Editing Lighthouse (section)

===Modern lighthouses===
The introduction of electrification and [[automatic lamp changer]]s began to make [[lighthouse keeper]]s obsolete. For many years, lighthouses still had keepers, partly because lighthouse keepers could serve as a [[emergency service|rescue service]], if necessary. Improvements in maritime navigation and safety, such [[Global Positioning System]] (GPS), led to the phasing out of non-automated lighthouses across the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/history/maritime/keep/keep19th.htm|title=Maritime Heritage Program - National Park Service|access-date=6 April 2017}}</ref> Although several closed due to safety concerns, Canada still maintains 49 staffed lighthouses, split roughly evenly across east and west coasts.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Fisheries and Oceans Canada |date=2017-09-08 |title=Lighthouses in Canada |url=https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/otw-am/lighthouses-phares/canada-eng.html |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fogwhistle.ca/bclights|title=Lighthouses of British Columbia|access-date=3 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111103070010/http://www.fogwhistle.ca/bclights/|archive-date=3 November 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=31 July 2024 |title=Staffing at 2 B.C. lighthouses to end following safety concerns |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/lighthouses-vancouver-island-coast-not-staffed-1.7281513 |access-date=13 November 2024 |work=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]]}}</ref>

The remaining modern lighthouses are usually illuminated by a single stationary flashing light powered by solar-charged batteries and mounted on a steel skeleton tower.<ref name="Crompton"/> Where the power requirement is too great for solar power alone, ''cycle charging'' of the battery by a Diesel generator is provided. The generator only comes into use when the battery needs charging, saving fuel and increasing periods between maintenance.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nicholson |first1=Christopher |title=Rock lighthouses of Britain: The end of an era? |date=2000 |publisher=Whittles |location=Caithness, Scotland |isbn=978-1870325417 |page=126}}</ref>