Proper lighting is important for human productivity and general well-being. The right lighting can improve circadian rhythms, alertness, sleep, mood, visual acuity, perception, and performance. But how do we properly measure human-centric lighting?
Correlated color temperature (CCT), Kelvin temperature, scotopic/photopic (S/P) ratios, and color rendering index (CRI) are not always sufficient when measuring light sources, especially with LED. CRI includes only pastel colors, which leaves out bright colors and earthtones.
With LED becoming the dominant light source in the industry, it’s more important than ever to find a way to accurately measure light quality. For this reason, spectrometers are replacing light meters in the lighting industry. These instruments can detect spectral lines and measure their wavelength or intensity. Good spectrometers can provide CCT, S/P, and CRI as well as spectral power distributions (SPDs) and histograms that include bright and earthtone colors. With this ability, lighting designers can provide accurate color matching and design ideal human-centric lighting, even for LED lighting.
According to tedmag.com, fluorescent lamps at any one CCT or Kelvin can have different SPDs, and LEDs at any one CCT or Kelvin can also have different SPDs. To produce sufficient human-centric lighting, the light source should have substantial 460-490 nm light during the day, especially in the morning to suppress melatonin production.
Spectrometers can be a worthy investment for lighting professionals. Use of one will improve human-centric lighting design, which will inevitably improve sales.
