Public Lighting FAQs

For those new to public lighting, the FAQs below may be a good place to start. For those interested in the relationship between lighting, safety and crime, see the Lighting, Safety and Crime FAQ page.

What counts as a public light?

Public lighting is defined by the Australian Standards as the lighting provided on major and minor roads. In general, local government pays the energy and maintenance costs for minor roads and shares the cost of major roads with State roads authorities.

Minor roads (where the needs of pedestrians are dominant) tend to have large numbers of lights at lower wattage (eg. 80W mercury vapour or 2x20W fluorescent) whereas major roads (where the needs of drivers are dominant)tend to have fewer lights at higher wattages (eg. 240/400W mercury vapour or 150/250W high pressure sodium).

Other types of public lights relevant to local government include: car park lighting, flood lighting, parks and gardens lighting, feature and sign lighting and marine lighting.

What are the components of a public light?

: Click to enlarge

In addition to the pole, public lights are composed of four main elements.

The luminaire, or light fitting, is attached to the pole. It generally lasts over 20 years, but this may vary depending on quality. The external shell of the luminaire protects the lamp from rain, hail, dust, temperature, insects, birds and pollution, and distributes the light using a reflector and lens.

The lamp produces the light. Replacement schedules vary according to state based regulation and the requirements of the Australian Standards. In Victoria, for example, 80W mercury vapour lamps are replaced every 4 years, as specified in the Victorian Public Lighting Code. In NSW, however, they are replaced every 3 years to ensure that light output does not fall below the levels recommended in the Australian Standards.

The ballast/control gear helps to provide the right current and voltage to the lamp. It can be magnetic or electronic and its energy use varies.

Finally, the on-off switching control is usually a photoelectric (PE) cell which responds to light levels, but other types such as timers or motion sensors are also available.

Who pays for public lighting?

For distributor-owned lighting, local government typically pays its public lighting bills in two parts:

A payment to a distribution business for operation, maintenance and replacement (OMR) charges.
A payment to an electricity retailer for the energy used in public lighting.

This arrangement is analagous to renting a vehicle. A distribution business is like a car rental company, which charges clients (councils) to use its vehicle fleet (lighting infrastructure). These payments cover the cost of maintaining and replacing the rental company's fleet (lighting infrastructure) at the end of its “economic life”. An electricity retailer is like a petrol retailer, which provides fuel (energy) for the rented vehicle (lighting).

However in WA councils pay one bill which includes energy and OMR.

Where council owns and operates some lighting, they will either pay look after the maintenance internally or contract a maintenance company to do this for them.

In addition, councils may share the costs of some major road lighting with their state or territory road authority.

What is local government's role?

Local government fulfils several roles in relation to public lighting:

planning authority
road authority (or coordinating with the responsible road authority)
environmental management
fiscal responsibility
provision of community needs.

(Source: Adapted from presentation by Thomas Kuen to CCP NSW State Forum session on Public Lighting, 2003.)

Who at council is responsible ?

Management of public lighting generally sits within infrastructure services and a number of other departments also tend to have public lighting responsibilities.

Who are the other stakeholders involved?

As well as council, there are many other stakeholders involved in public lighting in Australia, including:

other public lighting customers, e.g. roads authorities
distribution businesses
public lighting users – pedestrians and drivers
local government associations and regional bodies
equipment suppliers
energy retailers
federal and state government bodies responsible for sustainability and/or energy
electricity regulators
Standards Australia
peak industry bodies and professional associations.

Councils typically have some form of relationship with many of these stakeholders, although the nature and extent of these relationships varies between councils according to their size, approach to public lighting management, the market and regulatory framework, and historical factors.

A useful way of defining a council’s role is as the body that brings together the parties responsible for public lighting (see diagram) by liaising with all stakeholders involved in the design, installation, maintenance and replacement of lamps.

What are the key design considerations?

Public lighting design should be based around achieving maximum energy efficiency while meeting local lighting requirements such as:

light distribution
light depreciation of the lamp over time (and whether it meets the Australian Standards)
the 'life' of the luminaire and other components (lamps, control gear, PE cells)
maintenance requirements
cost effectiveness
aesthetics
minimising vandalism of lights
minimising light pollution
the preferred 'colour' properties of the light output
compliance with the Australian Standards which provide recommendations about public lighting in Australia.

Further information is available in the Technologies section.

Why is public lighting still often unsustainable?

Despite the availability of energy efficient technologies, many councils have found it difficult to make their public lighting more sustainable. Some common barriers are:

Lack of collaboration between councils and distributors. Distributors, in general, determine whether a light can be used as a standard fitting on streets. Without the collaboration of distributors it is impossible for councils to roll out energy efficient lighting technologies on a broad scale. Regional based actions tend to be more effective in engaging distributors.

Price disincentives for councils. Changing lights over may result in upfront capital expenditure and higher maintenance costs, and council may become liable for maintenance. In addition, low energy prices discourage councils from reducing their energy consumption.

Price disincentives for distribution businesses and retailers. Since distributors' costs are capped by regulators, there is limited incentive to take risks on new technologies for which the long-term performance and costs are unknown. In addition, since public lighting primarily uses off-peak energy, there is less pressure to reduce energy consumption.

Limited technical knowledge. Local governments have varying levels of access to technical expertise (internal and external) on the latest lighting technologies. In addition, there is limited coordination and funding for research and development relating to public lighting. Key questions, such as how the eye responds under low light conditions, what the performance requirements for public lighting should be, and how blue-white and orange light performs at night, remain unanswered.

No national standards for energy efficiency. Energy efficiency is not covered under the Australian Standards for Road Lighting (AS/NZS 1158).

The Sustainable Public Lighting website was created by ICLEI Oceania. Funding for this website was provided by the Australian Greenhouse Office (AGO) in the Department of Environment and Water Resources. The site is based on Sustainability Victoria's Energy Toolbox website.