The EcoLight and Optics

Typical artificial light at night fundamentally changes the environment. We have designed and refined our EcoLight to cut glare, light trespass and bio-active blue-white light to minimize this impact while still providing sufficient light for us to see at night. Our EcoLight is now ready for production and distribution.

This EcoLights Kick Starter Campaign will help us pay for the industry-standard 3rd-party certifications, and production tooling. These certifications are required to be done on the volume-production model. This campaign will also increase awareness of light pollution as a problem-to-be-solved.It will enable Low-Impact Lighting to be a sustainable alternative to existing High-Impact Luminaires.

THE PROBLEM

Artificial light illuminates our cities so much that the glare and stray light undermines our ability to see into faint areas, and it impairs our natural health processes. The wasted light also produces the domes of sky glow we see from distant towns and cities across the countryside. It affects all wildlife - forcing changes in their behavior by providing miss-cues for the time of night and the seasons. It alters the biology of animals – including that of humans.

But there is a solution, or at least a compromise. We call it Low-Impact Lighting, which is provided by our EcoLights.

SOUND BASIS IN BIOLOGY AND HUMAN VISION

Low-Impact Lighting is based on the extensive study of the biological need for periods of darkness (scotobiology). I published this information in Environment Canada's Guidelines for Outdoor Lighting. The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada and the International Darksky Association have adopted these Guidelines, and the US National Park Service has also adapted them.

SCHEDULE

We have posted additional information here and the schedule for the project here. The engineering was done prior to this Kick Starter Project and extensive prototype testing has been completed. Therefore, the schedule is driven by the component order lead times, manufacturing schedule and certification time-lines.

USE OF FUNDS

We present the budget on the above web site. We have estimates on the bill of materials based on our production design and we have discussed the manufacturing and testing requirements with several companies and have received quotes for the work to be done.



