Street Lighting - Upgrading and glare issues

The provision of street lighting is considered on the basis of Australian Standard AS/ANZ 1158 – Lighting for Roads and Public Spaces.

All the standard street lighting Council has control over has been replaced with low energy LED lights being energy efficient lighting over recent years. The newer lights are brighter and provide for a greater spread of light. This has been an added benefit to our community delivered by the replacement program. The new lights are 85% more efficient than the older mercury vapour lights.

The Street light program was rolled out between 2017 and 2020 and now saves approximately 700,000 kW per-annum and 490 tonnes of CO2 each year. Our streetlights are now powered by renewable energy meaning our carbon footprint for street lights is zero and overall there has been approximately a 38% reduction power usage across the streetlight network.

Sometimes the brightness of the new lights can create an amenity concern for a resident when the public lighting spills into a residence affecting the ability to sleep at night. The known solutions for addressing excessive light spill that available are:

• The resident installing a more effective block out blind or curtain to the impacted windows. An external awning or blind can also provide further protection in some instances.
• Council can investigate and check the light emission levels.  There are standards for public lighting and if these are being exceeded it might be possible to reduce the strength of the light.
•  A baffle (light shield) can be installed on a standard streetlight to limit the area of light spill. A baffle is a metal plate or guard that creates a shadow. It is not always possible to baffle a light to effectively shadow a window or make the general area darker. Baffles are not manufactured or available for decorative streetlights.

Newly developed areas have streetlights closer together which provides for more even light spread. This avoids patches of light and dark which can be less safe as our eyes try to adjust to the variable bright spots causing reduced visibility. Overall, the new estates are brighter at night than older areas of the municipality.

If you believe a street light shield is required to reduce lighting glare on your property, you'll need to complete a request form.

To request a shield to be placed on a street light, you will need to tell us:

• Your name and contact details
• The location of the streetlight
• The light location and proximity to the requesters home.
• Photo of the light spill impacting the room (Please note only bedrooms or other habitable rooms will be considered).
• The actions you have taken to limit the effects of the street light on your property*

*Please note: requests for a shield will only be considered if all steps have been taken by the resident to rectify the problem within the property (that is: placement of heavy curtains or block out blinds).

The time frames for assessing the need for a light shield vary between 15 and 60 business days dependent on complexity (number of process steps required). It can take a further six months to arrange for the manufacture and then installation of the shield by Powercor.

The suitability of installing a shield is limited and dependent on the location of the offending streetlight as they cannot be fitted to lights on the opposing side of the road to the residential property.