Soft lighting with Tal Shield protects insects near the Bodden
Project
Ahrenshoop illuminated ›Biological Red‹
Ahrenshoop, Germany
The Baltic seaside resort of Ahrenshoop on the edge of the Western Pomerania Lagoon National Park is famous as a traditional retreat for holidaymakers. The beauty and natural diversity of the surrounding area are important components of its tourist appeal. Sadly, however, numerous types of insects endemic to the nearby landscape were dying due to the previously installed street lights in the village. Annett Storm from Förderverein Nationalpark Boddenlandschaft is addressing this issue. When looking for new outdoor lighting, she advocated for a solution that specifically tackles this problem. The newly installed luminaires from Selux solve this problem by eliminating stray light at the flying height of insects and illuminating the street predominantly in red light, as insects are much less attracted to this light.
The foundation for this particularly conscientious lighting is the Tal Shield luminaire, which has already demonstrated its effectiveness in protecting nature and insects as part of a research project by the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries. In collaboration with the Rostock ecologist and lighting expert Jörg Schmiedel, the luminaire has been further developed to incorporate the scientifically based 'Circular Light Profile Biological Red' from Selux, allowing the luminaire to make use of two beneficial colour temperatures. Not only do the special glare shields minimize stray light, ensuring only the roadway is illuminated and the surroundings remain dark, but the automatic switching of either warm or red light sources provides both energy-efficient lighting for the human eye and nature conservation lighting for insects throughout the night.
Background
Tal Shield with ›Circular Light Profile‹ considers the activities of insects and independently adapts the light color and light intensity to harmonize the needs of humans and nature.
Late at night, the luminaire emits a deep red light—a portion of the spectrum that insects cannot perceive due to a lack of red light receptors. A very warm white light colour temperature is only used during twilight when people are more active.
As a first step, 15 lights were installed on a road located directly next to the near-natural Bodden waters. In summer, when it only gets dark late, the luminaire emits a deep red light at night, a portion of the spectrum that insects cannot perceive due to a lack of red light receptors. Only in the colder winter months, when lighting is required in the early evening hours, is a warm white light colour temperature used during twilight when people are more active. This sustainable solution not only has advantages for nature. The municipality of Ahrenshoop saves energy costs because light is used precisely where it is needed. The environment benefits as the reed beds along the Bodden are no longer illuminated. As neighboring gardens and houses are no longer directly illuminated, residents can enjoy a better night's sleep. And thanks to the red light colour, a uniform lighting effect is created despite the wide spacing between the luminaires because people perceive light-dark contrasts in the red spectral range less strongly.
The successful initiative was funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment as part of the 'Networked Diversity on the treasure coast' project. The innovative solution has been met with great interest throughout the UK. "We have cooperation requests from all corners of the country," says Annett Storm happily. "The demand for nature-friendly lighting is enormous."
The underlying Selux 'Biological Red' light profile can be flexibly adapted to different requirements and site conditions. It is also available for other luminaire families.
object Street lighting Fulge Ahrenshoop
developer Annett Storm, Förderverein Nationalpark Boddenlandschaft e.V.
architect Jörg Schmiedel, Büro für Landschaftsplanung und Umweltberatung
lighting design Selux GmbH, Sarah Lassowski, Rocio Ten, Dwayne Waggoner
photographer Claus Boeckh
product Tal Shield
features Circular Light Profil – Biological Red
