Development of a control system to evaluate the impact of artificial light modulation on insects

By 2030, all public lighting in Flanders, Belgium will be replaced by LED technology. However, artificial lighting properties, such as flickering due to light modulation, influence nocturnal insects. This research describes the development of a novel measurement device that can control the flickering frequency, luminous flux and correlated color temperature (CCT) of an LED light box. This to evaluate the impact of artificial light modulation on insects. A case study has been developed using four identical setups that were placed on the university campus. For each setup, the flickering frequency can be varied (f = 0 Hz, 80 Hz, 120 Hz, 150 Hz) while other parameters are unchanged. When an insect is detected, an image is taken which allows further determination. In this paper, descriptive statistics on the number of detected insects are presented. The results of the prototype and measurement setup are promising for further research in different areas of biology.