In the ever-evolving lighting industry, Alloy LED strives to stay at the forefront of innovation by recognizing and embracing trends that cater to the needs of our users. One such trend is human-centric lighting (HCL), which has gained prominence due to its numerous benefits and alignment with sustainability, cost-effectiveness, and overall well-being.
What is Human-Centric Lighting (HCL)?
At its most basic, human-centric lighting, or HCL, is designed to mimic natural light patterns as closely as possible. The end goal is to improve the well-being and comfort of the people in a space.
Natural light is a complex mix of different colors and intensities, and it changes throughout the day and across the seasons. HCL attempts to replicate this natural variation, using dynamic lighting systems that can adjust the color and intensity of light throughout the day.
What are Some of the Benefits of Human-Centric Lighting?
Regulate Our Natural Body Clock
HCL can help to regulate the body’s circadian rhythms, which are our internal biological clocks that govern sleep and wakefulness. When we are exposed to bright, blue-rich lighting during the day, it can help us feel more alert and awake. This can lead to an increase in overall daily productivity in workplaces, schools, and other settings where people need to stay alert and focused for extended periods. Conversely, when we are exposed to warmer, more amber-hued light in the evening, it can help us wind down, prepare for sleep, and improve sleep quality.
Our Varien Family Dim-to-Warm Tape Lights offer dim-to-warm technology with a variety of outputs and applications. In Figures 1 and 2, you will see a bedroom that utilizes our Varian 2.7 Dim-to-Warm LED Tape Light. These two photos are taken from the same perspective but provide two different environments. The only change made was the temperature output that was chosen by the user. You can see that Figure 1, representing a 3000K output, appears livelier and more energetic. Figure 2 holds a warmer hue, at around 1800K, that is much more conductive to sleep. The Varian Family has a color temperature range from 3000K ~ 1800K. By simulating the natural progression of daylight with HCL, we can help regulate our internal body clocks.
Enhanced Mood and Health
HCL can create lighting scenarios that mimic natural light and provide visual cues that can affect your mood and mental state. Certain colors or light can affect emotions, mood, and cognition. Increased brightness and high color temperatures during the day can make you feel more energized, alert, and focused. In addition, HCL can help reduce the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a type of depression that is linked to the shorter days and longer nights of winter. HCL can help create a lighting environment that supports your physiological and psychological needs, which in turn, can improve your mood and health.
Better Visual Acuity
By providing appropriate light levels, HCL can adjust the intensity of light to match the needs of different tasks and activities. This can help avoid eye strain and fatigue, which can negatively impact visual acuity. HCL can also reduce glare, improve color rendering, and improve overall visual comfort by providing even, diffused lighting.
Energy Saving
LED lights consume less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs, making them a superior choice. They also last longer, which reduces maintenance costs and saves energy. By adjusting the lighting levels according to the needs of its user, the HCL system can reduce overall energy consumption. HCL can also integrate with natural light sources, such as windows and skylights, to maximize the use of daylight. The HCL system can adjust the LED lighting levels according to the amount of natural light available during the day. These features can help reduce energy consumption and save costs.
How Does Alloy LED Support Human-Centric Lighting?
At Alloy LED, we offer a range of controls and accessories along with our top-notch LED light engines so that you can embrace HCL. We provide our customers with the proper tools that reap the benefits of this form of lighting. One example is Casambi controls paired with our extensive line of LED tape lights.
Alloy LED partners with Casambi to offer a wireless lighting control system that can be used for smart lighting. It allows you to control your Primaline and Radialux tape lights using a smartphone app, enabling you to turn lights on and off, dim them, change their color, and more. The app provides a user-friendly interface that makes it easy to control your lights, regardless of where you are. You can turn the lights on and off, adjust their brightness, change their color, and create lighting scenes that control multiple lights at once. All of these capabilities align with the use of HCL. When paired with our top-notch LED tape lights, our Casambi controls offer a simple, convenient, and flexible solution to upgrade your lighting system to a smart, automated, human-centric system.
About Alloy LED
Alloy LED is a leading designer and manufacturer of premium quality LED tape light, channels, connectors, LED fixtures and power supplies. Alloy LED products include the PowerLine™, PrimaLine and Radialux LED Tape Lights, Continua Channels and AmpChamp™ Connectors. Headquartered in Emeryville, California, the company is a leader in the LED tape lighting market with distribution through lighting showrooms, electrical distributors and online stores.
For more information, visit www.alloyled.com.
