The Night Sky Is
Vanishing.
Responsible
Lighting
Is the Answer.
Light pollution has increased 34% in less than a decade. Access Fixtures leads in Dark Sky Compliant lighting solutions that protect the night — without sacrificing safety, visibility, or beauty.
The Stars Are Disappearing
in Real Time
Back in the 19th century, the night sky from virtually every location on Earth was pristine — free from both artificial light pollution and human-made satellites. What began with electrification has accelerated dramatically in our lifetime.
A landmark global analysis using data from NASA's Black Marble satellite program confirmed what astronomers and ecologists have feared: the radiance of the night sky increased by 34% in less than nine years, with the vast majority of the planet growing brighter, not darker.
Citizen science data collected by the Globe at Night project — over 51,000 observations from 2011 to 2022 — reveals that night sky brightness is growing at roughly 10% per year. At that rate, skyglow doubles every eight years.
A major driver is the widespread adoption of white LED technology. LEDs emit significantly more blue-spectrum light than the sodium-vapor lamps they replaced — and blue light scatters far more aggressively in the atmosphere, creating more skyglow per lumen than any previous light source.
This Isn't Just About
Seeing Stars
Light pollution is an environmental, ecological, economic, and human health crisis — driven almost entirely by how we design and deploy outdoor lighting.
Wildlife & Ecosystems
Artificial light at night disrupts the natural behaviors of nocturnal animals — confusing migratory birds mid-flight, interfering with predator/prey dynamics, disordering the reproductive cycles of insects, fish, and sea turtles. Healthy ecosystems depend on darkness.
Human Health
Exposure to excessive nighttime light, particularly blue-rich LEDs, suppresses melatonin production and disrupts circadian rhythms. Research links chronic nighttime light exposure to sleep disorders, obesity, metabolic dysfunction, and elevated disease risk.
Energy Waste
Approximately $3.3 billion is wasted annually in the U.S. on upward-shining light that illuminates nothing of value. Light that escapes into the sky is 100% wasted energy — it serves no safety or functional purpose whatsoever.
Science & Culture
Ground-based astronomical observatories are increasingly compromised by skyglow. Beyond professional science, humanity's millennia-long relationship with the night sky — navigation, mythology, wonder, perspective — is being severed for future generations.
What Dark Sky Compliant
Lighting Actually Means
Dark Sky Compliant lighting is outdoor illumination engineered from the ground up to eliminate light pollution — not as an afterthought, but as a core design principle.
The key insight is simple: light that goes up is wasted. Dark sky fixtures direct every lumen downward, onto the surface that needs to be lit. The result is better visibility, less energy consumed, and a sky that remains dark above.
Done right, dark sky lighting doesn't mean dim or inadequate lighting. It means precision lighting — the right light, in the right place, at the right intensity, at the right color temperature.
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Full Cutoff Design: The fixture housing completely contains the light source. No light escapes upward or sideways. LEDs are not visible from above the horizontal plane, eliminating uplight entirely.
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Low Kelvin Temperature: Warm light (≤3000K, ideally 2200K) minimizes blue-spectrum emission. Wildlife-sensitive areas may require 590nm Amber, a narrow-spectrum source that avoids disrupting animals reliant on natural night cues.
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Precision Optics: Lenses and reflectors must not extend below the fixture housing. Properly designed optics focus light exactly where it's needed, preventing scatter, glare, and light trespass onto neighboring properties.
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Shields & Accessories: Backlight shields, fixed arm mounts, and partial LED shields provide additional control — critical for beachfront, residential-adjacent, and observatory-sensitive applications.
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Smart Controls: Dusk-to-dawn photocells, microwave occupancy sensors, and programmable dimmers ensure lights operate only when and where genuinely needed — reducing both light pollution and energy costs.
Energy Impact
Full-cutoff LED fixtures combined with dark sky compliant design can reduce outdoor lighting energy consumption by up to 70% compared to conventional fixtures — while delivering equal or better ground-level illumination.
The Dark Sky Lighting Leader
Access Fixtures isn't a general-purpose lighting supplier that added a dark sky product line. We are specialists — with the engineering depth, product range, and ordinance expertise to solve the most demanding dark sky compliance challenges.
Photometric Compliance Studies
Our lighting engineers model exactly how proposed fixtures will perform against your local ordinance — footcandles, BUG ratings, light trespass limits — before you spend a dollar on installation.
Wildlife-Sensitive Expertise
From Florida sea turtle nesting beaches requiring 590nm amber to Maine's east coast dark sky preserve, we understand the ecological requirements behind the ordinances — not just the numbers.
Custom Configuration
Every project is different. We build fixtures to spec — selecting the right Kelvin or nanometer output, optic type, shielding, mounting hardware, and control system for your exact application and ordinance.
Ordinance Navigation
Dark sky requirements vary dramatically between communities. Our specialists know the difference between Flagstaff's lumen-per-acre limits, Northampton's footcandle caps, and Hawaii's observatory buffer zones.
