Dark Sky Friendly Lighting and Wheaton

A more sustainable Wheaton means a healthier, safer, greener, more livable and more prosperous community.  Something as ubiquitous as our outdoor lighting can play an important role in creating a more sustainable community. 

At our December Program Meeting, Al Carr, our Maryland District 18 Delegate and an electrical engineer, provided both technical and political insight on dark sky friendly outdoor lighting that is energy efficient. Dark sky friendly light fixtures direct more focused light to the ground below instead of the sky above, which saves energy by sending light to where it is needed when it is needed.  Dark sky friendly light fixtures also reduce the amount of "trespassing" or unwanted light, which can be a nuisance to your neighbors.    

Joe Callaway from the Wheaton Urban District and Tom Shoemaker of the Montgomery County Department of Transportation attended the meeting and reported that more than 60 percent of the street lighting in the Wheaton downtown has already been replaced by more energy efficient, dark sky friendly lighting. Additional street lights will be replaced in the future.  Newer county developments like Clarksburg are already impressively dark sky friendly. 

Most of Wheaton's downtown outdoor light fixtures for pedestrian areas are based on standards that are decades old. Replacing these lights presents an opportunity to green downtown Wheaton. These older, globe light fixtures direct their light up to the sky as well as around and down to buildings and pedestrians, which is less energy efficient. The light fixtures also use the older High Pressure Sodium (HPS) lighting technology. While relatively energy efficient, HPS light bulbs do not have good lighting quality. As a result, public areas in Wheaton often have a lot of glare and a "prison yard" look. 

GreenWheaton is encouraging county staff to update Wheaton's pedestrian light fixture standards, specifying  the use of dark sky compatible light fixtures that use energy efficient light bulbs like Metal Halide technologies. These light fixtures would provide high-quality lighting that enhances both the public safety and the appearance of Wheaton at night.  

With the new Safeway Project being constructed and the proposed B. F. Saul Project coming in the near future, it is a good time to change our pedestrian lighting standards.  Until we do, developers are obligated to apply the old lighting specifications, aka the inefficient globe lighting.  

Some towns in the County are already making these lighting changes.   For example, on Armory Avenue in nearby Kensington, 85-watt dark sky friendly light fixtures replaced the older 200 watt light fixtures. As we work toward making Wheaton a more sustainable community, careful choices in lighting can provide environmental, safety, and aesthetic benefits.