Edit: the duality between “lol get curtains” and helpful things is great. But! I can’t put up curtains on the windows the light floods in - it’s the front door and the sort of side window beside the front door. Since I rent, I’m not going to put holes in the door, nor do I think it would look decent enough not to bother me. But also for those concerned about safety of sidewalks, I don’t have a sidewalk on my side, I’d only be blocking light on the front yard and hopefully into the house. But thanks y’all, this has been helpful:))
Basically I’m looking for maybe a semi unethical tip so I can cover the half of the street lamp that shines the light of freaking Helios’ arsehole in my windows every night.
I don’t want to permanently ruin it because I only rent this house and I don’t wanna get in trouble. But it’s way too bright and so very annoying.
So my thoughts are maybe duct tape, or maybe some sort of latex paint I can later peel off? I’m just not sure either will stand up against the elements.
Insofar as the lamp itself is concerned, it’s not one of those with a bent neck. It’s like a lantern on a 9 foot pole. So it should be easy(?) to cover half the glass, I should think.
I used to work for AEP, so I dont know if this will work everywhere, but if a neighbor called because of a outdoor light, they could request a work out to see if theres something that could be done, such as adjusting or shading.
Good luck.
I used to have a streetlight that beamed into my front room.
I did some research on the type of streetlight, bought a security bit that was the right fit to unscrew the access panel near the base, and ripped out the big fuse that lives there. Put the panel back in place. The city never fixed it. If they did I would have taken that fuse too
When I was a kid we had a way of disabling streetlights with no tools. We learned that if you get one kid on either side of it, and push-pull it at the right frequency, you can get it to oscillate in a feedback pattern until the top of the lamppost was shaking back and forth so hard the globe would shatter.
Even if we ignore the possible legal trouble of modifying street fixtures without permission, building anything that can hold up out in the wind and rain is going to be a big task. Getting it up there safely is going to be a challenge. Making sure it’s secure so the next puff of wind doesn’t send it down on someone’s head, maybe even yours, will be another challenge. I’ll make a recommendation for ‘blue tack’ and some heavy cardstock or plastic in front of the windows. The blue can hold for years, but leaves zero marks, and the right material could be chosen to allow whatever amount of light through, anything from all to none. Project boards like kids use for school presentations could be great. They can be cut easily to whatever shape the window is, painted or drawn on for decorative purposes, and even offer a little bit of extra insulation.
They make non-permanent (no adhesive) vinyl window and privacy film. You just order the right size, clean the window really well, wet the window and the sheet, stick the sheet on, trim it to size, then squish it flat with something like a credit card to get all the bubbles out. When it’s time to move out just peel it off.
Cheap, nondestructive, no adhesive, easy clean up. And you can get it in various tints clear on up to blackout.
Have you looked into curtains?
Witchcraft!
no dumaas u cant look into curtains CURTAINS BLOCK THE VIEW it is teh pont of them
;-)
Get blackout curtains. Wear a sleep mask.
This is honestly the best way of dealing with it. Any modifications to the light or likely going to invite repairs and attention from the city.
Sleep mask for sure. And not a cheap ass flemsy satin-like ones you get with the dom/sub pack at your nearest adult store!
I recommend the Manta Sleep ones. Used the smaller one for 4 years before the Velcro finally gave in. Immediately bought the regular ones and kept using the eye cups from my old ones. It was a godsend working third shift.
Haven’t tried the heated or cooled cups so ymmv.
Any rotating shift worker will tell you. Black out curtains. They’re a god send.
Why are those poor shift workers rotating? They’re gonna get seasick!
Do not modify a public street lamp. It is not yours. More importantly, you’ll be creating an unsafe environment.
Put up curtains.
Edit: the duality between “lol get curtains” and helpful things is great. But! I can’t put up curtains on the windows the light floods in - it’s the front door and the sort of side window beside the front door.
I also didn’t want to put holes in the wall, so I got command strips (those little stick-on / pull-off hooks) and used them to hang my curtains. If the way it looks bothers you, you could hang a piece of decorative cloth in front or back of the curtain.
lantern
What kind of lantern? Is it like a bulb/tube (point/linear source of light), with or without reflector, or a 2D LED array? Is it in a transparent or translucent cover?
The duality of lemmy:
“I am SHOCKED someone would ILLEGALLY MODIFY something that ISN’T THEIRS!”
Vs
“lol firebomb time”
Legit, if you’d rather put in work to modify a street light and risk the consequences instead of putting up curtains, use old cardboard boxes cut in such a way that it drapes a long side over your house’s direction, but not long enough to impede light on sidewalks.
Less work, less cost, less chance of being arrested.
I do understand not wanting to have to use blackout curtains, as I like looking outside.
Personally I use a 100w led spotlight I made, and point it at the street light for a minute or so if I want it off. Works for a few minutes, at least.
firebomb?
naw. that’s a bit much. a .22 lr and some target practice will do the trick.
(but seriously, maybe just invest in some decent black out curtains.)
Have you considered talking with your council about it? It is their utility after all.
Maybe get some light readings and look into what your town says about acceptable light levels.
Just some light reading material.
Yeah this. See if there’s others in your area also concerned about public lighting and advocate together. Too many cities are putting in new LED lights that are way too bright and it’s accelerating light pollution levels. Being able to see stars in the night sky should be something every one can do to connect our humanity.
The local government or utility may be able to help. Several lights in my area have shutter shades on them that help control sideways/upwards light and keep the beam focused on the ground. It’s called “light intrusion” when someone else shine slight into your property
Don’t use duct tape, if you rent, the adhesive hardens and will get left behind. Using like packing tape or maybe something professionals use would be better. If the door is metal, they make magnetic curtain rods, we use them on our doors but there will be a limit to the weight of the curtain it can support. Paint on the windows may work, and scraping it off later should work, but is a pain and can scratch the glass.
Duct tape on the streetlight on the side facing the house, not on the windows.
Tin foil, trash bag, bucket cut into the shape of a hat?
Or just buy some curtains. Or tape up some tin foil. Or wear a sleep mask.
