Council considers dimming streetlights in Hertfordshire to tackle climate change

Streetlights across the county could be dimmed as part of Hertfordshire County Council’s strategy to tackle climate change.

The county council is considering a number of options to help reduce the climate impact of street lighting by varying the brightness and operating hours of lights.

This work will form part of the response to the declaration of a climate emergency last summer, and the development of the Sustainable Hertfordshire strategy - the county council’s programme to improve sustainability in Hertfordshire.

The highways teams plan to review the timings of the street lighting, and also whether there could be further dimming, potentially reducing both costs and carbon emissions.

Many streetlights are already dimmed at various times.

Phil Bibby, cabinet member for Highways and Environment, said: “We want to reduce the climate impact of our street lighting, and the technical work done by our engineers shows that there are several ways we could do this.

"It’s important that we look at these options in the round, which is why we’ll be considering this as part of the overall Sustainable Hertfordshire Strategy, rather than making changes straight away.”

With most of Hertfordshire’s streetlights now converted to more efficient LED lights with a central control system, it is now possible to dim lights and modify timings in specific areas, allowing more flexibility in how we light the county’s roads.

A full review of street lighting options will be undertaken next year, subject to funding being available.