Circadian Lighting System
As we spend more time indoors under artificial light, the more our natural rhythms are negatively impacted. Circadian lighting systems also commonly referred to as ‘human-centric lighting’ or ‘tunable lighting’ can match the natural patterns of daylight and help our bodies get back in sync with the benefits of daylight.
Contact Transworld Electric and experience the many benefits of circadian lighting. Our professionals can help design and implement a circadian lighting system that will improve the health and well-being within your facility. Circadian lighting is an ideal solution for offices, education, hospitality, healthcare facilities and a variety of other settings.
What are the benefits of circadian lighting?
Circadian lighting systems are designed with the intention to help promote better health, productivity, and happiness. The goal of circadian lighting is to provide sufficient light signals to the brain to help reinforce the natural light/dark signals we would receive from the sun if we spent more time outdoors.
For many people, their only exposure to light during the day is artificial lighting whether it be in the workplace, classrooms, home, or healthcare setting. These lighting conditions allow us to see and perform everyday tasks, but research has shown that they are insufficient at providing the daytime circadian light signals that our bodies need to thrive. Exposure to this type of low-quality light can have long-term adverse effects like fatigue, low mood, lack of concentration, and poor sleep. This is not only important during the day but also at night. Many people spend their evenings under the same harsh lighting conditions we had during the day and this can cause poor sleep.
Another benefit of circadian lighting is increased productivity in the workplace. Many businesses are investing in circadian lighting to design a workplace that promotes happier, more energized workers, leading to an increase in accuracy, efficiency, and productivity.
How is circadian lighting implemented?
There are three approaches to implementing a circadian lighting system: intensity tuning, color tuning, and stimulus tuning. These can be accomplished with a combination of LED lights and electronic controls that normally pay for themselves in less than 5 years.
- Intensity Tuning: This is the most cost effective and familiar circadian lighting solution used. It involved fixtures that maintain a fixed correlated color temperature (CCT) while the intensity (brightness) of the fixture is adjusted through a controlled dimmer system to correlate with the time of day. This means the light fixtures would be a lower intensity in the morning, rise throughout the day and then transition back to lower intensity into the evening.
- Color Tuning: Color tuning involves changing the light intensity and correlated color temperature (CCT) to mimic the daytime/nighttime cycle. We experience cooler color temperatures when the sun is highest in the sky and people are typically most alert during the day. This is why cooler CCTs are used in many work spaces during daytime hours to promote alertness and attention. In contrast, warmer color temperatures represent daylight hours when the sun is rising and setting and when people are falling asleep or waking up.
- Stimulus Tuning: This involves replacing the “bad blue” with “good blue” light wavelengths. Stimulus tuning light fixtures can be programmed to reduce blue light wavelengths during the evening/nighttime hours to limit melatonin suppression without changing the CCT. Similar to color tuning, it works best when paired with intensity tuning.
