Glamox unveils bird-friendly luminaires

Glamox has unveiled a range of luminaires designed to reduce the risk of harm to migratory birds.

The lights – which feature blue-green wavelengths known to be less attractive to birds – are aimed at applications on wind turbines and oil and gas rigs.

Offshore wind turbines pose a particular threat to birds traveling long distances over open water. These include gannets, kittiwakes and puffins which are highly vulnerable to collisions due to their flight patterns and tendency to fly at turbine height. Additionally, many small migratory songbirds, such as warblers travel over the ocean at night and can become disoriented by the artificial lights. The dangers are worsened in poor weather when birds fly lower and have reduced visibility.

The company says that landing on marine structures can be a ‘life sentence’ for tired birds.

The marine-certified fittings provides sufficient illumination to keep offshore workers and mariners safe and also better for darker skies, says Glamox.

The shorter wavelength green light is created by applying an opalic diffuser inside the luminaire which also helps to reduce light spillage or by green LEDs in the case of the floodlight.

‘Bright lights attract birds, especially in foggy misty conditions,’ says the company. ‘Younger birds, on their first migration, are most at risk,’ said Oskar Mile, the lighting designer who’s leading the bird-friendly lighting project at Glamox. ‘The longer they stay on an offshore platform, the more mess they create and the more they burn through their energy reserves, lessening their chances of survival.

‘It is well known that birds react differently to light at different wavelengths. Blue-green light reduces the impact on the magnetic orientation of migratory birds while red light can disrupt their internal compass.

‘The green colour of the light is significantly less attractive to migrating birds. Another important factor is whether the lights can be controlled, such as switched off or dimmed down when people are absent or programmed to dim during weeks when endangered bird species are known to migrate.

‘Nevertheless, the overriding factor is ensuring that people working offshore have the light they need to do their job and are safe and secure. If you can help people and wildlife at the same time, then it’s a win-win,’ added Mile.

Glamox has developed bird-friendly versions of its best-selling MIR G2 linear LED luminaires that cope with harsh conditions on offshore platforms, wind turbines, and vessels.

LED kits are also available, which allow customers to keep the housing of their existing MIR luminaires and upgrade them to be bird friendly. A bird-friendly version of its MAX G2 explosion-proof luminaire is suitable for applications in industry, on ships, and on oil and gas platforms in areas where an explosive atmosphere can occasionally occur during normal operations.

A bird-friendly RLX B floodlight is also available.

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