What time do streetlights go out? What to do at home

What time do streetlights go out?

There is no national schedule: the switching off of public lighting is decided municipality by municipality, most often with a switch-off in the middle of the night followed by a switch-on before dawn. Ask your town hall for the exact schedule for your street, then decide on the additional light that will take over in your home.

What time do streetlights go out?

No single time applies: each municipal council votes its own schedule, with a switch-off in the middle of the night and a switch-on before dawn. Your town hall is the only contact who knows the schedule applied in your street, since it is the one who set it.

Switch-on and switch-off times: who decides in your municipality?

The municipal council votes on the switch-off, then the network operator programs it into a timer. Four parties share the decision.

• The municipal council deliberates on the length of the switch-off and on the streets concerned.
• The departmental energy syndicate operates the network and updates the timers.
• The astronomical clock resets the switch-on to sunset, which shifts everything from one season to the next.
• The exceptions keep the light on around stations, schools and junctions deemed sensitive.

What no one can experience for you is the evening that follows the switch-off. Choosing an additional light without looking at the room it lights always leads to the same result: a bright point in a dark room. Our room-by-room lighting advice starts from height and use, not from style. If you want to compare practices from one town to another, the 2025 streetlight switch-off gathers the most common cases.

List of municipalities that switch off: how to check for your street?

Three channels give the answer, from the fastest to the most precise.

• The town hall website often publishes the public lighting schedule in its works or by-laws section.
• The departmental energy syndicate keeps a map of the municipalities that switch off.
• The technical department gives the exact time for your street over the phone.

Note the length of the switch-off, not just the start time: two hours and six hours of darkness do not require the same organisation in the evening.

Why is public lighting switched off at night?

Three reasons come up in almost every deliberation: the energy bill, nocturnal biodiversity and residents' sleep. Traffic thins out after a certain hour, which makes the switch-off acceptable for the municipalities that voted for it.

Is it possible to switch off public lighting in the middle of the night?

Yes, and many municipalities already do so, rarely completely.

• Full switch-off cuts a neighbourhood for several hours at a time.
• Power dimming reduces the intensity without switching off, and the street furniture stays visible.
• On-demand lighting relies on a motion sensor, common on pedestrian paths.
• Return at the end of the night switches back on before the first commutes.

Motion sensors are not reserved for public roads: outdoor lighting with a sensor can also be installed at home and only comes on when someone arrives.

What the switch-off changes in your street, concretely

The night becomes truly dark again, and the eye adjusts within a few minutes.

• The urban glow recedes, and the stars come out above the rooftops.
• Nocturnal wildlife resumes its movements, insects and bats first.
• The feeling of safety varies greatly from one street to another and from one resident to another.
• Your facade becomes the most visible source in the neighbourhood, which shifts the nuisance to your home.

A badly aimed spotlight is immediately noticeable from the neighbouring garden: aim towards the ground, never towards the horizon.

The street goes dark, the home takes over

When the street lighting goes out, the light that remains is the one you have chosen. An entrance, a landing, a corner of the living room: three low sources are enough to find your bearings without switching on the whole floor.

How much light to compensate for a dark street?

Count the light per circulation area, not per whole room.

• 300 lm mark a path or an outdoor staircase.
• 800 lm light an entrance where you look for your keys.
• 1,500 lm are justified for a reading corner, with a directed beam.
• Dimming lets you lower the intensity once seated rather than switching off.

Before choosing a model, the useful LED power outdoors explains why lumens matter more than the watts printed on the box.

Warm or cool light after 10 pm?

Warm, without hesitation: 2200 K to 2700 K for anything left on late.

• 2200 K mimics candlelight and is less tiring for the eye late in the evening.
• 2700 K remains readable for cooking or working, in a straw-like hue.
• 4000 K and above keep you awake, which does not help you fall asleep.
• An E27 or E14 base accepts most dimmable bulbs.

The choice sometimes comes down to five hundred kelvins: white or yellow light details what each temperature changes in a room.

Our bohemian floor lamp collection has 56 references as of 30 September 2026, many of them models to place near an armchair. Floor lamps serve the same function in a tall version, with an adjustable glow that does not strain the eye when the street is dark.

Should you light your own home when public lighting goes out?

Yes, as soon as the switch-off happens before you get home or before the last outing of the evening. A well-placed additional light uses little power and prevents you from fumbling against a low wall.

IP20, IP44, IP65: why an indoor lamp does not go outside

The protection rating says where a light fitting can live, not how sturdy it is.

On a survey of 53 listings from our bohemian floor lamp collection, carried out on 30 September 2026, 100% declare an IP20 rating. None of these references is therefore intended for an exposed balcony, nor for staying outside on a summer night. For outdoors, a wall-mounted outdoor floor lamp plays the role without risk. The selection is also commented on by buyers, and the Google listing for the business lets you check reviews in one click.

Solar, wired or rechargeable: what to choose for your facade?

Solar avoids all cables, wired does not depend on the sky, rechargeable follows your movements.

An outdoor solar lamp can be installed without touching the electrical panel, provided you accept a reserve that runs out as soon as the days get shorter. Wired keeps the same intensity twelve months a year, but requires a power supply nearby. Between the two, rechargeable floor lamps move from the terrace to the living room without visible cables.

A facade and a balcony do not require the same treatment, and lighting a terrace, garden and balcony always starts from the real surfaces. If your terrace has never been designed for the night, having the lighting of a terrace rethought avoids stacking three competing sources.

Nothing replaces a look at your facade before buying. If your street goes dark early and you are hesitating between wired, solar and a table lamp, you can describe your setup to us: our team replies from the contact page.