"Better, but still needs improvement."

That might be the line written home to London taxpayers if a report card were written on after-hours lighting at major public buildings here.

One year ago, on a cold winter night, The Free Press ran a spot audit of schools, city hall, libraries and other public buildings in London, checking to see how brightly lit they are long after their closing hours.

Some findings were eye-popping: Entire floors or rooms ablaze with light, in addition to outdoor lights for security.

In other cases, only modest lighting was used, a possible bow to the rising financial and environmental cost of electricity in a province that sometimes strains to meet demand.

This week, The Free Press went back to some of the same buildings, looking for what's changed during the last year.

The new audit came with a timely twist: Londoners are being asked by city hall to snap off any unneeded lights March 29 for one hour at 8 p.m., as the city joins in Earth Hour, a global event to dramatize the fallout of climate change.

But what about the other nights of the week, especially at public buildings in the city?

This week's audit of such sites revealed some -- especially the Central Library -- where lights shine, beacon-like, long after closing.

In some cases, it's a result of off-hour cleaning schedules and sensors that automatically light entire rooms or areas if a single person -- a janitor or security guard, for example -- happens to walk through.

In other cases, it's unclear why the lights are left on. Forgetfulness could be a reason.

At the library, just after midnight, the lights shone so bright, all three floors illuminated, that the outdoor street lighting seemed redundant.

Vast improvements were seen at some high schools, but the March break exodus of students -- with classes suspended for a week -- may have had something to do with that.

Custodial staff were seen working in dimmed conditions at the Thames Valley District school board office.

And contractors have been working around the clock, in a luminous building to repair water damage at the London District Catholic school board office, we were told.

Little had changed at the Middlesex County building, still illuminated by outdoor spotlights that gave strollers a dazzling view after midnight.

At city hall and the London Hydro office, the same moderate lighting as last year, mainly for security, was found this time around.

But will there ever be a night when public buildings will be completely in the dark?

Likely not, said Jay Stanford, the city's director of environmental services.

"How far can you push the situation and go as dark as you can before you push a safety issue?" he said, citing an example of a person stumbling and hurting themselves.

"It's an ongoing struggle to figure out where lights are valuable and where they are clearly not necessary and it's just habit that they're on."

More work can be done, Stanford said.

Simple steps, such as switching to motion sensor lights in washrooms as is done at city hall, can save electricity at buildings everywhere, he noted.

After all, he said, "these little things matter."

Regina Mundi College

Time: 11:59 p.m.

Lighting: Classrooms dark. Entrance so dark, hard to find.

Explanation: Lights-off policy.

Time: 11:32 p.m.

Lighting: Quite dark, save outdoor lighting. Front entrance and towering cross lit. Front foyer dimly lit. One fluorescent light in gym.

Explanation: Exterior lighting for security. Minimal lighting needed inside, also for security.

Mother Teresa secondary school

Time: 1:17 a.m.

Lighting: Lights visible half-kilometre away. Staircases, three-storey foyer brightly lit; gym at back lit.

Explanation: Partly for security, since nearby area not well lit.

Time: 12:45 a.m.

Lighting: Quite dark, except for outdoor lighting. Minimal lighting in stairwells and foyers. Greenhouse with many plants on top floor brightly lit.

Explanation: For security, to deter vandals. Greenhouse lit to ensure plants survive.

St. Thomas Aquinas secondary school

Time: 12:42 a.m.

Lighting: Staircases, entrances, halls, lit up at front and back. Atrium lit, most classroom lights off.

Explanation: Security crews inside.

Time: 1:17 a.m.

Lighting: Atrium and most classrooms dark. Two-storey stairwells lit. Foyer by gym dimly lit, pop machines visible from outside. Receiving wing by student parking lot brightly lit. Several halls dimly lit.

Explanation: Outward-facing rooms need more security lighting. Mechanical upgrades in the school, contractors may have left some lights on.

London District Catholic school board office

Time: 12:07 a.m.

Lighting: Foyer, some offices lit. Lunchroom so well lit, floral table centerpieces visible. Some halls lit.

Explanation: Cleaning crews, lunchroom lights on motion sensor.

Time: 11:41 p.m.

Lighting: Foyer, some offices dimly lit. Lunchroom so well lit, pop machine visible from across room. Stairwells and some halls lit.

