On behalf of DOE’s SSL Program, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is planning to conduct a study examining dirt depreciation and other optical changes occurring in LED street or area lights over long-term periods of performance, potentially approaching their full life cycles. For the study, PNNL seeks LED street or area lights that, ideally, are nearing the end of their anticipated life; however, any luminaire with more than 10,000 cumulative hours of operation will be considered.
Research
LEDs Can Reduce Seabird Deaths Resulting from Fishing
A new University of Exeter study found that attaching LED lights to gillnets used in commercial fishing can reduce the number of seabirds accidentally caught and killed by more than 85 percent.
LED Reliability Test
In April 2018, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released its final GATEWAY report documenting the performance of LED luminaires in a high-temperature outdoor lighting environment over four years. DOE’s GATEWAY program, which evaluates projects demonstrating LED capability, studied the results of a retrofit of quartz metal halide area lighting along a 7.2-mile stretch in the Yuma, Arizona Border Patrol Area between the U.S. and Mexico. Temperatures in this area can top 100 degrees Fahrenheit at sunset.
Is Light Pollution Contributing to Insect Decline?
A 2017 German study found an alarming reduction in flying insect populations, attributing it partially to changes of climate and habitat. More recently, scientists from the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries have discovered that regions that have experienced a sharp decline in flying insects also have high levels of light pollution.
Does Light Level Affect Spatial Learning and Memory?
Researchers at Michigan State University studied the brains of rodents after exposing them to dim and bright light for a month. They found that consistent exposure to dim or bright light affected their brains differently.