The Complete Technical Specification Table

The following table summarizes every quantified technical requirement in Maine LD 1934 as enacted. These are the specification checkpoints for any new or replacement outdoor lighting installation on government-owned or publicly funded facilities in Maine, effective October 1, 2026.

Understanding the 1,000-Lumen Shielding Threshold

The 1,000-lumen trigger is the most broadly applicable requirement in the statute because it captures the vast majority of outdoor fixtures used in public facility applications. A standard LED parking lot luminaire delivers 10,000 to 30,000+ lumens. A street light typically delivers 4,000 to 12,000 lumens. A wall pack delivers 2,000 to 8,000 lumens. All of these exceed the 1,000-lumen threshold and therefore require full shielding — no more than 5% of their total lumen output above 80 degrees from nadir.

In BUG rating terms, this requirement maps directly to a U0 uplight rating — zero lumens in the high and very high uplight zones. Any fixture with a U1 or higher BUG uplight rating does not comply with Maine LD 1934 if it exceeds 1,000 lumens. The 5% above-80-degrees limit is slightly less restrictive than a strict U0 rating on a photometric basis, but in practice it means full-cutoff optics on all public facility outdoor lighting above a single low-wattage fixture.

The 125% ANSI/IES Illuminance Ceiling

This is the provision that addresses over-illumination directly — and it is the provision most likely to catch existing specifications that have defaulted to maximum fixture output rather than application-appropriate output. The ANSI/IES Illuminating Engineering Society publishes recommended maintained illuminance levels by application — for parking lots, the RP-20 standard; for roadways, RP-8; for sports facilities, RP-6.

For parking lot applications, the IES RP-20 recommended maintained average for a typical commercial parking lot is approximately 1.0 to 2.0 footcandles (fc) depending on the application category. Under LD 1934, the maximum permissible maintained average for a compliant Maine public parking lot installation is 1.25 to 2.5 fc — not the 5 to 10 fc that uncontrolled high-output fixtures commonly produce. Our light loss factor and IES standards guide covers the calculation methodology specifiers need to verify ANSI/IES compliance before submitting a fixture specification.

The 0.1 Lux Habitat Trespass Limit

This is the most technically demanding requirement in the statute for park, recreation, and natural area facilities. 0.1 lux is a very low illuminance level — it is roughly equivalent to a quarter moon on a clear night. Any fixture within potential spill distance of a designated wilderness area, natural area, wildlife habitat, or reserve must be verified by photometric calculation to produce less than 0.1 lux at the boundary of that protected area.

For Maine state parks, campgrounds, wildlife management areas, and facilities adjacent to conservation land — which describes a large proportion of Maine's public outdoor infrastructure — this requirement means a photometric study is not optional. It is the only method to confirm compliance with the 0.1 lux trespass limit before a fixture is installed. Our photometric analysis service documents trespass levels at defined boundary points, providing the technical record the statute requires.

The 85% Sports Lumen Containment Rule

The sports lighting provision is the most operationally specific requirement in the statute and the most consequential for Maine municipalities managing athletic fields. The rule requires that 85% of a sports lighting installation's total generated lumens fall within 10 meters of the playing surface — the field, track, or bleachers. The remaining 15% is the maximum permissible spill budget for the entire installation.

This is a meaningful containment standard. High-mast flood lighting systems on conventional wood poles with broad-beam optics commonly send 30 to 50% of their lumens beyond the field boundary. Meeting the 85% containment requirement demands purpose-designed sports luminaires with precise aiming optics, pole layout calculated to minimize spill, and in most cases a photometric study verifying containment before installation. The sports category is exempted from the 3000K color temperature cap — allowing the higher color temperatures that most sports lighting systems use for color rendering — but the containment requirement applies regardless of color temperature.

Our sports lighting category includes luminaires with the precise aiming optics and contained beam patterns that meet the 85% containment standard, and our lighting engineers can document compliance via photometric study for any field geometry.

The 10pm Nonessential Lighting Curfew

The curfew applies to nonessential outdoor lighting — a defined category that includes:

• Vacant sports fields after the last scheduled use of the evening
• Façade and architectural lighting on public buildings
• Landscape and decorative lighting
• Monument lighting

All of these must be off by 10pm or one hour after the facility closes, whichever is later. The curfew does not apply to safety-required lighting — any fixture whose operation is required by Maine's Department of Public Safety for public safety purposes — or to emergency lighting. It does apply to the sports field lighting systems that many Maine municipalities leave running after games end. Compliance requires timer controls, occupancy sensors, or facility management systems capable of automatically shutting nonessential circuits at the statutory time.

What Is and Isn't Exempt

Access Fixtures Solutions for LD 1934 Compliance