From the bright summer sun to the piercing white LEDs in our local supermarkets- light- both natural and artificial, has a huge impact on our health and wellness. Medical research over the last few years has shown that ambient lighting scenes have a tangible effect on a person’s mood, productivity, quality of sleep and therefore overall health, especially when our exposure to natural light has reduced considerably over the last decade.

According to John Goscha, Founder and CEO of Lucidity Lighting, “Light is more than just task illumination to help carry out our day-to-day lives. A lot of the light in your home has been designed for you being there during evening hours. Now that we’re all working at home you actually aren’t getting as much natural light because we’re not going outside as much … but also the light that we have in our home isn’t the best light for feeling energized and working during the day.”

This has led to a growing consumer trend –  human- centric lighting (HCL) which focuses on the effect of light on health. It designs lighting solutions in a home or workspace, keeping in mind that different light sources can affect human circadian rhythms, which are the cyclical mental, physical and biological changes that take place in our systems over the course of a day. The idea is based on two key concepts- tailor made, custom lighting solutions which have a positive effect on cognitive performance and brain functioning as well as ambient lighting solutions that create emotionally stimulating or calming environments. The tricky part is using artificial light to mimic the natural passage of time, providing stimulation during the day while helping us to wind down and calm our racing minds at night.

While human-centric lighting has been used in commercial areas especially in hospitals, care facilities and office spaces, the technology is now being used at home as well. Installing these systems can be as simple as changing out lightbulbs or more holistic and customizable- like installing a smart lighting system throughout the house.

Keeping up with the growing trend, Savant, a leader in smart home technology, entered into a first-of-its-kind partnership with The New Home Company to provide energy management and centralized lighting control modules designed for easy installation into standard electrical panels. Savant is the first smart home ecosystem to offer Breaker-Companion Modules which can be controlled through the Apple HomeKit. This includes their entire lighting lineup, from Savant Smart Bulbs, DMX LED Light Strips, DMX and 0-10V lighting fixtures, as well as any third-party fixture connected to Savant’s DMX or 0-10V controllers.

Image courtesy of: www.savant.com

Savant developed intelligent automation that sets lights at certain levels and color temperatures based on planned scenes tailor made to the end user’s requirements or daily schedules. In addition, they also allow for a single room or entire home to be put into a default circadian rhythm mode to promote the effect of light on health and wellness.

Modern Digital Design for Increased Connectivity, Customization and Wellness.

Savant showcased their elegant end-user tools, with modern digital design for system personalization, smart circuit-breaker modules for lighting control and energy monitoring at the CEDIA Expo 2019. Check out their video demo below.

Take Away

Cleverly designing and automating artificial lights can really help with circadian rhythms and the positive effects of light on health and well-being. With the easy and accessible solutions provided through home automation, it really is time to – light up our lives!

Author: Dr Lakshmi Vaswani