No Stupid Questions

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?

Do not modify a public street lamp. It is not yours. More importantly, you'll be creating an unsafe environment.

Put up curtains.

Any rotating shift worker will tell you. Black out curtains. They’re a god send.

Get blackout curtains. Wear a sleep mask.

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.

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.

Lights you can't control are awful. We have an insanely bright one on the corner that light pollutes so bad. Even worse now because they are horrible white LED. Warm halogen were 1000x better (youll never convince me otherwise). Same with car headlights. White led gives me a headache even when I'm the driver. I'll take my 90s warm lights any day.

This is a corner that get like 20 cars traffic a day. A light isnt even needed. Plus its in my yard.

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.

Have you heard of blackout curtains?

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.

Talk to your local council, or whoever looks after lighting in your area, they should be able to put a shade on it tgst blocks light from hitting your window. It might take sime effort to persuade them, but it'll be the best solution.

Failing that, or in addition, as others have mentioned, blackout curtains do wonders.

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

I wish they made curtains that blocked light. Some sort of "black-out" functionality. Oh well, you should probably continue illegally modifying city lighting...

Maybe consider curtains before vandalism.

How long have you lived there?

I grew up in the sticks where the only light pollution was either the moon or the stars.

I moved to a city for uni when I was 19, had a street light outside my window blasting it's sodium orange glow into my room.

It took about two weeks before I was used to it and didn't even realise it was there

Get scissor cut black plastic sheet, something that's ridgid, and silicone fishtank adhesive.

Cut the plastic to match the shape of the glass sections that face your window. Clean the glass with alcohol, then apply a thin layer of silicone to the plastic piece and press it to the glass. Use a finger to wipe any excess and ooze into a tight seam.

So long as it doesn't hit sweltering hot, freezing cold, or rainy for the next 24hrs it takes to cure, that plastic isn't comming off without a putty knife and effort (it will come off fine without harming it, but not on its own)

If you want to increase the chance that no one will do anything about it, do the same to every lamp on your block. Nothing hides vandalism like uniformity.

If you do something to the light pole, it’s only a question of when the city will restore it to its original state, not if. Blackout curtains are your friend

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?

Try to reason with the local govt. If you're lucky, the people at the local planning dept or whoever is in charge of public properties will find your inquiry unusual enough to do something about it.

One suggestion I haven’t seen: aluminum foil.

You can stick aluminum foil to a flat surface by wetting the aluminum foil and spreading it with your hands while pushing the water out. It’s cheap, easy to remove and leaves no trace. Now, you can think of applying it on the street lamp or on your own window

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.

It's time to improve your paintball skills.

Any of these cardboard cutouts should work.

My neighbor put an aluminum/metal thing beneath the lamp. He lives in a flat at the same level of the lamp so it makes sense. I don't know how he reached there tho

https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/schottis-block-out-pleated-blind-dark-grey-90369507/

House side shield request

DUCT TAPE! How has nobody suggested this yet?