Explanation: Contractors working around clock to repair water damage. Cafeteria, other areas lit for security.

London Hydro head office

Time: 2:47 a.m.

Lighting: Sign brightly lit; second-floor hall lights on, but dim; some overhead lights on; some fluorescent and other tiny round bulbs on.

Explanation: Conscious of turning off lights, including cleaning crews.

Time: 12:03 a.m.

Lighting: No visible changes from previous year.

Explanation: Same lighting justifications as last year.

London Central Library

Time: 2:55 a.m.

Lighting: All three floors lit from side facing Wellington Street, two from Dundas Street side. Can see past two people washing windows in front, to mall connected to the library. Lighting so bright it illuminates outdoor reading area.

Explanation: All lights on 30-minute sensors for cleaners/window washers. Other lights for security.

Time: 12:07 a.m.

Lighting: Most rooms on all three floors lit from side facing Wellington. All floors entirely lit from Dundas side.

Explanation: Cleaners working. Lights turn off automatically and sporadically as cleaners move through floors.

Middlesex County building

Time: 2:42 a.m.

Lighting: Bright outdoor spotlights to emphasize architecture; minimal (no more than four) indoor lights on.

Explanation: No policy, just common sense to turn off lights as staff leave.

Time: 12:12 a.m.

Lighting: No changes to exterior. Front foyer and a first-floor room dimly lit. Several bright lights left on third floor.

Explanation: Outdoor and some indoor lighting needed for security. Tenant working upstairs.

London City Hall

Time: 2:36 a.m.

Lighting: Quite dark. Dim foyer lights for security; about nine office lights on elsewhere. Third-floor office above mayor's very bright, with five overhead lights burning.

Explanation: Lights-off policy, no explanation why other lights on. Possibly cleaning crews at work.

Time: 1:46 a.m.

Lighting: Several lights burning on fourth floor, seen from Wellington Street. Front foyer lit as normal, for security. Third-floor office above mayor's brightly lit. Several offices from fifth to ninth floors dimly lit.

Explanation: Lights-out policy except for minimal use in some areas for security and safety. Cleaning crews. Renovations on fifth floor.

H.B. Beal secondary school

Time: 2:19 a.m.

Lighting: Top-floor classroom beaming light; some on second floor lit. On south side, four-storey atrium lit all the way up. Can see in halls.

Explanation: Cleaners possibly at work or someone forgot to turn off lights in classrooms, as policy requires. Atrium is the main staircase for cleaning crews to use.

Time: 12:21 a.m.

Lighting: Top-floor classroom beaming. Four-storey atrium fully, but dimly lit. Gym also dimly lit. Lights on in front foyer on Dundas Street.

Explanation: Foyer areas, atrium staircase and possibly the gym lit for security. Unknown why top-floor lights on.

A.B. Lucas secondary school

Time: 1:26 a.m.

Lighting: It's well after 1 a.m., but it looks more like 1 p.m. inside. One hall on top and bottom floors fully lit; seven double windows of classrooms lit; cafeteria slightly lit.

Explanation: Cleaning crews.

Time: 12:57 a.m.

Lighting: A second-storey classroom dimly lit. A two-storey staircase brightly lit. Otherwise completely dark, except for outdoor lighting.

Explanation: Security lighting needed in stairwells and outdoors. No explanation why classroom still lit.

Oakridge secondary school

Time: 12:53 a.m.

Lighting: Most halls and second-floor computer lab fully lit, so well could count lockers and read wall signs, including "Home of the Oaks."

Explanation: Cleaners start at 12 a.m.

Time: 1:30 a.m.

Lighting: So dark, photograph couldn't be taken without a flash. Front foyer dimly lit.

Explanation: Some lighting needed in foyer for security.

Thames Valley District school board office

Time: 1:51 a.m.

Lighting: Quite dark, especially in front; dimly lit foyer and hall. Three-storey staircase lit up. Top-floor lights on, but dim, in many halls.

Explanation: Lights-off policy.

Time: 12:35 a.m.

Lighting: A couple of offices in the back lit. Several foyers and most staircases lit. Custodian seen mopping foyer floor.

Explanation: Lights on for security and safety, especially when cleaning crews present.