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Human-centric lighting doesn’t just look great, but it also serves a vital function. When installing new lights, the goal should be to go with adequate lux levels in mind instead of blaring lights that are enough to induce a headache.
Lights are used not only to illuminate but are increasingly being used to influence human mood, emotion, and even rest. For example, dim warm lights are often associated with a chill vibe that is perfect for relaxing.
On the other hand, if you are looking for maximum productivity, then you should go with plain white office lights with an average lux level of around 300 to 500 (more on this below).
Another way to derive maximum benefit from lights is to go with tunable white lights. These lights offer a higher level of versatility since you can manually choose the coolness or temperature of the light and can work in various situations.
However, they also warrant some consideration in tasks that require very detailed work or in areas that require lighting that is optimised for efficiency.
Read on to learn more about human-centric lighting that focuses on circadian rhythms, the benefits of tunable white lights, and more:
Light is a godsend for mankind. It not only enables humans to see but also to interact with the world. As technology has progressed, we have increasingly invested in technologies that not only enable better lighting but also improve mood.
Studies have shown that proper lighting has a direct influence on employee mood, perception, and performance, and is crucial for workplace productivity.
When lighting is inadequate, it can turn into a safety hazard and can also put a lot of strain on the eyes, which can lead to haziness, headaches, fatigue, and accidents. Not to mention, poor lighting can also result in a deteriorating quality of work and loss of productivity.
LED office lighting also helps regulate circadian rhythms, which are an internal bodily process regulating our sleep-wake cycle.
Circadian lighting plays a huge role in employee productivity and health, and modern LEDs are designed to match these rhythms to boost mood and productivity.
There are several types of circadian lighting systems on the market. True circadian lighting sometimes uses two primary channels. For example, enriched blue and multiple white channels are often used in tunable whites and circadian lighting. These lights are based on a wide gamut (RGBTW) and can better mimic natural sunlight and non-visual spectral needs like infrared light.
In simple terms, tunable white fixtures can change their correlated colour temperature from warm (Low K) to cool (high K) using an intuitive dashboard available on mobile and desktop applications.
Here are some of the primary benefits of tunable whites:
Tunable white mimics subtle daylight changes and can change throughout the day. They use cooler, blue-enriched light during the day and warmer, low-blue in the evening.
Blue light is often seen as a problem in the modern world. Every monitor and lighting system emits blue light, which has been shown to mess with our natural circadian rhythm. This is why we often see several manufacturers use blue light filters and even software tools to control the emission of blue light, especially at night.
However, blue light is also necessary to function during the day because it signals the brain to stay awake and alert. This is why blue-enriched lights are commonly used in office spaces during the day.
Tunable whites are versatile and can be tuned to any type of situation. For example, in commercial offices, tunable whites are frequently used with a timer function that adjusts the blue light concentration according to the time of day.
The use of tunable whites has been shown to raise energy levels, alertness, and even reduce unscheduled absenteeism in the corporate world.
In schools, tunable white light may be able to help students focus better by adjusting colour temperatures. Using this strategy has the potential to help students pay attention during lessons and even help with relaxation when appropriate.
One of the side benefits of installing tunable whites is that these systems allow for a wide range of control. You can personalise these lights to fit your mood, and you can even set presets that are personalised to your needs.
For example, if you need to relax, you can set the lights to adjust to a warmer output with a single press of a button.
This makes tunable whites great for adding aesthetics to any room as well. Not to mention, you can also adjust the brightness of the lights to be more cost-effective. For instance, the lights can be set to function at 20 to 50% during the day and go up to 70 to 100% during the evening.
Here are some of the situations where tunable whites may not be beneficial:
Tunable whites come in many forms; however, to achieve true circadian lighting conditions, you need to go with tunable whites with a two-channel output. Tunable whites need to output a warm and cool temperature for them to be able to mimic daylight shifts.
However, since these lights rely on an artificial mixture, they might not be fully effective at mimicking natural light.
Tunable whites may be a bit more energy-intensive depending on the setting you are using them in. For example, when tuning the lights for circadian performance, the lights may require slightly higher energy levels.
Even though the bump in energy is small, over time and with enough lights, this difference can become pronounced. The good news is that modern tunable whites are continuously being developed to be more energy-friendly, and users may even be able to tweak their output for even more energy benefits.
The complexity of setting tunable whites can be challenging for people who don’t know much about tweaking light systems for maximum performance. These lights often use a smart mobile application that has various complex controls.
If you don’t know what you are doing, you can end up with little benefit and perhaps even higher energy costs. This is why it is important that you opt for professional installation companies like Calder Electrical, which use industry standards to set the right lighting schedules and patterns to help you get the most out of your investment.
Here are some important tips to help you get the most out of tunable white benefits:
When lighting commercial or residential spaces, it is important to understand the individual lux requirements of your property. Some spaces don’t require as much lighting during the day due to the presence of windows that can provide natural light.
