Under the Building Safety Bill, there is an obligation to make residents and visitors to buildings regain their trust in the landlords’ measures to improve safety. This means creating environments that deter crime and improve residents' overall feeling of safety every day, not just in an emergency situation.

According to a major US study carried out in a public housing area, when you eliminate dark corners, pathways and corridors, not only does it feel safer, but it has been proven to reduce criminal activity.

Specifically, at night there was a 39% reduction in index crimes — a subset of serious offenses that includes murder, robbery, and aggravated assault, as well as certain property crimes.

“A major study finds better lighting leads to 39% reduction in index crime.”

But how do you reconcile the need to save energy and costs, with the need to provide safer light levels for residents?

Instead of turning lights off, it is now possible to install very low energy lighting which can be programmed to provide different light levels during the dark hours at entrance doors and lobbies. These lights are permanently monitored and tested to ensure they cannot be disabled, and will not cause unwanted light pollution.

Commulite lighting offers the opportunity to have superior light levels that are fully controllable and programmable. By switching to Commulite, having full light levels means you don’t have to compromise on your budget or your emissions. When combined with a solar PV system and a Tesla battery, Commulite lighting is net carbon zero.

With a Commulite system, every luminaire is also an emergency light, meaning that in an emergency situation there are still no dark corners. It eliminates interpretation of what ‘safe’ light levels are because their light levels are fully programmable and never compromised by having minimal functioning luminaires in an emergency.

Up front Commulite is not the cheapest option on the market, but will provide high quality, long term energy and cost savings, typical payback in under 3 years (with zero maintenance) and the ultimate safety solution for all residents. Commulite has been selected by various London Boroughs as their first choice for communal and emergency lighting, with over 65 blocks now installed in one borough alone.