BirdSafe - Lights Out

Save Birds ∙ Save Energy ∙ Save Money

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Why Lights Out?
Most birds migrate at night and can be drawn off course by tall, lighted structures in their flight path. Many birds are killed or injured in collisions with buildings or drop from exhaustion after circling them, reluctant to fly out of the light.
Lights Out programs can dramatically reduce these collisions.

Current Lights Out Participants
THANK YOU for your leadership in saving birds and energy and reducing pollution:

• BLOOMINGTON:
  Health Partners
  Normandale Lake Office Park
  Reflections Condominiums
• GOLDEN VALLEY:
  The Colonnade
  General Mills
• MINNEAPOLIS:
  20, 100 & 111 Washington Square
  225 South Sixth Street
  33 South Sixth St./City Center
  Accenture Tower
  Carlyle Condominium
  Fifth Street Towers - 100 & 150 South Fifth Street
  Fifty South Sixth
  Grant Park Tower
  Hennepin County Central Library
  Hennepin County Government Center
  Hennepin County Health Services Building
  IDS Center
  LaSalle Plaza
  Mill Ruins Building
  Mill City Museum
  One Financial Plaza
  RBC Plaza/Gaviidae Common II
  Riverplace
  Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
  U.S. Bancorp Center
  U.S. Bank Plaza
  Wells Fargo
• MINNETONKA:
  301 & 401 Carlson Parkway
  601 Tower at Carlson Center
  Carlson Center East I
• PLYMOUTH:
  One & Two Carlson Parkway
• ROCHESTER (MAYO CLINIC):
  Gonda Building
  Guggenheim Building
  Hilton Building
  Mayo Building
  Siebens Building
  Stabile Building
• ST. PAUL:
  Bremer Tower Building
  Ramsey County Government Center
  Ramsey County Library
  Saint Paul City Hall/Ramsey County Courthouse
  Securian Financial East & West
  Wilder Center

If your building would like to participate in this effort, please complete the Participation Form and email.

What to do?

• Exterior decorative lighting OFF
• Interior lights OFF especially on upper floors
• Lobby or atrium lighting DIM or OFF

When to do it?

• Between midnight and dawn
• Spring: from March 15 to May 31
• Fall: from August 15 to October 31

LIGHTS OUT FAQ

How does Lights Out work?
Lights Out is a voluntary program where building owners, managers and tenants work together to ensure that all unnecessary lighting is turned off during Lights Out dates and times.

Other Lights Out benefits
Besides saving birds, the Lights Out program saves a considerable amount of energy and reduces pollution by reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The savings for a building can be significant. One participating building in the Toronto Lights Out program reported a savings of more than $200,000 in 2006.

Won’t a darkened city be unsafe?
Not at all. Lights Out cities don’t go completely dark by any means. Lights Out focuses on dimming or extinguishing extraneous lights coming from buildings, particularly in the upper stories. This includes the bright, decorative lighting that defines the building top, as well as interior office lights that aren’t being used. Street-level lights, though preferably down-shielded, and airplane warning lights are not affected.

While many buildings may choose to alter their lighting practices year round, Lights Out for birds is technically in effect during key migration periods late at night. This usually means about 10 weeks in spring and 10 more in the fall, between the hours of midnight and daylight.

How do we know that dimming or turning off lights can help?
Turning off unnecessary lights in buildings has been shown to reduce the number of birds attracted to or confused by illumination. Since Chicago buildings began dimming or turning off lights, many more birds are navigating through the city successfully. In fact, at one building where records have been kept for many years, mortality decreased by 80 percent when lights were turned off. Toronto, New York, Detroit, Boston, Baltimore and Indianapolis are also Lights Out cities. More and more cities are starting programs and also compiling data on bird mortality.

What do building owners get out of participating?
A Lights Out program leads to real energy savings, which translates directly to real cost savings. Participating buildings save birds, save money and save energy while reducing carbon emissions. Many buildings are also interested in certification through the LEED system — a “green” rating system for buildings, indicating Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Building owners, managers, employees and tenants also take pride in their participation in Lights Out. There is really no downside to Lights Out.