Human Body Heat Activated Street Lamps

Heat sensitive lamp posts are being trialed in Toulouse, France starting today. Installed along a 500 metre stretch of the Allée Camille-Soula, the lights only turn on when they detect human body heat. Once a person has passed they shut off within ten seconds. This reactive light is not only designed to save energy – the goal is to cut consumption by 50% – but it’s also a step to cut down on nocturnal light pollution as well.

The Guardian reports:

“The new technology may be a good idea for somewhere like Toulouse but in the countryside the best thing is to just turn the lights off,” said Véronique Clérin, of the National Association for the Protection of the Sky and the Nocturnal Environment. “The average commune [an administrative area] can cut its electricity bill by a quarter and protect natural habitats and the migration patterns of birds, insects and mammals.”

Earlier this year the German town of Dörentrup started turning off its lights at 11pm, with its 9,000 residents able to illuminate a specific street for 15 minutes by dialling a special mobile phone code. The local utility company estimated the scheme would cut Dörentrup’s carbon emissions by 12 tonnes a year. Early trials showed that many streetlights were switched on only two or three times a night.

Guardian: “Lights down as heat sensitive lampposts come to the streets of Toulouse”