L.A.'s golden streetlights have turned harsh white. Homeowners aren't happy

"“I feel like I'm under surveillance in my own home,” Linda Chen said. Chen said her San Fernando Valley home always felt like a haven - a quiet slice of suburbia where she and her family could relax at the end of the day. But a few years ago, city workers swapped the orange sodium streetlights outside her house with cold, blue-light LEDs. Overnight, her once warm, cozy street felt harsh and hostile."

"“One light shined so brightly into my bedroom that I lost sleep until I installed blackout curtains,” she said. “It's like when you're on a red-eye flight trying to get some sleep and the person next to you has their reading light on the entire time. Not the end of the world, but definitely a nuisance.”"

"For decades, L.A.'s hazy blue days and golden pink dusks have given way to nights speckled with golden orange, where amber streetlights twinkle across hills, valleys and coastal plain like stars in the sky. But now, thanks to the harsh LEDs that light much of L.A., an ever-growing number of streets feel more like prison yards when the sun goes down."

"Chen is planning to downsize in a few years, but she's worried that potential buyers will be turned off by the glaring streetlights hanging over the home, and the property's resale value will take a hit. “I guess we'll only do open houses during the day,” she quipped."

Los Angeles has long been associated with emotionally evocative light, from golden sunshine and soft daytime glow to hazy blue days and pink dusks. Nights have often featured amber streetlights that twinkle across hills, valleys, and the coastal plain. New LED lighting has changed that atmosphere, making some streets feel harsh and hostile after sunset. Linda Chen describes feeling like she is under surveillance in her own home after orange sodium lights were replaced with cold, blue-light LEDs. One light shone into her bedroom, disrupting sleep until she installed blackout curtains. She worries that glaring lights may deter buyers and reduce resale value.

Read at Los Angeles Times