Light 2021 - 24th European Light Congress
From March 21 to 24, 2021, the lighting world met for the 24th European Lighting Congress #LICHT2021, held for the first time as an online conference. With LICHT2021 in its first online edition, the traditional event entered new digital territory. As usual, the congress gave a comprehensive overview of current issues from science and application, technology and design around light and lighting.
This year, the focus was primarily on the aspects of sustainability, public space, health and nature conservation. In the session "Light and Environment", Jörg Imfeld told how light emissions are dealt with in practice today and what options are available for using only as much light as necessary.
"Light Emissions in Practice - Where Are We Today?"
Summary and conclusion presentation Jörg Imfeld, Head of Light Academy, ELEKTRON AG
It is important to consider outdoor lighting holistically. To get the light immission under control, several measures are needed. At the very beginning, however, there is always the question of whether, where and to what extent lighting is necessary at all.
In Switzerland, street lighting is usually no longer used outside built-up areas - only in exceptional cases, such as at special danger spots or tunnel pre-zones. Many municipalities switch off the street lighting completely in the low night between 01.00 o'clock and 05.00 o'clock. Laws, regulations, standards and guidelines provide information on specifications for street lighting and environmental protection.
The decision as to which light color is to be used where should be made early on. If lighting is implemented, it should be planned in an optimized way; the choice of luminaires with the best possible optics is crucial. These should be placed so that the light from top to bottom optimally illuminates the useful area. The choice of control system is also an important aspect: light only there and only when it is actually needed. There is still great potential for optimization here. Finally, shields built into luminaires can provide an important service in protecting the environment without neglecting the lighting task.
It is becoming increasingly important to find the right balance for the next projects: How much artificial light can we still expect our environment, indeed our entire planet? What do we want to pass on to our next generations? A safe, pleasant lighting must be at the same time also in harmony with the energy consumption and environmental compatibility. Our goal must be to solve lighting tasks so well that a holistic approach is taken right from the start of the project. The right light should reach the useful area so that no more unnecessary light is emitted into the environment - optimally controlled as required. To this end, every individual is called upon and can make his or her contribution - be it in politics and the public sector, in standardization committees, among planners, among operators and installers of lighting systems - and not least in the lighting industry itself.