Full LED Product Line
Wall packs, bollards, area lights, pathway fixtures, and solar options — all available in 2200K, 2700K, 3000K, and 590nm Amber configurations with full-cutoff designs and BUG-rated optics.
Grant & Community Support
We've partnered with organizations like the Appalachian Mountain Club to help communities secure grants and implement dark sky lighting projects that serve both people and the environment.
Dark Sky Fixtures, Built to Comply
Every fixture in our dark sky line is engineered with full-cutoff optics, appropriate LED color temperatures, and BUG-rated performance data. Whether you're lighting a municipal park, a coastal walkway, or an observatory buffer zone, we have a compliant solution.
Browse All Dark Sky ProductsThe workhorse of dark sky wall lighting. Full-cutoff housing, Type IV optics, and available in 2200K — the warmest, most IDA-friendly white LED configuration. Ideal for parks, campgrounds, building perimeters, and observatory-adjacent facilities.
The ARCI bollard with optional backlight shield is purpose-built for pathway and landscape applications in sensitive environments. Available with 590nm Amber LEDs — the specification required in sea turtle nesting zones, coastal ordinances, and strict wildlife habitat areas.
The HEZE with 590nm Amber LEDs is the benchmark for coastal dark sky compliance. Deployed in Maine state parks and coastal communities throughout the southeast, it provides the warmest possible illumination without disrupting sea turtle hatchling navigation. Full-cutoff design throughout.
When you need to light a larger area — a parking lot, athletic facility, or campus pathway — the APTA delivers full-cutoff performance at scale. Configurable in 2700K and 3000K, with fixed-arm mounts to maintain optimal light direction and BUG ratings that satisfy even the strictest municipal ordinances.
We Handle the
Complexity of Ordinances
Dark sky regulations differ significantly between communities — driven by local objectives ranging from protecting observatory views to preserving sea turtle nesting beaches. Access Fixtures specialists navigate all of it, so you don't have to.
The BUG Rating System
The BUG rating is the standard framework for evaluating a fixture's light pollution impact. Most dark sky ordinances specify maximum BUG ratings as part of compliance requirements.
Backlight
Light emitted behind the fixture. May be restricted in beachfront and residential-adjacent applications, but can be acceptable in parks where 360° egress lighting is needed.
Uplight
Light emitted upward toward the sky. Never acceptable under any dark sky ordinance. Full-cutoff fixtures achieve a U-rating of zero — the only acceptable outcome.
Glare
Extreme brightness in the visual field that impairs vision and eliminates contrast. Never acceptable — and paradoxically, high glare makes environments less safe, not more. Full-cutoff design eliminates it.
Photometric Studies
Our lighting engineers provide computer-generated photometric models showing exactly how your proposed fixtures will perform against your local ordinance — footcandles on the ground, light trespass at the property line, and BUG compliance — before installation begins.
Request a Photometric StudyCommon Ordinance Requirements
Ordinance types vary by community objective. Here are the most common requirements Access Fixtures helps clients navigate:
Most ordinances require ≤3000K, with stricter communities specifying 2700K, 2200K, or 590nm Amber depending on wildlife sensitivity. Hawaii and Flagstaff enforce some of the strictest color temperature requirements in the U.S.
Typical requirements: less than 1.0 footcandle at the property line, or less than 0.5 fc one foot beyond the property line. Achieved through proper optic selection, wattage, and mounting height.
Some municipalities cap ground-level illumination. Northampton, MA limits most properties to 5 fc maximum. Photometric modeling confirms compliance before installation.
Flagstaff, AZ limits total lumen output per acre of property — a powerful tool for controlling overall sky glow at a community scale. Requires careful fixture selection and layout planning.
Limiting pole height is an indirect way to reduce sky glow and light source visibility from neighboring properties. Some strict ordinances effectively eliminate high-mast lighting.
A ratio of 10:1 is typical for commercial and residential egress. This requirement promotes more uniform, distributed lighting rather than fewer, more intense fixtures — better for visibility and sky glow alike.
Appalachian Mountain Club — Greenville, Maine
The Appalachian Mountain Club partnered with Access Fixtures to design and manufacture outdoor lighting for one of the darkest places remaining on the east coast of the United States — the AMC Maine Woods International Dark Sky Park.
The project required fixtures that could facilitate safe movement on trails and around facilities while providing near-zero impact on the pristine night sky that makes the region ecologically and astronomically significant. Access Fixtures worked with the AMC to help secure grant funding and delivered a custom dark sky compliant solution tailored to the ordinance and the environment.
Discuss Your ProjectDark Sky Lighting,
Answered
Ready to Protect
the Night Sky — and Meet
Your Local Ordinance?
Our dark sky lighting specialists and engineers are ready to help you find the right fixtures, model your compliance, and design a lighting plan that satisfies your ordinance — and your conscience.
800-468-9925Mon–Fri, 8am–5pm EST · Photometric studies available