It’s no secret that our health, mood, and wellness are largely affected by the lighting design of interior spaces. In order to exploit the benefits of good interior lighting design, architects and lighting designers are coming up with new lighting technologies, with one of the most recent ones being HCL – human-centric lighting. As its name suggests, human-centric lighting design focuses on establishing a connection between humans and their surroundings in such a way that it attunes to their preferences and activities, promoting comfort and improving their overall well-being. In this article, we will be looking at the holistic approach to lighting design, different design elements that it entails, as well as the ways in which implementing such lighting design, makes workplaces more human-centric.
Lighting and circadian rhythm
All humans possess a biological built-in clock called the circadian rhythm – it regulates our sleep-wake cycle and it’s a natural process that repeats every day. It is also a process that is mainly regulated by light and darkness that the organism is exposed to (among other environmental signals) and is responsible for keeping us awake and alert during the day and making us fall asleep at night. As such, the circadian rhythm plays a crucial role in the development of human-centric lighting design which needs to be created in a way that supports the building’s occupants’ circadian rhythms. While there are certain factors that are known to improve mood and productivity levels of workers, further research is needed. Some of those factors include the quality of electrical lighting in the workspaces, its quantity, optimal illumination of work areas as well as the overall exposure to natural light.
Human-centric lighting as a connection to the outdoors
A holistic approach to lighting design focuses on supporting wellness and ensuring a positive working environment through the use of lighting systems that possess natural light characteristics such as LED lighting systems. Such systems are of great importance for workplaces where there’s a need for optimal visual comfort and visibility regardless of the time of day or shift. From hangars and manufacturing halls to warehouses and cold stores, different interiors can benefit from the addition of high-quality LED lighting, especially workplaces where the emphasis is placed on safety and efficiency. Aside from providing the employees with a healthier work environment, there’s another reason why LED Industrial floodlights are finding their application in many aforementioned workplaces – energy efficiency. Since they require less energy to operate, LED industrial lighting systems to ensure energy efficiency and energy savings while also serving as a connection to the outdoors due to their ability to mimic natural sunlight’s intensity and hue. Not only does such human-centric lighting ensure employees’ wellness, but it can also help maintain environmental well-being.
HCL systems for improved user control
Another way holistic lighting design is making workplaces more human-centric is by improving user control. Nowadays, more LED light sources are used precisely because of their adjustability. They allow the users to control the amount of light that is coming from those light sources by relying on dimming options while also enabling them to change the light’s color temperature by using color-tunable LED boards. With all the different options they are being offered, users are given a chance to adjust the lighting so that it accommodates their different uses of space throughout the day. Because of that, they may feel as if they’re more in control of their space, and since the lighting system is flexible and easy-to-use, there is a greater amount of comfort. Lighting designers are also coming up with lighting solutions for shared work environments so that they work for most occupants, which is another great example of human-centric design.
Achieving the optimum working environment through holistic lighting design
Workplace lighting design plays an important role in how motivated and productive employees may feel. It affects their behavior and determines their comfort levels, which is why employers need to pay special attention to providing their workspaces with proper illumination. A well-designed human-centric lighting system and positive office decor can optimize the working environment and make it warm and welcoming, which can be beneficial for employees in more than one way. Aside from making workspaces highly functional by providing the employees with optimal visual acuity, properly illuminated spaces also promote better sleep quality, they boost the workers’ productivity levels, and they result in minimal disruption of the circadian rhythm, thus maximizing employee performance. The ways for achieving this are numerous and include the basics of interior lighting design, such as the introduction of several layers of lighting as well as the use of vertical illumination as a way of enhancing visual interest.
As lighting design becomes more human-centric, more companies are seeking ways of implementing this new technology into their workplaces. While more research is needed for us to be able to realize just how much human-centric lighting affects our health and well-being, given the current evidence, we can expect more employers to start harnessing the power of holistic lighting design as a way of creating workplaces that are healthy, productive, and inspiring.