EDITOR’S COMMENT 05
Everyone’s got an opinion
ROBERT BAIN EDITOR
I
KATHRINE ANKE DEPUTY EDITOR
f you’re thinking about changing the lighting for public spaces such as roads, parks or railway stations, you can expect to hear from Joe Public about it. He won’t write you a letter of thanks for slashing electricity bills or carbon emissions, but he’ll sure as hell get in touch if any light spills into his bedroom. In Croydon a couple of years ago, residents threw their arms around their heritage lampposts in a vain attempt to stop them being taken away. In Trafford, local man Simon Nicholas got so annoyed about what he saw as bad quality, bad value LED streetlighting that he began hassling not only his local council, but others whose LED plans he disapproved of, including Wigan and Cardiff. Most recently he has mounted a legal challenge to Trafford’s claim that its latest streetlighting spec has to stay secret because the job is being handled by a private contractor. Those who manage lighting estates are acutely aware of the power of public opinion, but they also know about the potential to improve light quality and reduce costs. One way to cope with this is to sneak upgrades through on the sly. In a recent LED rollout on a big transport network, the client feared that careless travellers would blame the new lights for trips and falls, claiming they were too dim or too glary (regardless of whether they actually were). So to avoid frivolous lawsuits and tabloid scare stories,
ALAN TULLA TECHNICAL EDITOR
MARK HALPER ONLINE NEWS EDITOR
RAY MOLONY PUBLISHER
GORDON ROUTLEDGE CONTRIBUTOR
DAVE TILLEY CONTRIBUTOR
LUX
TRANSPORT OUTDOOR INDUSTRIAL SPECIAL
JUNE 2015 | ISSUE 46 | www.luxreview.com
Lighting gets tough We show you how to pick the right lights for heavy-duty applications
‘‘
I need to know that if I have issues with a product, I can get answers right away”
REVIEWED: IMPACT RESISTANT FITTINGS
PLUS »
We test out five luminaires to see how tough they really are
O SOLAR STREETLIGHTS O AIRPORT LIGHTING O CONNECTED LIGHTING O THE LATEST HIGH BAYS OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF
Cover: High-mast lighting from Ewo at the port of Venice Photo: Ewo
www.luxreview.com
Twitter @lux_magazine
LinkedIn linkd.in/lightingtalk
the changeover was made discreetly, with new lights that looked as much like the old ones as possible. Another strategy is simply to defy public opinion. Nottinghamshire County Council, which is bringing in LED streetlighting after residents reacted badly to a switchoff programme, has a wonderfully blunt frequently asked questions section on its website, in which it addresses the question, ‘Why wasn’t I consulted?’ Its answer is: ‘Everyone has a view on streetlighting, some like them off, some like them on, some like the orange lights and some like the white lights… It’s therefore a no-win situation to please everyone, if we were to consult and take all residents’ personal preference into consideration then we would never get anything done.’ Tough talk from an elected body to its taxpayers. The council goes on to explain that its team of lighting experts try to be sympathetic to individual residents, but have to look at the big picture. In this special issue of Lux x focusing on outdoor, transport and industrial lighting, we’ll try to help you see that big picture, while keeping the public happy too. Enjoy the issue.
Upcoming Lux specials LuxLive preview – October
YouTube youtube.com/luxmagazineuk
– For us, every year is the international year of light ROBERT BAIN Editor robert.bain@luxmagazine.co.uk 020 3283 4387 07720 677 538
PETER ROWLEDGE Commercial director peter.rowledge@luxmagazine.co.uk 020 3283 4387 07740 110261
JAMES POUNTNEY Sector marketing specialist (OEM, controls, emergency) james.pountney@luxmagazine.co.uk 020 3283 4387
KATHRINE ANKER Deputy editor k.anker@luxmagazine.co.uk 020 3283 4387
ROBERTA BONTEMPO Sector marketing specialist (retail, hospitality and leisure, residential) roberta.bontempo@luxmagazine.co.uk 020 3283 4387
MIRIAM HIER Events manager miriam.hier@luxmagazine.co.uk 07882 224682
RAY MOLONY Publisher ray.molony@luxmagazine.co.uk 020 3283 4387 07834 990577
ANDREW BOUSFIELD Sector marketing specialist (industrial, outdoor, transport) andrew.bousfield@luxmagazine.co.uk 07713 567290
JUDY KENNY Art editor e: judy.kenny@luxmagazine.co.uk 020 3283 4387
media
Published by Revo Media Partners 3 More London Riverside London SE1 2RE Printed by The Manson Group St Albans 01727 848440 www.mansongroup.co.uk ISSN 2045-7456 © Revo Media No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the publishers. The opinions expressed in this publication are not the official views of the LIA. All rights reserved. Lux magazine is a controlled circulation magazine, available to selected executives with interests in lighting, who fall within the publisher’s terms of control. For those outside these terms, annual subscription is £70 including postage in the UK, EUR90 for the EU and US120 RoW. See www.luxreview.com for details.
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF
The Lighting Industry Association Stafford Park 7 Telford, Shropshire TF3 3BQ info@thelia.org.uk 01952 290905 www.thelia.org.uk STEVE DAVIES Chief executive officer steved@thelia.org.uk JO JACKSON Marketing communications manager joj@thelia.org.uk
For LIA training courses please visit www.thelia.org.uk
www.luxreview.com