SHOP LIGHTING

Evening Post, Volume CXXXI, Issue 125, 29 May 1941, Page 10

SHOP LIGHTING

MUCH TO BE DONE

SOME MAKE NO EFFORT

LATE NIGHT PROBLEM

It was apparent from a walk through Wellington early last evening that many shop managements have misunderstood the directions repeatedly given them by formal notice and otherwise about reducing shop window lighting. Friday night is the late shopping night and there is every probability of trouble unless those who have so far made no effort and others who have made half-way efforts put in a few busy hours. There appear."? to be some musuuderi standing about the wattage and candle-power of globes to be used. The directions said that. 5 watts per foot run of window frontage were permitted and. further, that, no matter | what the frontage, no lamp larger I than CO watts must be used. In a lot lof shops arithmetic has become badly tangled, t-o that 5 watts becomes 50 and 60 walls goes as high as 200 watts. The Lighting Controller, as an engineer, I has a sound understanding of arith[metic, and will not tolerate continued misunderstanding. ■ The plain fact is that some shop people have either not made any attempt to comply with the regulations and others have stretched the rules beyond anything they can get away with tomorrow night. On the other hand, some have made a full effort to comply with the directions and. for the time being only, their displays suffer by comparison. SOME SHOPS DIFFICULT. j It is admitted by the authorities that I some shop, frontages are difficult to deal with. Milk bars, for instance, rely upon intense illumination inside, and many are open to the street, so that even though the window frontage lighting may be properly screened and I reduced there i-emains the big spill I through the doorway. The regulations apply to this just as to window light-*' ing. and the owner has either to turn out a number of the interior lights or he must place a screen or hanging so that the light falling outside does not exceed the standard set. Some shops, particularly fruiterers, rely largely on under-verandah angle reflectors, or merely high wattage bare lamps to light the display. Sucn exterior window lighting must be disconnected, or switched off at sunset under penalty of disconnection. LIGHTS FROM OFFICE BLOCKS. Shopkeepers are asking why the concentration upon their lights—in further Karori as well as in central Willis Street—while office blocks may be lit from ground to sixth floor. The controlling authorities have not passed office blocks over as of no importance,