Streetlights – the burning issues

1 March 2006

There are currently 7.4 million streetlights in the UK and yet most of us know very little about them. Yellow light around Wrexham has been a familiar sight for decades but few people know anything about the type of streetlight involved – how they work and why they are used? Why do they give out yellow light? Why do they appear red when they first switch on?

NEWI will be giving people the chance to find out the answers to all these questions and more at the ‘Why do some streetlights shine yellow?’ talk and demonstration on Monday 20th March as part of Wrexham Science and Technology Week.

Matthew Eagles, who is giving the talk which will include a demonstration of working lanterns is a streetlight enthusiast. He has had this keen interest since he was a young lad and with a degree in Applied Physics he is well-positioned to understand the science involved. He also owns a personal collection of streetlights that have been taken out of public service.

“When I was a child I was intrigued by all the golden yellow, almost orange, lights in the street” he said. “I was fascinated by the fact that when they first lit up they shone red, changing colour to deep yellow only after a few minutes. These lights have held my attention ever since.”

The talk will cover the science, engineering, energy use and design of streetlights detailing how they work, how they are made, their history and their advantages and disadvantages. Matthew has written a book on streetlighting entitled “Why is he interested in Streetlighting?’ and maintains his own website on the subject.

His favourite type of lighting are SOX lanterns which are now in decline in nearly all areas in the UK and are being replaced with other lights that give a whiter colour of light. “SOX lights require less energy and give out more light than white-light sources” he said. “They are being replaced with lamps that have a higher wattage and less light output. Although all types of streetlight have their merits, there is unfortunately some misinformation circulated about SOX streetlighting. My opinion is that SOX lighting is a better choice for large-scale road lighting, especially for environmental reasons and this is one of the many issues that I wish to discuss within my talk”.
 
This talk is being held at NEWI on Monday 20th March at 7pm. The event is free but people are asked to reserve their place by calling 01978 293439/3597 or e-mail eventsteam@newi.ac.uk. For more details on the events being held during Wrexham Science and Technology Week @ NEWI log on to www.newi.ac.uk.