Light pollution has become a big problem in Hong Kong as the new generation of dynamic LED and LCD advertising screens coming flood.
Carl Gardner, Director of CSG Lighting Consultancy Ltd’, was recently invited by the city authorities in Hong Kong to advise them on ways that the city and its local businesses can reduce the problems of light nuisance and light pollution.
Hong Kong has some of the densest living conditions in the world – high-rise residential blocks are packed tightly together, to maximise land use, and upwards light spill from lighting at ground level is a constant problem.
The main culprits in creating unwanted light are uncontrolled floodlights on commercial hoardings above shop frontages – and the new generation of dynamic LED and LCD advertising screens, which are taking over the facades and rooflines of Hong Kong’s buildings.
In Carl Gardner ‘s opinion, "Unwanted light in the form of light nuisance and light pollution is a growing global problem. In some ways, the extreme nature of the situation in Hong Kong is a warning of things to come for other cities in the West -- and a real-life laboratory for preventative solutions. If the city has some success in controlling these problems, through better regulatory and technical standards, improved lighting technologies and the dissemination of a wider knowledge base to building owners and investors, it would set a great example for other cities to follow."
