The energy crisis is forcing the cities of Lower Saxony to save. One approach: Street lights are switched off earlier and important buildings and monuments are no longer illuminated or not illuminated for as long. In the state capital of Hanover, for example, sights and representative buildings such as the New Town Hall or various museums have not been illuminated since the summer.
A spokesman for the city of Hanover said that it is currently being examined whether the street lighting in certain parts of the city can be controlled differently. So there are considerations to shorten the times of the individual illuminations. “The first priority is of course road safety,” emphasized the spokesman.
The city of Hildesheim has also stopped lighting monuments and landmarks for some time. However, for technical reasons, the street lighting will not be switched off completely. Instead – as before the energy crisis – the brightness of the lanterns in the evening hours is reduced by half.
In Wolfsburg, according to the information, the lamps are switched off in individual streets. Individual statues or other works of art are no longer illuminated. According to the city, further shutdowns to save energy are currently being examined.
In Göttingen, the street lighting and the lighting at the pedestrian crossings are fed from the same power grid. “According to the applicable regulations, a minimum illuminance of 30 lux is mandatory for pedestrian crossings and must be guaranteed throughout the dark hours,” said a spokesman for the city. Therefore, a shutdown at night is not planned. Switching off the lighting would be possible in the suburbs of Göttingen, but since LED lamps are already being used there, the savings potential would be very small, the spokesman explained.
In Osnabrück, street lighting is switched off about 15 minutes earlier in the morning and switched on about 15 minutes later in the evening. The procedure was tried out in a test phase. A spokesman for the city said it was not expected to endanger road safety. Landmarks such as the Heger gate, the Vitischanze, the town hall or the towers of the historic city fortifications are no longer illuminated in agreement with the municipal utilities.
