嘿嘿视频

Zen and the Art of Color Quality

嘿嘿视频 a Testing Ground for Light the Way Humans Were Meant to See It 鈥 In Living Color

News
Man by lighting display
嘿嘿视频 professor Michael Siminovitch, describes how consumers don't need to sacrifice color quality for lighting efficiency. (Karin Higgins/嘿嘿视频)

Michael Siminovitch, director of the , wasn鈥檛 looking for enlightenment when he wandered into a Buddhist temple in Thailand a few years ago. He was touring Thailand as a distinguished visiting professor at . He鈥檇 never been to a temple in his life.

Buddha in temple
A Buddhist statue in Wat Chiang Man, a temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand. (Michael Siminovitch/嘿嘿视频)

The temple was a highly crafted, architectural marvel, Siminovitch said. He was especially enthralled by its interior spaces: Reds, golds and earth-tones were illuminated by candle flame and warm incandescent lights, saturating colors to perfection. Siminovitch said it was the most color-intense indoor space he鈥檚 ever seen.

It was his 鈥渁ha鈥 moment, leading his research firmly in the direction of restoring high color quality to energy-efficient lighting.

The next big thing in lighting

Now Siminovitch, co-director Konstantinos Papamichael and other researchers at CLTC are ushering in a new era of lighting that merges color quality with energy efficiency.

鈥淚ncandescent is a beautiful light source that we all love, but it鈥檚 not very energy efficient,鈥 said Siminovitch, a professor in the 嘿嘿视频 Department of Design. 鈥淚n the past, when we鈥檝e moved to more efficient lighting, we鈥檝e lost quality of visual experience. We鈥檙e trying to change that and meld visual quality and efficiency. Fortunately, with new technology, we don't need to sacrifice one for the other.鈥

Ripples of Light, and Energy Savings

The CLTC has a long history of testing 鈥渘ext big things鈥 on the 嘿嘿视频 campus, which serves as both living laboratory and playground for the center. It has brought an array of energy efficient lighting to the university鈥檚 parking garages, classrooms, hallways, stairwells, offices, bike paths and even soccer fields, resulting in 60 percent energy savings with the campus鈥 .  

parking lot lighting retrofit
嘿嘿视频 parking garage lighting retrofit. 

When the center taps into a promising solution, its sound reputation has earned it the ear of lighting manufacturers and state energy regulators. Many of CLTC鈥檚 recommendations become state building standards, creating a ripple effect of energy savings.

for parking and exterior lighting has been applied widely throughout California, including the UC campuses. Such efforts support UC鈥檚 , which commits UC to emitting net zero greenhouse gases from its buildings and vehicle fleet by 2025.

A new lighting quality standard conceived by the CLTC called the California Quality Specification was adopted by the California Energy Commission in 2015. Lamps that meet the standard are now available in the marketplace and are eligible for rebates. Effective this past January, new homes built in California must have lighting that meets the California Quality standard. 

The CLTC created the California Quality Specification to help ensure that energy efficient LED lighting doesn鈥檛 succumb to the same fate as compact fluorescent light bulbs, or CFLs.

鈥淰isual satisfaction and demand for the full-color experience is why CFLs failed,鈥 Siminovitch said. 鈥淚f we don鈥檛 develop the LED market right, we鈥檒l run into the same problem.鈥

High standards for high fidelity

The CLTC is tucked away in a quiet building on the eastern edge of Davis. With fully constructed mockups of hospital rooms, kitchens, art studios, a futuristic office, boutique store, and its own 鈥渂ulb room,鈥 it and the 嘿嘿视频 campus itself are the testing grounds for lighting innovations that have spread throughout the state and beyond. 

Inside the center, Siminovitch stands before a divided box containing two light bulbs. He places one hand beneath a light in the first section of the box and his other hand under a light in the second section. As a side-by-side comparison, one hand looks distinctly more, well, human than the other. The skin tone is warm, while the other hand appears more sterile.

Both bulbs are energy efficient, but only the second one displays high color quality 鈥 the one that meets the California Quality Specification.

LED lamps meeting the standard will be deployed in future relighting and new construction efforts at 嘿嘿视频, beginning with design classrooms as a pilot project later this year. Perhaps the full-color experience will help spark new aha moments for the design students working under the lighting, while also conserving energy.

Man with hands under light
鈥婥LTC Director Michael Siminovitch uses his hands to compare the color quality of a lamp meeting the California Quality Specification (right), which the CLTC helped create, and one that does not. (Karin Higgins/嘿嘿视频) 鈥

The problem with CFLs   

In the early 2000s, CFLs became the poster child for the greening of America. The problem was, consumers didn鈥檛 fully embrace CFLs for their homes. They missed the color, warm quality, longevity and dimming ability of incandescent bulbs.

Although CFLs have improved since their early days, those initial bad impressions stuck with consumers. The national adoption rate for CFLs reached only 10 to 15 percent; 20 percent in California. What good is an energy efficient light bulb if nobody uses it?

What good is an energy efficient light bulb if nobody uses it?

Consumer distaste for CFLs goes way, way back 鈥 to the sun, to fire and the color red, to human evolution.

鈥淥ur vision and biology has evolved to see all the colors,鈥 Siminovitch said. 鈥淥ur recent adventure in narrowly focusing on lighting efficiency has been depriving people of the full-color experience.鈥

Red in bed: Circadian-sensitive lighting

Circadian-sensitive lighting helps bridge that evolutionary dissonance.

Blue wavelengths 鈥 found in CFLs, smartphones and screens, streetlights, and most LEDs 鈥 tell the brain to wake up and suppress sleep-inducing melatonin. Red and amber wavelengths 鈥 found more in incandescent lighting and, increasingly, LEDs 鈥 help produce melatonin and encourage sleep and rest.

circadian lighting hospital room
Circadian lighting shifts with the time of day, as seen in this series of a hospital room mocked up at the California Lighting Technology Center at 嘿嘿视频 (Courtesy CLTC) 

Scientists have begun linking blue light at night to a associated with the suppression of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin. Increased exposure to street lighting and electronic device screens before bedtime may exacerbate the issue.

Humans haven鈥檛 evolved to embrace such harsh lighting, and CLTC researchers see no reason why we should ever have to.

Circadian-friendly lighting mimics the rising and setting of the sun, gently adjusting throughout the day from the blue to the red spectrum. CLTC has been introducing this amber-toned lighting into , and to the west of campus. They are also developing guidelines to reduce blue content and glare of exterior lighting on the 嘿嘿视频 campus, and are to deploy energy-efficient, circadian-friendly LED street lighting.

鈥淟ighting design and technology is evolving, and we are addressing broader issues outside of energy efficiency alone,鈥 Siminovitch said. 鈥淯ltimately, this is about the human equation and making our lives better, more healthful and more productive.鈥

Media Resources

Kat Kerlin, 嘿嘿视频 News and Media Relations, 530-750-9195, kekerlin@ucdavis.edu

Primary Category

Secondary Categories

University Environment Science & Technology

Tags