Procognitive window 7 – How to not only choose suitable indoor luminaires based on design, but also based on its effects and user comfort
If you are reading this, we probably don’t need to convince you of the importance of light for the human body. Let’s ‘whizz through’ not the words, but the principles of choosing the proper lighting.
There are several parameters you need to take into account when making your choice:
- Properties of emitted light:Sure, the main thing is to ensure everybody can ‘see well’, but the visual parameters of the luminaire alone are not enough. Perhaps even more important are the non-image forming properties, i.e., the effect on the organism. If you want to feel good in body and mind, choose procognitive or biodynamic lighting.
- Energy efficiency and effectiveness:The cheapest is not always the best. Choosing energy-efficient LED lights is fine, but sacrificing quality is not. Procognitive lighting may be a slightly costlier choice, yet its energy consumption is absolutely comparable to conventional LED lights. And the effect is incomparable.
- Design:Beauty is important, but for lights, the effect is more important. For daytime activities, full-spectrum lighting, ideally indirectly distributed by reflection from the ceiling, is suitable; evening lighting should be positioned lower, closer to the ground with a reduced short- and medium-wavelength spectrum.
- But there’s no need to give up on design – there are elegant pendant and wall-mounted lamps as well as floor lamps.
- Lighting intensity control. You may not yet be used to it, but if you want healthy lighting it’s a good idea to consider using lighting control tools – switches, dimmers or smart systems. We need more light in the morning (serotonin, remember?) and less as the evening approaches.
Summary:Sometimes compromise is worthwhile, but this is not the case with lighting quality. The impact on health, vitality and well-being takes precedence over design or price.
