ALA Launches Residential Circadian Lighting Program

The American Lighting Association (ALA) has launched a program designed to define and promote circadian lighting for the home. The program is called Better Light, Better Sleep, and it was created with technical support from the Light and Health Research Center (LHRC) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York City.

ALA manufacturers of fixtures, light sources and controls are involved in the program through a program committee, chaired by Blake Matthew of PureEdge Lighting.  The program requirements for luminaires include:

• Quantity of Light in a typical application. >35 footcandles (fc) measured at the eye assuming a 3000K CCT, early in the day. This is required daily to “entrain” the normal circadian cycle in humans who are active during the day and sleep at night.  It’s a pattern that promotes healthy sleep.
• Multiple Light Levels. Full output in the morning, medium output most of the day to suit the user’s needs, low output, less than 5 fc in the evening, and off at night. Manual or automatic controls may be used. See first image below.
• Minimize Glare. Luminance <8,500 cd/m² when viewed in a typical application. Avoid bare lamps, by using diffusers. Larger diffuse light sources, rather than tiny points or lines of light. This is primarily a concern during the daytime highest light output period.

Note, that while the variable factors of circadian lighting include lighting intensity, duration, time of day and the spectrum of the light, there are no variable color recommendations in these initial requirements. That’s because color and its aesthetic role in residential lighting is so important. Light color has to be carefully matched with the other factors and worked into the design. The Better Light, Better Sleep lighting products are expected to be used in kitchens, dining rooms, living rooms and home offices.

The manufacturers that are participating in the program include: American Lighting, Bulbrite, Craftmade, Elco Lighting, Justice Design Group, Lamps Plus, Minka Group/George Kovacs, Progress Lighting, PureEdge Lighting, SATCO Products, Savoy House, SKYX Platforms, and WAC Lighting.

More information on the program is expected to be published soon on the Better Light Better Sleep website,here.

David Shiller

David Shiller is the Publisher of LightNOW, and President of Lighting Solution Development, a North American consulting firm providing business development services to advanced lighting manufacturers. The ALA awarded David the Pillar of the Industry Award. David has co-chaired ALA’s Engineering Committee since 2010. David established MaxLite’s OEM component sales into a multi-million dollar division. He invented GU24 lamps while leading ENERGY STAR lighting programs for the US EPA. David has been published in leading lighting publications, including LD+A, enLIGHTenment Magazine, LEDs Magazine, and more.

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