Part of the reason the government is giving away (or selling) lighthouses at a record pace is because the maintenance is too much. When a lighthouse goes to a non-profit or municipality, the Coast Guard washes its hands of the building, but generally retains the use of the facility as an Aid to Navigation (AToN) and requires access to maintain the actual light. But the Coast Guard is stretched thin due to new responsibilities with Homeland Security and more, so what better way to ease the maintenance and costs than by going green?

Although some groups have objected when the government has installed solar panels at offshore lighthouses, the cost of maintaining or repairing underwater electrical cables, plus the cost of electricity itself makes solar panels a viable economic and environmental decision. Two years ago the village of Harbor Beach, Michigan, objected vociferously when the government wouldn’t repair the cable to their lighthouse, using the excuse that the lighthouse is on the state register, and you shouldn’t change it, and it will destroy the looks, but that argument doesn’t wash in today’s high energy costs, both monetarily and environmentally. The two lighthouse photos are of Monhegan Island, Maine, as it looks from the front side and on the back, solar paneled side.

If lighthouses had never changed, they’d still be using the terribly inefficient Argand-Lewis contraptions, which were basically parabolic reflectors lit by candles. The “villain” of the US Lighthouse history, Stephen Pleasanton, Fifth Auditor of the Treasury, rejected the installation of the amazingly beautiful and highly efficient Fresnel lenses to the detriment of the sailing industry. It actually led to his downfall and the establishment of the US Lighthouse Board in 1852. But Fresnels, too, were replaced with aerobeacons lit by incandescent bulbs. And the few Fresnels that remain in use are lit by 1,000 watt bulbs, which need replacement every few months are subject to breakage and require high amounts of energy, and thus more “unsightly” solar panels to power them.

The latest technology in lighthouse lighting will be Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), and already some objections have started. As a docent at a lighthouse with a Fourth Order Fresnel lens in place, I’d hear comments like “It’s like a jewel,” “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” While beauty is important, in this day of not leaving a carbon footprint (oh how I hate that phrase, I’m going to get it banished), the LEDs will probably be replacing all lights in all aids to navigation in the next ten years. Although they currently only have a range of four nautical miles, their practicality in this application has already been demonstrated worldwide in 110 countries around the world, including the US. Recently, the Maine Lighthouse Museum received a donation of one of the newest lights from Carmanah Technologies.

• New LED lamps are very durable and have no glass to shatter or filament to break, thus taking far more abuse than the traditional incandescent lamp
• LEDs can emit light equal to an incandescent lamp while consuming only 10% of the electricity or battery power that operates the beacon
• LED lamps have a life span of 100,000 hours or up to 11 years of continuous use as opposed to the average incandescent lamp that burns out after an average of 500 hours
• LED lamps practically eliminate costly maintenance

From a press release by Carmanah Technologies:

Carmanah Technologies Inc. is pleased to announce that its top-of-the-line M704-5 marine lantern has received official US Coast Guard (USCG) approval for federal aids to navigation.

The high-intensity M704-5 marine lantern joins Carmanah’s other USCG-approved products - the M701, M702, and M702-5 lanterns - all of which have been successfully used on low-light-intensity coast guard aids to navigation since the late 1990s.

Carmanah’s new M704-5 self-contained solar LED lantern combines four nautical miles of visibility with oversized solar modules and a heavy-duty battery for increased energy collection and storage. An enhanced proprietary LED optic produces unparalleled light uniformity and wide vertical divergence for increased visibility and range under all weather conditions. Rated for four nautical miles of visibility, the compact M704-5 lantern produces up to 90 candelas of light output (cyan). The M704-5 also offers more than 200 flash patterns, optional infrared user programmability, and battery packs that can last up to five years before replacement.

According to Mimi Drabit, Carmanah’s Coast Guard Liaison, the M704-5 lantern’s small size, low-maintenance design and impressive output makes it the ideal choice for all types of aids-to-navigation and hazard marking applications requiring up to 4 nautical miles of visibility. “Carmanah’s self-contained solar LED marine lighting has become the industry benchmark; through thousands of installations worldwide, it has proven itself to be durable, reliable and economical. We’re proud that our new M704-5 lantern has now been officially added to the list of products that are USCG-approved for aids to navigation.”

Carmanah’s solar LED marine lights are installed in more than 110 countries around the world, including high profile locations such as the New York Harbour (USA), Victoria Harbour (Hong Kong), the Port of London (England), the Port of Rotterdam (Holland), the Suez Canal (Egypt) and Sydney Harbour (Australia). For more information about the M704-5 and Carmanah’s full line of solar LED marine lighting products, visit http://www.solarmarinelights.com.

Between reducing costs of operating our lighthouses and other lighted navigational aids and the zero impact on our environment, this bodes well for the future of keeping our lighthouses in operation, and preserving their story for ages to come. For more information on the newest additions to our Aids to Navigation, visit Bob Trapani’s Storm Heroes site.

This entry is part of the Blog Action Day, with over 15,000 weblogs, organizations and companies participating with posts about our environment.

Keep up with Lighthouse News. Get articles by Email or in a Reader.