9 measures
Cost: € low · €€ medium · €€€ high (indicative)Light only what is needed
Remove or switch off lights that serve no purpose, starting with decorative lighting of monuments and façades.
Fully shielded luminaires
Use luminaires that send no light above the horizontal – light reaches the street, not the sky.
Warm-white light (≤3000 K)
Less blue light means less sky glow and less disturbance for insects, birds and bats.
Dimming and part-night lighting
Lower or switch off lights when streets are empty, with timers or adaptive smart control.
Lighting zones
Set different rules for urban, coastal and nature-park zones, as proposed in the Transnational Starlight Guidelines.
Municipal lighting ordinance
Turn good lighting into local rules for public and private outdoor lights.
Energy performance contracts
Let an energy service company finance the retrofit and repay it from the energy saved.
Dark sky parks and protected areas
Protect the darkest places formally and use them as the heart of astrotourism.
Night-sky events and citizen science
Star parties, sky-quality measurements and school activities that make darkness visible.
Not sure where to start?
Run the Starlight Self-Assessment first (Module A) – it shows which measures matter most in your area.