Turtles Challenge Florida Boardwalk Step Lighting Project! By R. Neal At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

We had a client in Florida who was an electrical contractor hired by a seaside community. Part of his responsibilities included installing step lights on a scenic boardwalk that parallel to the ocean very close to the shoreline. The boardwalk was supported by intervals of wooden pilings, between which spanned wooden handrails for people to hold onto as they walked along the sea. This railing design would normally have provided a very convenient place to do a simple step lighting install—only this project was not so easy due to some unique complications.

There were special environmental concerns that had to be addressed prior to installing step lights along the boardwalk.

Not only was this community inhabited by a large number of people, but it was also home to a very sizeable population of sea turtles. Sea turtles are very attracted to light, and will pursue it into shallow water at any cost to themselves. Our client was insistent on finding a solution to the apparent dilemma that was facing this community. One the one hand, people needed to see clearly where they were walking. On the other hand, lighting a boardwalk that was almost at the water’s edge would no doubt attract sea turtles right up to the shoreline, where they would then be in danger of either becoming beached or attacked by predators. In fact, this concern was not just a concern of the local community, but of the state of Florida as well. The Department of Fish and Wildlife had already informed them that whatever lights were installed would have to be approved by marine biologists to be safe for the turtles.

The contractor had already speculated that using fixtures made with amber colored glass could be one possible solution to this problem, but since he was not an expert in fixture design, decided to subcontract us to confirm this theory and to see if we could locate an American manufacturer that could produce such fixtures.

Design Analysis confirmed electrical contractor’s theory.

A systematic analysis of the dimensions of the boardwalk, its proximity to the ocean, and the lumens necessary to light only the walkway itself determined that the contractor’s guess had been correct, and that amber colored light would indeed meet human lighting requirements. Further analysis revealed that that line voltage surface mounted step lights mounted on the interior surface of the pilings would be the ideal way to accomplish this—provided these lights were made with amber colored glass rather than the standard clear or frosted lens types generally sold through wholesale distributors. Since such step lights did not exist, we would have to find a manufacturer that would agree to custom make them as a special project.

Thankfully, we have a very close relationship with Focus Industries, who readily agreed to help in any way they could.

After explaining to them the general parameters and concerns of the project, they agreed to manufacture a sample step lighting fixture based upon the specifications we outlined. This sample fixture was then sent to the Department of Fish and Wildlife for analysis and approval. Wildlife experts confirmed it would be safe for the turtles and authorized the purchase order for the necessary number of luminaires. The lights were shipped to Florida and the contractor installed the per our recommended photometric plan.

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