Consequences of Inappropriate Use of Architectural Lighting

Reports, surveys and statistics reveal that in commercial, administrative and patrimonial constructions lighting continues to have one of the largest end use as a share of total electricity consumption. As a first consequence, light pollution in all its forms harms increasingly more the urban zones (from the land surface to the sky) and the wildlife around. The aim of the article is to identify smart lighting strategies without investing in more efficient lighting technologies and without reducing the requisite lighting use. Lowest energy consumption architectural LED lighting modes were mapped with luminances, for photopollution determination, then assessed based on the quantitative impact of lights on human retina. Suitable for all evaluation criteria is the red light with half or minimum brightness, the blue light with minimum brightness, the green light with minimum brightness (but useless in plants' growth) and a combined lighting mode with very slow transition of the above.