{"id":4799,"date":"2020-05-29T15:30:32","date_gmt":"2020-05-29T15:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.imegcorp.com\/?p=4799"},"modified":"2021-04-20T22:35:31","modified_gmt":"2021-04-20T22:35:31","slug":"research-metrics-and-technology-are-key-to-biophilic-lighting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.imegcorp.com\/insights\/blog\/research-metrics-and-technology-are-key-to-biophilic-lighting\/","title":{"rendered":"Research, metrics, and technology are key to biophilic lighting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even in an urban winter, this softly layered lighting approach evokes the biophilic design of a sunlit green garden terrace adjacent to a blue sea.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/small><\/p>\n

By Shanna Olson and Tammy Dyce<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Biophilic design \u2013 one of the newer buzz phrases in the building industry \u2013 is an umbrella term that describes concepts in the built environment that contribute to our sense of and connection to nature. It correlates to all aspects of building design, including natural and artificial lighting.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Intuition, a growing body of research, and advancements in technology have led to an increased surge in design teams applying the principles of biophilic design in their practice. IMEG is no exception, with the influences of biophilic design beginning to be seen in many of our designs, including those involving architectural lighting services.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As with any innovation, however, information and misinformation about biophilic design abounds. What should you believe? To set the record straight on one aspect,\u00a0<\/span>here\u2019s a\u00a0<\/span>look at biophilic lighting.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Feel the (circadian) rhythm\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The sun and, to a lesser extent, firelight, have shaped our circadian rhythms throughout the history of humankind. Intuitively we have long understood the importance for daylight in our designs and while daylighting design is not new, we have learned a great deal about best practices for bringing effective and balanced natural light into interior environments. This is a critical component of biophilic design, since lighting that changes in accordance with the time of day supports our circadian rhythms and links us to the outdoors.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In recent years the design community has created metrics to measure not just the quantity but\u00a0<\/span>also\u00a0<\/span>the quality of daylight in our spaces. This includes\u00a0spacial\u00a0daylight autonomy (<\/span>sDA<\/span>), which measures the percentage of area that exceeds a specified illuminance target for a certain amount of time. In general, SDA asks, \u201cIs there enough daylight in the space?\u201d Annual sunlight exposure (ASE), another metric, describes how much of the space receives\u00a0<\/span>too<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span>much<\/span><\/i>\u00a0sunlight, which is commonly thought of as glare. Software applications continue to make this evaluation within reach and should be considered for many projects.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since well-designed window and skylight layouts may not be enough to achieve a balanced daylit space that provides both high levels of\u00a0<\/span>sDA<\/span>\u00a0and low levels of ASE, several key ingredients can be added for a harmonious recipe for daylighting and a robust biophilic design. These elements include architectural components such as building orientation and shading, interiors factors such as appropriate reflectance values and furniture layout, and lighting elements such as luminaire orientation and daylight harvesting.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Technological evolution of electric light sources and luminaires also has provided new and viable options to support our circadian rhythms and strengthen biophilic design in our interior environments. Since the relatively recent discovery of humans\u2019 non-visual photoreceptors \u2013 intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells, or IPRGC \u2013 researchers have been working extensively to understand how these cells work and how they react to natural and electric light sources. Studies show that quantity of light, its spectrum, time-of-day exposure, duration, and distribution all play a part in determining the effect of any light source on our circadian system.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

New metrics offer guidance\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Recent research has contributed to the creation of new metrics to measure the effectiveness and relationship of light sources to the circadian system. Circadian stimulus (CS), a metric developed at the\u00a0<\/span>Lighting Resource Center at\u00a0<\/span>Renssalaer<\/span>\u00a0Polytechnic Institute<\/span><\/a>, is an example.\u00a0<\/span>Another, somewhat similar metric, e<\/span>quivalent\u00a0<\/span>melanopic<\/span>\u00a0lux (EML)<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0is employed in certain green building rating systems to measure circadian lighting design. Analogous to\u00a0<\/span>sDA<\/span>\u00a0and ASE, these metrics are useful guide<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0when implementing circadian design concepts.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All of this is to show that there is a great deal of information to sort through when making biophilic lighting choices for a building project. Understanding the range and effect of the quality of light \u2013 including electric light versus daylight, the parallels and differences between spectrum and color temperature, and what circadian stimulus is appropriate for each age group and application \u2013 can be challenging. With the proper professional guidance, however, goals can be defined to effectively determine the unique biophilic design targets for each project and how to best achieve them.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For more information on architectural lighting and its relationship to biophilic design, contact\u00a0<\/span><\/i>IMEG architectural lighting leader\u00a0<\/span><\/i>Shanna Olson<\/span><\/i><\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0<\/span><\/i>lighting<\/span><\/i>\u00a0designer\u00a0<\/span><\/i>Tammy Dyce<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Incorporating biophilic design for interior lighting requires an understanding of current research, metrics to measure the effectiveness and relationship of light sources to the circadian system, and electric light sources and luminaires that strengthen biophilic design in interior environments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3,215,267],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nResearch, metrics, and technology are key to biophilic lighting - IMEG<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Incorporating biophilic design for interior lighting requires an understanding of current research, metrics to measure the effectiveness and relationship of light sources to the circadian system, and electric light sources and luminaires that strengthen biophilic design in interior environments.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.imegcorp.com\/insights\/blog\/research-metrics-and-technology-are-key-to-biophilic-lighting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Research, metrics, and technology are key to biophilic lighting - 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