Lead Performer: Thomas Jefferson University – Philadelphia, PA
May 31, 2022
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Lead Performer: Thomas Jefferson University – Philadelphia, PA
Partners: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Tulane University
DOE Total Funding: $1,346,199
Project Term: October 1, 2021 – December 31, 2024
Funding Type: Buildings Energy Efficiency Frontiers & Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT)
PROJECT OBJECTIVE
Relatively little data exist to support beneficial health and wellness claims behind solid-state lighting (SSL) tunable lighting system technologies. In a striking set of studies on several laboratory animals raised under cool white fluorescent (CWF) light compared to short wavelength enriched SSL lighting, the animals raised under the SSL lighting exhibited multiple beneficial effects on metabolic and hormonal parameters. Could similar effects be observed in humans?
In this project, Thomas Jefferson University will assess health impacts of SSL tunable lighting on occupants in indoor spaces and examine whether the health impacts of SSL tunable lighting can be sustained in normal, uncontrolled circumstances. Researchers will test the efficacy of dynamic tunable lighting, including short wavelength enriched SSL lighting, against static CWF lighting on elements of metabolic, endocrine, and sleep physiology in healthy human adults. The project will measure the energy use of the SSL and CWF lighting systems and test the hypothesis that SSL tunable lighting that provides bright short wavelength enriched light during the day and dimmer, short wavelength depleted light during the evening will improve participants’ overall health and wellbeing compared to dimmer, commonly used CWF daytime lighting.
PROJECT IMPACT
Project results will help to clarify whether the observed benefits of daytime short wavelength SSL in several animal species can be replicated in healthy human subjects, and if the highly controlled laboratory study results can be observed in the everyday public and domestic lighting environments where people live after their workday. The results will provide empirical data on the purported benefits of tunable SSL in indoor lighting environments.
CONTACTS
DOE Technology Manager: Wyatt Merrill, [email protected]
Lead Performer: John Hanifin, Ph.D., Thomas Jefferson University