Focus: Lighting

The value of daylighting, even with LEDs

Even when LEDs mimic sunlight, expert see LEDs as complementary to — but not replacing — daylighting strategies


Daylighting’s positive effects on building performance and human health are well known. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Lighting Research Center (LRC) studies have reported on how daylit environments synchronizing human circadian rhythms with the solar day, according to an article from Building Operating Management on the FacilitiesNet website. 

In addition, daylighting can reduce electric lighting needs substantially.

On the other hand, the sun can sometimes be too bright and too warm, subjecting building occupants to glare and thermal stress. And sometimes the sun hides behind gray skies for days.

Today’s daylight LED (light-emitting diode) lamp marketers claim to offer the sun's benefits, using very few watts. In fact, visible-spectrum LEDs have come a long way since their invention in 1962. Using advanced controls, white-tunable LEDs can simulate sunrise, sunset, and the sun’s numerous variations throughout the day. Programming LEDs can even tailor applications to recreate artificial daylight that simulates an individual user’s geographic location.

Read the article.



December 9, 2019


Topic Area: Interior Design


Recent Posts

Mature Dry Surface Biofilm Presents a Problem for Candida Auris

Multiple methods are described in the literature, but no consensus has been reached for disinfection efficacy tests against biofilms.


Sutter Health's Arden Care Center Officially Opens

With an adaptive reuse of an underutilized office building, the 70,000 square-foot facility was renovated to meet current healthcare standards.


Insight Hospital and Medical Center Falls to Data Breach

The investigation determined that an unauthorized individual accessed the network between August 22, 2025, and September 11, 2025.


The High Cost of Healthcare Violence

As workplace violence increases, healthcare facilities face mounting financial and operational disruptions- prompting legislative action.


EVS Teams Can Improve Patient Experience in Emergency Departments

A report confirmed that cleanliness of the ED was the third most impactful element on patient experience surveys.


 
 


FREE Newsletter Signup Form

News & Updates | Webcast Alerts
Building Technologies | & More!

 
 
 


All fields are required. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.