Light + Health

  Smart home technology can improve quality of life for people with autism, older adults, and others who benefit from added support at home. Smart home tools are more than novelty gadgets. Rather, they can be practical systems that can reduce stress, increase safety, and make daily routines more manageable. Technology works best when it [...]

  A 2022 study “Evening blue‐light exposure, maternal glucose, and infant birthweight” investigated whether exposure to blue‐enriched light in the evening during late pregnancy is linked to maternal fasting glucose levels and infant birthweight. The rationale builds on evidence that circadian disruption, melatonin suppression, and altered sleep from nighttime light exposure can influence metabolic regulation, [...]

Figure 1. Feasibility boundaries for achieving 250 m-EDI.   By Bill Chan, President, LiteController Inc. Shortly after my recent IES FIRES article, “Circadian Lighting in Offices: Feasibility Boundaries and Design Trade-Offs” was published, an architectural lighting designer left a comment on LinkedIn: “Nowadays, it’s getting [to be] a real Mission Impossible!” That brief comment perfectly [...]

  Scientists at the University of Cambridge have achieved what was once considered impossible by electrically powering insulating nanoparticles to create a completely new kind of LED. Using tiny organic “molecular antennas,” the team found a way to funnel energy into materials that normally cannot conduct electricity, producing ultra pure near infrared light with remarkable [...]

  What Is Quantum Biology? Quantum biology is an emerging scientific field that studies the role of quantum mechanics—the physics of particles at the atomic and subatomic levels—in living organisms. It explores how biological processes rely on phenomena like quantum tunneling and coherence, rather than just classical physics and standard chemistry. Researchers focus on a variety of [...]

  By Mariel Acevedo, MIES – ALR & Amanda Schaneman, MIES – ETC Trauma informed design (TID) is a newer form of practice in the architectural community.  It’s been around since 2013 and is gaining traction in all kinds of building types.  As the work becomes more prominent, the lighting community should understand the language [...]

  By Bill Chan, President at LiteController Inc. During talks I’ve given over the years, I often encourage people to take a morning walk outside for at least half an hour—so their eyes are exposed to daylight and their circadian rhythm can stay aligned. However, I am often asked a very practical question: “If I [...]

  A recent dark sky project has had me thinking and researching light pollution, sky glow, and by extension an optical phenomenon that we can experience on most clear days or nights. Rayleigh scattering is an interaction of light with Earth’s atmosphere. It’s most notable characteristic is it scatters lower wavelength light colors (violet and [...]

  InSinkErator, one of the leading manufacturers of garbage disposals, has released its LEDefense line, with antimicrobial light technology added to garbage disposals to fight the odor-causing bacteria that builds up with food waste. Instead of waiting until a disposal smells bad and then using citrus peels or cleaning pods, the product uses always-on light [...]