At night the city is currently awash with bright lights, however, in a bid to save energy, London skyscrapers may be asked to switch off unnecessary building lights.
The initiative will “cut light pollution and save energy”, promised the City of London Corporation, the financial district governing body.
The energy saving proposal will be located within Square Mile – a 1.12 square mile zone in the centre of London. Its boundaries stretch all the way from the Temple to the Tower of London and from Chancery Lane to Liverpool Street.
If passed, the policy will be applied to new buildings automatically, which will have to adhere to a curfew. For older buildings, the curfew won’t be forced, but be highly recommended.
It is hoped that by introducing these measures will help the Square Mile become carbon neutral by 2040.
Skyscrapers use a lot more energy than regular buildings
Skyscrapers waste a lot of energy in keeping their lights on at night unnecessarily. High-rise buildings use two and a half times the electricity of low rises per square-metre. Lighting, large glass windows and air conditioning, are some of the reasons that these high rises are bigger polluters.
In 2020, an analysis was released showcasing the energy used overnight by buildings in Canary Wharf – the results showed that the electricity being unnecessarily used could power 4,000 homes per year.
With this new policy, however, it is hoped that skyscrapers will become more eco-friendly in the future.