Brightness settings are important because they help derive maximum benefit from tunable whites. If you set the lights to maximum brightness, then you can end up creating glare, which can result in headaches and fatigue.
Too little light can also result in eye strain and tiredness, which is why these lights need to be tuned in a way that helps them illuminate your workspace and provide maximum circadian performance.
A professional installer will usually start by assessing the property using a lux meter. This device detects ambient light and the level of light present inside a room. The benefit of using a lux meter is to use just enough lights to match the lux requirement of your property.
In many cases, office spaces require a lux level of up to 500, while schools and basic work areas can get along with up to 150 to 300 lux. By conducting a lux audit, you can have just enough light to provide benefits without being overbearing or energy intensive.
LED lights are a great option for office spaces, and many manufacturers also use LEDs for tunable whites. These LED lights are highly efficient, take less energy, and can be tuned according to your needs.
While LED tunable whites have a slightly higher initial cost, they make up for it in the long run, and you can even get back your investment within 6 months, provided that you use the lights in a way that maximises savings.
The colour of a light is measured in Kelvins and is an important factor when considering human-centric lighting.
As mentioned above, the temperature of the light can have a direct influence on your mood, performance, and fatigue. A bright white light may provide adequate lux levels, but over time, it can also cause fatigue and negative psychological effects.
This is why many modern office spaces are opting for warmer lights during the evening. However, the nature of the work being conducted at the property will ultimately decide the right colour temperature.
For example, workshops that require detailed work will benefit the most from a white light with a lux level of around 500, while a simple workspace could get by with a 300-lux warm light.
Keep in mind that anything below 3500K is too warm and anything above 5500K is too blue. Therefore, the sweet spot for the best LED office lighting lies somewhere between 3500K and 5500K.
Warm light is similar to the red light that occurs naturally at the end of the day, which triggers the release of melatonin, which causes one to relax, unwind, and become sleepy. This type of light could be great for the end of the day and can signal employees to relax after a hard day of work.
On the other hand, using warm light during the day can be counterintuitive, which is why you will need to schedule the tunable whites to adapt to your office environment and natural circadian rhythms.
Modern workspaces are moving towards a combination of natural and artificial lights. Natural light is generated by the sun and is best for performance and mood during the day. This is why modern office designs use large open windows to bring in natural light for natural illumination.
A great way to optimise and manage natural vs artificial light is by using sensor technology. Daylight sensors and Infrared Sensors (PIR) are great for maintaining a proper balance in commercial and even residential settings.
Daylight sensors are strategically placed around a space to calculate the amount of ambient sunlight coming in from the outside. The system then relays the information to the lighting system and adjusts the brightness and temperature accordingly.
Using daylight sensors is an excellent way to ensure that you get the best of both worlds and save money on your energy bill as well. On the other hand, during nighttime, you can rely on PIR sensors.
These sensors detect movement using infrared technology and can turn the lights on in a particular zone if someone steps in. The benefit of this technology is immense, especially in large office spaces and warehouses.
Not only do you save energy by lighting only the areas that are occupied, but you can also set how the sensors work. For example, you can set a delay timer on the sensors so that they remain turned on for a bit if there is no movement. This is useful in warehouses where forklifts may take pauses when working near shelves or the loading bay.
Ultimately, you will need to design your property in a way it leverages both sunlight and artificial light. Sunlight helps your body produce vitamin D, which isn’t just great for your bone health but also extremely beneficial for mood swings and depression that may cause low productivity at work.
By combining the use of tunable whites and natural light, you can potentially improve productivity and mood and sync the lights to natural circadian rhythms.
Office lighting has a direct effect on employee performance and productivity, making it an important aspect when designing an efficient workspace.
Efficient office lighting not just boosts mood and morale but is also a great way to reduce your energy consumption to save money on your bills and reduce your carbon footprint.
We, at Calder Electrical, provide an easy and effective way of achieving all this by both upgrading to and installing new LED lighting in your homes and offices.
We can offer fittings with 3 to 5+ year warranties that will not only reduce energy costs but also make your offices brighter. We can also provide a forecasted energy calculation so you can see what your energy bills and savings will look like.
We can survey your office space and create a lighting design to see if we can not only reduce the number of light fittings but also make the area reach a lighting level suitable for use.
We can also incorporate motion detectors so that lighting in areas that are low usage is only switched on when someone enters them.
We can give you an energy calculation to show your current lighting costs and the estimated costs by upgrading to LED lighting, so that you can see how much you will save, normally aiming for a 40% saving.
If you are undertaking a new installation, we can help you create a lighting design suitable for the office layout and intended usage.
We provide a high and efficient level of LED installation services guaranteed to meet the current wiring regulations BS7671.
Contact us here or call us on 0800 612 3001 to talk to our LED lighting experts right away!
