Dealing With Street Lights

I have a street light in front of my house which I like most of the time. I live in a low crime area, but that doesn’t mean “no crime” and I think the light helps. For many years our light had a subtle orange glow that did not interfere with our projection show much at all. But our city changed out the light for new super bright LEDs that definitely had a negative effect on our projection show. Too much ambient light around the house can wash out the projection image and that became the case with my house. Here are a few different methods you can try for dealing with the problem.

Ask Your City To Fix It

If your street light is bright enough to wash out your projection, it is also probably bright enough to disturb your sleep. Many cities will be responsive to a complaint if you call them. They may be able to install a bulb that is less bright or install some kind of shader to prevent the light from glaring directly on your house. This, of course, would be the simplest solution to your problem and definitely the one I would recommend you try first.

The Garbage Can Trick

If your street light looks something like the above photo, the garbage can trick might work for you. The idea is simple. Just place a medium sized plastic garbage can (upside down) over the light temporarily.

Reaching the light might be difficult, but these lights are typically not as tall as others. A 10′ length of PVC or similar plastic pipe might be enough for you to lift the can high enough to drop it over the light. You can remove it the same way. If the pipe isn’t long enough you can glue pipe together with cement and a fitting to extend it. All available at your local home improvement store.

The light will still be functioning, but the can should prevent it from shining directly onto your house. The light will not be harmed and once you remove the can, it will return to normal.

The Laser Pointer Trick

This trick is often used by amatuer astronomers to temporarily turn off a street light. Most street lights have a light sensor mounted on top. It’s a cylindrical box that can easily be seen in the daylight if you look for it. The purpose of the sensor is to automatically turn the light off during the day and turn it on again at night. You can use a laser pointer to trick the sensor into thinking it is day when it is actually night simply by focusing the beam on the sensor. The street light turns off.

The beauty of this method is that it does not harm the street light in any way and the effect is temporary. The street light is still functioning as designed. You are just taking advantage of the design for your own purposes.

Use A Bright Laser

You will definitely need a brighter laser pointer to accomplish this trick. The cheap ones in the checkout aisle at WalMart will not work. Something like these from Amazon will work well.

Any color will work if the laser is bright enough, but red seems to work best. Street light sensors seem to be particularly sensitive to red light. Another advantage of using red is that it is visually more subtle and it is difficult to see the beam unless there is smoke or fog in the atmosphere. The bright green ones, on the other hand, have a beam that is easily visible in most conditions and that might distract from your projection show. On the other hand, that makes them easier to aim at the sensor, so you’ll have to weigh that in the mix.

Another consideration is battery life. A laser with a rechargeable battery will save you a lot of money. Charge the battery during the day and then use it in your laser at night.

Unfortunately, these lasers are not known for their longevity. You may only get a few months use out of a laser before it starts to dim and needs to be replaced. So it’s good to have more than one on hand at any give time.

Mounting And Positioning The Laser

Since the street light will only stay off as long as the laser is shining on the sensor, it is essential to mount the laser in a way that will keep it focused for as long as you need. I used an Inexpensive camera tripod along with a specialty clamp to hold the laser in place. If you’ve used a laser pointer before, you can appreciate how difficult it is to maintain the focus on a single point for any significant length of time. The tripod makes it easy to aim the laser and lock it into place.

You can position your laser anywhere that has a good view of the street light and the sensor. A fenced backyard might be a good spot that will keep the laser secure while you use it but still give you easy access. I position my laser inside my house. I shoot it through a window that has a clear view of the street light, but that won’t interfere significantly with the projection. If you want to use a window that will feature prominently in your projection show, you could cover the inside of the window with white poster board and leave a small hole for the laser beam to pass through.

Once you get the laser positioned and focused on the sensor, it may take a while for the light to shut off. Mine shuts off in just a few seconds, but I have seen where others can take up to a minute before the light goes off. You may need to be patient.

Is It Legal?

Laws vary from city to city, but it is doubtful that any city has a specific ordinance against using a garbage can or laser on a street light. Other more general laws could apply, but they will be subject to interpretation. Here are some things to consider:

• You will not be damaging the street light or city property in any way. You won’t be altering the functionality of the street light, either.
• Your projection show will generate light by itself and draw a lot of attention. Both of these things deter crime which, to me, compensates for the short time the street light is off.
• In all likelihood, if there is a problem, they will simply ask you not to do it anymore.

Of course, you will want to be considerate of your neighbors’ wishes. But if they are supportive of your display, they will probably not care about the street light being off for a short time. In fact, they will likely be so dazzled by your projection show, they won’t even notice the street light is not on!

Lastly, I would urge you to just use common sense. If you live in a higher crime area that depends heavily on street lights to prevent crime, you may not want to even do a projection show, let alone use these methods.

My Situation

After the city installed the bright LEDs in the streetlight in front of my house, the first thing I did was use the laser pointer trick. It worked great for me for about a year and a half. Then one day I noticed that they had changed out the light and put in some kind of shield, so it was no longer directly illuminating my house. I don’t know if that was because they noticed I was turning it off with a laser on not, but I was very pleased. The laser was no longer necessary. I think I probably should have contacted the city in the first place to see if something could be done because, obviously something could be done. I just never gave them the chance.

Since then I have had customers report to me that they have had success dealing with their local government regarding streetlights. That convinces me even more that contacting your city should be your first option.