Pivotal Experts Reveal Lighting Design Strategies for Cultivating Healthier Spaces
A neonatal intensive care unit with a fully indirect circadian lighting system designed to minimize glare.
Lighting is crucial in designing and maintaining healthy buildings, as it can directly affect our well-being. Without light cues, the circadian system can fall out of sync. Too much light at night or insufficient light during the day can disrupt the body’s natural cycles.
Circadian lighting, and biologically effective lighting more broadly, is an exciting frontier in the design industry that focuses on creating lighting conditions that help regulate our physiological and psychological responses. Incorporating design elements that positively impact circadian rhythms has immense potential to improve occupants’ quality of life.
In their article for EC&M, Pivotal Lighting Design’s Grant Kightlinger and Lauri Tredinnick explore principles and strategies for circadian-effective lighting design, along with practical considerations for real-world implementation. Best outcomes in circadian-effective lighting often depend upon:
A laboratory space with minimal access to daylight may be a good candidate for active circadian entrainment lighting.
Selectively controlling lighting characteristics like timing, duration, exposure, and spectrum to develop a lighting
Choosing an approach that effectively supports the body’s alignment to a healthy day/night cycle, such as avoiding disruption and active entrainment.
Understanding the space and occupants' behavior, including occupant schedules and positions, vertical planes, and surface finishes.
Knowing project goals, objectives, and constraints before committing to a circadian-effective lighting strategy. This includes understanding technical requirements, scope of the application, team capabilities, and budget.
As we refine our approaches, it becomes increasingly feasible to incorporate lighting solutions that enhance our spaces’ aesthetics and promote healthier living and working environments.