Control public lights with motion sensors
Motion-based lighting will save power, says the writer.
I do not think that our city-state has too many lights on at night as Mr Lee Teck Chuan argued in his letter, “Why does Singapore need so many lights on?” (Dec 19).
As most of Singapore’s public lighting systems are timer-based, the bigger problem is that there is no light when it is needed in the day during periods of low natural illumination, for example when it is overcast or stormy.
A better power-saving solution is a combination of motion detectors and sensors measuring illumination.
This will ensure that the lights are switched on whenever there is low natural illumination, regardless of the time of day. Conversely, some lights may be switched off even at night, where appropriate, when no movement is detected.
Mr Lee asked whether Singapore needed to keep all places well-lit, given our low crime rate.
This may be a chicken and egg situation: Having fewer lights could result in more crimes.
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