Commercial Architecture April 2019 - 23

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PROJECT

Visual benefits include the industry's traditional focus on good visi-

These approaches provide a range of capability from limited adjust-

bility, visual comfort, safety, and orientation. Biological benefits in-

ment of correlated color temperature across a set of channels to produc-

clude alertness, concentration, cognitive performance, and stable sleep.

ing any shade of white light (from very cool/bluish to very warm/red-

Emotional benefits include improved mood, increased energy, better

dish), plus a virtually limitless range of saturated colors.

relaxation, and impulse control.

Various general lighting products are now available that provide

LightingEurope quantified the economic value of these benefits for

manual and programmable color tuning, imitate the warm color of

various building types in a landmark 2015 study conducted by A.T.

incandescent lamps while being dimmed, and/or offer precise color

Kearney, Chicago, in which HCL was estimated to offer significant

matching between LED products and calibrate to maintain constant

potential cost savings related to enhanced worker productivity and few-

color output over their life. What all of this has in common is that how

er errors, absences, and accidents.

a space appears depends on how it's lighted. Change the color quality of
the light source, and you change how the space appears, with associated

ENABLERS

What makes HCL possible is technology properly applied to spaces
through design best practices that, in turn, are promoted by standards.
First, let's look at technology. Traditionally, aside from special appli-

The A.T. Kearney 2015 study shows a
number of micro and macro benefits
for the medical sector. For a hospital
with 1,000 beds and 1,500 employees,
the study indicates that human-centric
lighting can increase capacity utilization
through higher attractiveness for new
patients and can cut treatment costs
through reduced treatment times. In
addition, sick leave taken by care staff
could go down, and employee satisfaction, and therefore staff retention, could
go up.

effects on visual rendering, perception, and mood.
Now let's switch to application and design. These capabilities could
be applied in many ways, ranging from the cosmetic to utility:

* changing color output to accommodate changing retail displays and

cations such as boardrooms, lighting systems were installed as static

to ensure merchandise appears visually vibrant and appealing

light producers. After installation, light output and color quality more
or less remained fixed. Aside from changing failed lamps, lighting was

* signaling time for different activities in a classroom
* using saturated color to indicate occupancy and availability of private

largely forgotten.

office users

With LED technology, this has changed.

* changing color, or CCT (correlated color temperature) to adapt light-

Most LED luminaires are either dimmable as a standard feature or a

ing to different situations for the medical environment, e.g., examina-

standard option, with a negligible cost premium. This dimming pro-

| lighting & electrical

tion rooms versus reducing patient stress in a hospital

vides inherent flexibility in adjusting light levels in response to daylight

* tuning color to saturated colors to transform a functional space into

or occupant needs. Further, it allows control of the luminaire's color

an entertainment venue

output through:

* altering color output to precisely match space decor after final mate-

* separately dimmable arrays of warm- or cool-white LEDs
* color-mixing arrays of red, green, blue, and amber LEDs

rials and furnishings are installed in a hospitality space, with future

* adding separately dimmable LEDs to white LEDs.

* adjusting white-light temperature to adapt a restaurant space based

retuning available if new furnishings are installed

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APRIL 2019

23
Commercial Architecture April 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Architecture April 2019
