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Will streetlights turn on during the eclipse? WFIU illuminates

By Katy Szpak

Posted March 20, 2024

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A city streetlight outside of WonderLab. Duke Energy leases 3,300 LED streetlights to the city. (Katy Szpak, WFIU/WTIU News)

Streetlight behavior during the solar eclipse will depend on where — and how — you are watching.

In a few weeks, the total solar eclipse will pass over Bloomington — which is centered on the path of totality — darkening the city for four minutes and two seconds. Local businesses are preparing for this once-in-a-lifetime event.

Kelli Debikey, education director at WonderLab, has been planning the science museum’s eclipse viewing event, which will be held outside the museum on the sidewalk and in its adjacent garden.

Across the street are four lights owned by the city. These lights are controlled by a photocell, which turns them on or off. When the sky becomes dark enough, during dusk, or an event like an eclipse, the lights turn on.

This was observed in the last eclipse as well. NPR coverage from 2017 shows the eclipse darkened the sky so much that streetlights began to turn on.

Bloomington had about 50 percent partial coverage with the annular eclipse in October, dimming skies and giving places like WonderLab a chance to practice for the main event.

“They [the streetlights] didn't come on Oct. 14,” Debikey said. “So, there is that partiality that I'm not worried about them coming on. I don't know how long it has to be dark, or how dark it has to be for their sensors to react.”

The sun will have partial coverage for about two hours. The sky will be noticeably darker for about 30 minutes as the moon enters and exits totality. This period is when the lights will come on.

Christina Smith, special projects coordinator for public works, said the City does not have control over when the lights come on. All city-owned lights are controlled by these photocell sensors and have no manual switch, she said.

Duke Energy leases 3,300 LED streetlights to the city. A spokesperson said, due to safety and liability concerns, it would not disable these sensors for eclipse-viewing events.

Cities across the U.S. addressed the same topic during the 2017 eclipse.

In Hopkinsville, Ky., street management manually turned off 45 streetlights in officially designated eclipse-viewing locations.

Additionally, Duke Energy did grant some requests for shut-offs in 2017, South Carolina’s WLTX reported.

What if you’re watching from IU?

Indiana University Bloomington’s outdoor streetlamps are controlled by a timer programmed with the times for dusk and dawn. That’s according to Rob Deckard, utilities distribution supervisor. These lights will not turn on during the eclipse because they do not use a light sensor. However, that does not apply to all the lights on campus.

“Lights attached to the buildings, including spotlights, flagpole lights and bus stops will operate, as they are not controlled through our system,” Deckard said in an emailed statement to WFIU News.

If you’re watching the eclipse with solar glasses, it won’t affect the viewing experience.

“The cool thing about the… viewers with the solar viewing paper, you can't see anything but the sun through those,” Debikey said. “So, it's not going to affect that viewability through those viewers.”

Those who wish to experience full totality darkness should move to an area with minimal light pollution, such as a state park.

Back at WonderLab, Debikey is embracing the once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“To have those lights kind of flicker on,” she said, “at three o'clock in the afternoon when it's supposed to be sunny will just kind of be another level of that experience.”

This story was inspired by a reader-submitted question. We’re following the eclipse questions you want answered leading up to the April 8 event. What else do you want us to look into? Let us know below. You can find more eclipse news from Indiana Public Media at wfiu.org/eclipse.