Electrical Contracting News (ECN) August 2017 | Page 33

LIGHTING
SPECIAL
FEATURE
WAKE UP TO SMART LIGHTING
Human centric lighting harnesses the power of natural daylight to improve
the well-being and performance of workers and students. Paul Jones,
sales director for UK and Ireland at BEG, explores its impact.
H
uman comfort is
affected by several
factors, including
a physical and
personal response to
thermal conditions.
Interestingly, there is
another, less obvious,
factor that can affect human comfort: The
visual of the room and its light intensity.
According to research, exposure to
natural daylight can increase productivity,
reduce stress and improve sleep and
circadian rhythms, thereby improving the
overall health and well-being of individuals
in the workplace. Exposure to natural
sunlight is also thought to increase the
brain’s release of the hormone serotonin,
which is associated with boosting mood and
helping a person feel calm and focused.
‘Smart
lighting
allows
facilities
managers to
maximise the
comfort and
performance
of employees
down to a
task by task
basis.’
To understand why this is the case,
we need to look at a discovery made by
scientists back in 2002. In addition to rods,
which provide our twilight vision, and
cones, which provide our colour vision,
they identifi ed a third light receptor. These
cells are both photosensitive, meaning
that they respond to light, but are also
non-visual; they only react to the ambient
brightness and regulate your body clock
as a result. Artifi cial lighting therefore
has a huge role to play in assisting the
body clock with determining what time of
day it is and ultimately in stabilising our
biological rhythms.
Human centric lighting
Human centric lighting, which draws on
these discoveries, currently has a lot of
buzz surrounding it, as manufacturers work
towards providing a number of solutions for
the public and private sectors.
In the UK, for example, we are noticing
a huge interest from facilities managers.
They have begun to explore smart lighting
as a means to maximise the use of natural
daylight to enhance the vision, well-being and
performance of employees in the workplace.
In learning spaces particularly,
there is also evidence that being able
to programme in or control a lighting
scheme instantly impacts the classroom
environment. This means human centric
lighting is very relevant for the education
sector too, for use in schools, colleges
and universities. For example, exposure to
bright natural light in the morning reduces
sleepiness and increases alertness.
Alternatively, having the ability to dim the
lighting in a learning space will create a
more calming atmosphere.
Tuneable white
BEG’s wellness
multi-sensor
controls lighting
based on time,
presence and
circadian rhythm.
At BEG, we believe we are the fi rst in the
industry to develop a wellness multi-
sensor that controls lighting based on
time, presence and circadian rhythm with
its ‘tuneable white function.’ It works by
adjusting the colour temperature over a 24-
hour period, from warm white to daylight
white, and the illumination intensity from
500 to 1,500 lux.
The dimming of individual lights is
continuous and harmonious, so the change
is not directly visible. This signifi cantly
improves the quality of the artifi cial light,
mimicking daylight and improving well-
being and health. Energy consum ption is
also optimised.
August 2017 | 33