- Waterside building illumination
Built-up areas
Ecological niches like lakes and rivers, parks with mature trees and green areas in general are ideal habitats for nocturnal animals in built-up areas. In such locations, the eco-friendly use of light is of special importance.
Optimum lighting in built-up areas reduces the amount of light released into the night sky and problems for residents caused by obtrusive light.
- Industrial area on the urban periphery
Urban margins
The transitional zones between town and country should have much lower levels of illumination than the main urban areas. Eco-friendly lighting is particularly important where the adjoining land offers habitats in the form of rough grassland, riverine areas, forest margins, hedges or wetlands.
As the urban margins are easily reached, they are also used by people wishing to enjoy the fascination of the sky at night. In the interest of nature protection and astronomy, illuminance should be reduced to levels comparable with a full moon.
Open countryside
Concentrations of light in the open country are usually caused by illuminated historical buildings such as castles and churches, industrial plant like sewage farms and power plants, and tourist facilities such as lift and cable-car stations.
The lighting used for these buildings has negative impacts on habitats and the visibility of the stars in the night sky over a wide area. That makes eco-friendly lighting in the open country so important. In such cases there is a correspondingly strong case for an assessment of the need for artificial lighting and its environmental compatibility.