Switching from fluorescent bulbs to LED lighting can reduce a company’s energy consumption, lower monthly power bills, and lessen maintenance costs. Another factor many businesses overlook is the potential for LED technology to enhance employee productivity. Workplace lighting can foster a more productive work environment.
LED lighting is more similar to the sun’s color spectrum than other artificial light sources. Like the sun, LED lighting produces an expansive, even color field and typically provides a significant improvement in the overall quality of light. Light color works with the natural circadian rhythms of human beings (i.e., wake and sleep cycles).
Blue light, which is typically more present in LED lighting (and the sun) than in incandescent lighting, for example, helps combat fatigue and creates an overall sensation of being awake by suppressing the production of melatonin, the body’s natural sleep hormone. Red-rich lighting, on the hand, which has much less blue content, and can also be produced by LEDs, can help promote a sense of sleepiness by allowing the production of melatonin.
Workplace lighting can foster a more productive work environment. Bulbs tuned to blue-rich LED lighting can help keep nursing staff alert during night shifts.
LED color tuning technology which an LED bulb to change color electronically can be beneficial, for example, for hospital lighting. Bulbs tuned to blue-rich LED lighting can help keep nursing staff alert during night shifts, while LED lights in a patient’s room can be tuned to more restful red-rich lighting.
The amount and kind of light illuminating in an office environment has a major impact on the workplace atmosphere. “Task lights” in individual cubicles can complement overhead fixtures while dimming options can be provided for better flexibility.
Investing in LEDs can also strengthen an organization’s green credentials, resulting in an improved public image.