So I hope we will keep this civilized, Don't start insulting one another or whatever, (people on this site are pretty good already for not doing that, but might aswell lay a warning down just in case) And I already know where a few of you stand, However I am curious of people opinions.

Here goes the question:

If given the choice, Would you choose white light sources (MH, Coated MV, Induction, LED, CFL, FL, XE, Halogens, Incan, etc, etc) For night time lighting, Or would you choose low CRI sources such as LPS,HPS or Clear MV?

Keep in mind various advantages and disadvantages of the two, Would like to keep it going by facts but I don't mind at the same time if people just prefer one or the other for looks.

My personal choice is Low CRI sources, Mostly because My eyes do not like full spectrum lighting for whatever reason when its night time, and most times I can pick details(other than colour information) out better under Low CRI light...

well... my personal preference is low CRI orange/amber/yellow light for outside for many reasons...

pros
-Proven not to disturb circadian rhythms of sleep
-less disturbing to wildlife
-More energy efficient (in the case of SOX especially)
-glare doesn't make you squint in pain because there is low or no blue light
-works well in foggy areas

cons
-some people think the light looks grungy

for inside warm white is nice.

Definitely orange light for night outdoors since there is far less glare for driving at night time, especially low pressure sodium lamps.

Clear MV for main street lighting. Coated MV for residential streets. Coated CMH for parks and similar, basically anywhere people bike or walk just for the sake of walking/biking. Clear CMH for parking lots such as stores and dealerships. Fluorescents in covered parking lots (or multi-story parking places) and tunnels. Incandescent/halogen for carports in houses if flying bugs aren't a problem.

HPS in industrial places like refineries and shipping ports. LPS for places near telescopes and hatching sea turtles. Or coated HPS for the back shed or recessed cans (do they make R30/40 in HPS?) over the covered porch just to be different from your neighbors (I'd overdrive it though for a boost in CRI like 70w on 100w or 100w on 150w.)

Clear HPS for high security prisons. Do the crime do the time.

Clear MV for main street lighting. Coated MV for residential streets. Coated CMH for parks and similar, basically anywhere people bike or walk just for the sake of walking/biking. Clear CMH for parking lots such as stores and dealerships. Fluorescents in covered parking lots (or multi-story parking places) and tunnels. Incandescent/halogen for carports in houses if flying bugs aren't a problem.

HPS in industrial places like refineries and shipping ports. LPS for places near telescopes and hatching sea turtles. Or coated HPS for the back shed or recessed cans (do they make R30/40 in HPS?) over the covered porch just to be different from your neighbors (I'd overdrive it though for a boost in CRI like 70w on 100w or 100w on 150w.)

Clear HPS for high security prisons. Do the crime do the time.

Nah... if you wanna torture the prisoners you gotta take away all the ability to see colour (if thats what you were going for) I think LPS would be better suited there...  

Nah... if you wanna torture the prisoners you gotta take away all the ability to see colour (if thats what you were going for) I think LPS would be better suited there...  

Last time I drove past a maximum security prison here, they actually used LPS, they have several advantages to other lighting technologies,

Being monochromatic they allow you to see the slightest movement so you get better visual acuity (perception of small details, like prisoners escaping)

They are single wavelength so there is less scatter in moisture laden air ( fog ) so there is no Halo's or haze, and better penetration. 

The same is true when it's raining and on wet ground you don't get the nasty reflections white light produces,

Because everything is uniform under monochromatic light depth perception is enhanced, which as mean as this sounds is better if you have the real potential to shot at something.

They also produce a glare-free back-lighting pattern so you don't have the tunnel of light effect, which makes searching for things harder at night, not all the officers have access to a FLIR so they don't want to be staring at bright white lights.

When they spotlight an escaping prisoner the color contrast sticks out directing officers to the location with ease.

IF the said escaping prisoner want's to hot wire some thing good luck telling the green wire apart from the blue wire from the brown wire or the red wire or the pink wire or the orange wire or the white wire, it does present an interesting issue if you don't have a white light.. 

And they also restart faster at full brightness after a short power interruption..

If prisoners don't like LPS lighting or it's color and effects at night, they do have an option, don't do the crime and won't do the time..   

4000K of cool white is the best for night lighting!, (but not blinding, just enough), I can`t say green, (even though its my favourite colour), as clear MV street lighting was slightly before my time I do remember the 3850K of MBF lamps though before we lost them in the early 80s.

Inside lighting - anything you want, as long as you're the one paying the electricity (or gas..!) bill.

Outside - depending on the road, MV, LPS or HPS. MV for small side streets, HPS for bigger streets, LPS for main roads and motorways.

Nah... if you wanna torture the prisoners you gotta take away all the ability to see colour (if thats what you were going for) I think LPS would be better suited there...  

I think that falls under "unusual and cruel punishments." The lawyers would have a field day. Hence the HPS. Nasty color but slightly better CRI. 

I think that falls under "unusual and cruel punishments." The lawyers would have a field day. Hence the HPS. Nasty color but slightly better CRI. 

WOuld not work on me lol, I'm one of the oddballs that like orange light! muahahaha

Non uniformity. No requirement of light type per application, i.e. same type of place could be lit in one place by MBIc and MBIq, another place by SON Super, a third by SOX and MB, and a fourth by Fluorescent

I say cool white (4100K) for fluorescent or LEDs. I’m not say put LEDs up because fluorescent would be less glare from the source vs LED

Why? Because cool white (IMO) is the right amount of both soft white and 6500K which puts out even light

Just saying CW

I definitely prefer orange light (i.e. HPS Light) at night.  Orange light produces less glare on dark roads where glare from oncoming headlights is already a problem.  Orange light does not disrupt melatonin production as much as a white light would, thus being more conducive to our natural sleep and wake cycles.  In outdoor areas, I've heard that bright white 5000K street lights can disrupt the sleep cycles of local wildlife.  

In indoor areas, I prefer the warm, golden glow of incandescent light in most lamps.  I really like soft pink light bulbs and the modified spectrum halogens for soft and relaxing lighting in my bedroom.  I only like bright white light for certain rooms like in the kitchen, garage, or laundry room.  In these places, I wouldn't mind daylight colored white LED's or non-modified spectrum halogens.

In general, I prefer warmer colored light from orange HPS or incandescents.

Inside lighting - anything you want, as long as you're the one paying the electricity (or gas..!) bill.

Outside - depending on the road, MV, LPS or HPS. MV for small side streets, HPS for bigger streets, LPS for main roads and motorways.

Absolutely, most of our indoor lighting is LED, apart from a 28W 2D in the bathroom and an 11W PL desk lamp in the bedroom, oh and the 'Lamp of the Day' which is a wonderful 35W SOX lamp sitting on the table in the living room.

Lighting outside should stick to the type of lighting best suited for the application, and that is not LED.!!!