Commissioners of Irish Lights moves to extinguish the loom of the light

I was struck by that unlikely thing, an article about lighthouses in Ireland. I was mainly struck by just how much some people care, but also by some of the arcane terminology used.
An organization that delights in the name of the Commissioners of Irish Lights (which sounds like something out of a young adult fantasy novel) is responsible for the maintenance of all the lighthouses in Ireland, both North and South. Like most other lighthouse custodians across the world, they are in the process of converting their lights to environmentally-friendly and cost-saving LEDs. LED lamps typically use 30W compared to 1,000W for traditional lamps. They are also taking out the mercury used to rotate the heavy lenses and replacing it with mechanical bearings.
But not everyone is happy about it. There is vociferous opposition to a 21st century update to St. John's Point lighthouse in County Down, south of Belfast, a lighthouse that dates from 1839. Local people have resorted to roadblocks and have roped in a few celebrities in their protest against the changes, including Princess Anne and Van Morrison. Campaigners, from fishermen to politicians to local residents, are calling the Commissioners "philistines" for wanting to change the traditional ways.
Some say the quality of the harsh blue-white LED light is inferior, while some insist that LED does not allow for the "loom of the light" of incandescent lighting, a phenomenon whereby the light diffuses and spreads in the water droplets of the air, which allows a lighthouse to be seen even over the horizon.
The Commissioners admit that LED lights have a slightly smaller reach - 18 miles compared to 25 miles - but they insist that it still has a loom. Many lighthouse keepers just see this as the next inevitable step in a series of changes from candles to whale oil and paraffin lamps to electricity. Arguably, incandescent lamps have only been "traditional" for a relatively short time. One retired lighthouse keeper opined, "Out at sea, you will see the light, which is what matters". And surely he is right.