Page 72 - Lighting Magazine May 2018

worKspAcE lighting
“Employees using the desk lamps reported increased vitality, were feeling more energetic, more alert and awake, and were experiencing more energy in the a ernoon.”
circadian stimulus with daylight alone is di cult. “But daylight is a critical psychological and aes- thetic resource and can improve circadian health if designed with the indoor ‘eco-system’ in mind,” she said.
How can the circadian stimulus be improved in- doors? To nd out if the answer might be through arti cial lighting, the research team gave each participant a desktop lamp in a choice of white or blue light, depending on personal preference.
The desktop was the obvious choice, the re- searchers said, because that is where participants spent most of their work day, facing forward and concentrating on their computer screens. The desk lamps were to be on during the entire work day.
“We wanted something in place that could [en- ter] the retina, rather than hi ing the side of the eye or the top of the head,” Heerwagen explained. “Our study question was, ‘Can light delivered at the desktop enhance sleep quality, alertness, and sense of vitality?’ We positioned the light at eye level and had the same stimulus for white or blue light.”
The results surprised everyone. A er just two days, employees using the desk lamps reported in- creased vitality, were feeling more energetic, more alert and awake, and were experiencing more en- ergy in the a ernoon.
The project concluded that there needs to be more testing done so there can be consensus on the link between indoor light and health. Research- ers hope that their ndings will translate into
product design, interior design, and operational practices that take these factors into account. Among the goals is to “form a multi-disciplinary coalition of experts that can work with standards organizations to integrate health-promoting light- ing practices into existing standards.”
Dr. Larry Sadwick, Co-Founder and Chief Technology O cer for component and device developer InnoSys Inc. continued the discussion on personal workspace lighting, noting the impor- tance of bringing task lighting down to eye level.
“There are a lot of poor products out there that cause icker and glare,” Sadwick said, warning, “Just because [a product may be] LED, doesn’t mean it’s good.”
Another crucial element for good, e cient o ce lighting is to incorporate sensors that can detect motion, sound, occupancy, light, and spectral in- tensity. “Glare and icker are still major concerns,” Sadwick stated.
Most of the systems in commercial spaces have centralized controls (other than on/o / dim) or no controls for personalized lighting such as task lights. For maximum comfort, Sadwick recommended tunable light with at least two tem- perature choices. “The more channels, the be er, but the higher the cost,” he commented.
Sadwick recommended that task lighting in of- ces be exible and adaptable to each worker’s needs. “People are still individuals and one size lighting does not t all,” he warned. ” 
68 enLIGHTenment Magazine | May 2018
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