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What is human centric lighting?
Nowadays there is an increasing amount of evidence
that lighting has a very large effect on people. It
doesn’t just help us see, it also stimulates us and
impacts how we feel and behave. Human centric
lighting (also known as HCL) refers to lighting that’s
centered around the human user and is a part of
human centric design. It focuses on the influence
lighthing has on the human circadian rhythm or
biological clock.
This 24 hour cycle of the sun influences who we
are, what we do and how we feel. HCL has the
power to adjust our circadian rhythm and influence
our motivation, well-being and productivity. Our
physical response to light depends on the different
characteristics of this light including color, intensity
and timing.
Since we are spending more and more time
indoors, artificial lighting is becoming of increasing
importance. HCL solutions can support our human
biological rhythm, improve concentration, prevent
sleeping disorders and improve our overall well-
being. Lighting doesn’t only help us ‘see’, it also
serves as a time reference for our internal biological
clock.
What are the possibilities?
Having the right lighting in the morning, with
adequate intensity and cyan enhanced light, can
help you get ready for the day ahead. In educational
and office spaces an active mind is of the utmost
importance for the best focus and concentration.
Brighter light can be used to regulate and influence
the circadian rhythm of employees and students and
to increase focus and alertness during important
meetings and tests with brighter light. During
relaxing times, events and meetings the lights can
be dimmed and have a warm color to create a calm
and relaxing environment. A semi-automatic control
system where parts of the daily cycle are automated
is the best option in these fields. For example in the
morning when you start up your day with warm light
that during the day gets colder and and brighter to
keep the attention. The system is also able to adjust
its own settings depending on the weather forecast
to facilitate the best possible conditions for the
optimal work environment.
What’s the future?
With the fast growing interest in HCL, it’s clear that
we are heading into a future where we simply expect
tunable light to be present in the spaces where we
spend most of our time. Especially for business
and institutional spaces, tunable lighting will be
incorporated at the start and designed carefully
around the organizational goals and the needs of its
participants.
Something that will add even more value to HCL,
is the ability to personalize the lighting so it suits
our different visual and task-specific needs. This
will be made as easy as possible with the use of a
smartphone app that is connected to the Sensor
Ready lighting infrastructure. Organizations can
automate the lighting cycle to achieve human and
energy advantages, as well as providing the users
more choice and flexibility. And that is exactly what
makes the HCL system really human-centric.
Smart lighting is rapidly becoming one of the large pilars in modern
buildings, cities and the Internet of Things. Human centric lighting
(HCL), a market estimated to reach $3.91 billion by 2024, is one of
the fastest growing parts of the smart lighting industry. Now that
tunable white light is defined as part of the Sensor Ready (SR)
standard, it won’t take long before HCL is ready to go mainstream.
