Light Pollution brochure
LEDs - the New Era in Outdoor Lighting
What You Need to Know About LED Lighting PDF
Light Trespass Lawsuits
Not many light trespass cases reach the courts. This summarizes two suits that were successful. Both cases were decided in terms of nuisance.
Light Trespass Lawsuit - Pennsylvania
Montgomery County Law Reporter Judge Honeyman, February 1, 1968 (page 142)
Hetzer et al v. Paparo et al Paparo et al v. Hetzer et al property located on Church Rd., Lafayette Hill, PA
The test for nuisance applied by Judge Honeyman in Hetzer v. Paparo was that if the intensity of the light shining from the adjoining land is strong enough to disturb a person of ordinary sensibilities, it is a nuisance and must be corrected.
Light Trespass Lawsuit - Colorado
http://www.lightlawsuit.com
Cash vs. Emich d.b.a. Elway Chrysler Jeep West & Elway Subaru West, Golden, Colorado
Colorado Court of Appeals in Denver.
The appealed ruling was announced in September, 2006
The court held that the lights were an actionable nuisance. The jury also found that the defendants (the car dealerships) were creating, maintaining and/or allowing a nuisance to exist. Paraphrasing, the court held that the laws are sensitive to property owners rights to use and enjoy their private property, without having to close blinds or curtains on their windows to accommodate a business interest (the bright lights).
Amber light from Lighting Science Coastal Light benefits sea turtle hatchlings
Sources For Shielded Light Fixtures:
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RAB Lighting LED 10W & 13W wall pack |
 Glare Buster Bronze
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 Glare Buster White
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Glare Buster Bronze Shielded Home Fixture
Environmentally Friendly Lighting by Starry Night Lights
PARshields are available from Parshield Co., 26 Deep Six Drive, East Hampton, NY 11937.
Along with the traditional glare producing outdoor residential fixtures, Home Depot, Lowe's, Energy Federation Inc., Green Home, Shades of Light, ACE hardware and Rittenhouse Electric in Ardmore, PA have a limited selection of dark-sky friendly fixtures.
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Mason RLM Oil Rubbed Bronze Outdoor Wall-Mount Dark-Sky Downlight - available from The Home Depot. |
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Portfolio Dovray 8.12-inch H Oil-Rubbed Bronze Dark Sky Outdoor Wall Light - available from Lowe's. |
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These programmable wall switches let you automate the on-off cycles of your outdoor lights. An astronomical clock is built in to each model, so the dusk and dawn times adjust automatically with the seasons. For example, you can set your lights to come on 15 minutes after sunset and go off automatically at 11:00pm local time. At the same time, you can also set them to come on 1 hour before sunrise and go off 10 minutes before sunrise. Consult the comparison matrix to select one with the current rating and features you want. You can still turn the lights on and off any time you want by pressing the switch. |
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