How Smart Lighting Can Change The Way We Use Light October 3, 2016 00:00



You’ve probably heard that with smart lighting, it’s possible to remotely control any light bulb in your house from anywhere in the world. You’ve probably also heard that smart lighting offers you over 16 million different colors of light to choose from.

But even if you’ve heard of all the amazing things you can do with smart lighting, you may still think of it simply as novelty. Well, think again. We’ve constructed an imagining of how your typical day might look with the addition of smart lighting, and all its benefits, added to your life.

Waking

And so another workday begins and worst of all, it’s a Monday. While many people are still sleeping soundly in their beds, you have an especially long commute each day which means your alarm is typically buzzing long before the sun, or your neighbors, finally rise.

Whereas you used to be roused from sleep by the harsh, grating scream of your traditional alarm, since you’ve put smart lighting into your home you’ve been slowly and steadily awakened by the gradually increasing light from your smart bulbs instead.

This feature is called “Sunrise Mode,” and was developed due to increasing research on the beneficial effects of waking up to more and more light over a period of time, similar to what it would be like to awaken to the rising sun. Due to suppression of melatonin and an increase in cortisol, gradually increasing light as we get up in the morning tends to promote more energy throughout the day.

Morning

Feeling alert and refreshed after a good night’s sleep and a mellow but effective waking, it’s time to get on with the day’s work. You go through your normal morning routine: shower, brush your teeth, put on your work clothes.

Breakfast is just as regimented with a big bowl of oatmeal and an orange. But this time, instead of a piping hot cup of coffee to get you through the day, you’ve got a glass of OJ. Why the change? Because thanks to your FluxSmart Bluetooth LED bulb’s color changing feature, you’ve been equally energized by blue light this entire morning.

While the idea of a colored light being able to give you as much pep as caffeine might sound absurd, research has shown that a one hour dose of blue light enhanced visual accuracy as much as 240 mg of caffeine. And even more astoundingly was the fact that blue light outperformed caffeine in focus assessments.

But despite the attention to detail as well as the energizing effects your blue lighting has inspired, you still manage to forget to turn off the kitchen lights before you leave, a realization that hits you just as you’re stepping out of the car in your work’s parking lot. No problem though, because with your smart bulbs you’re able to turn them off remotely right from your phone, no matter where you are. Problem solved.

Afternoon

Now that you’ve made it to work, it’s time to start another session at the daily grind. As you’re toiling away in your cubicle, your junk mail folder lights up with an email about home security. “With over 2.2 million burglaries in the U.S. each year,” the email reads, “the majority take place between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.” Lucky for you though, your smart lighting has been set to regularly turn on and off in different rooms, ensuring your home looks occupied throughout the day and won’t become another statistic.

Eight hours of staring at a computer can really take a toll on an employee’s focus, not to mention his mood. And before your employers put in the new smart lighting system that emits cool, higher color temperature lighting (blue-white), your day-to-day tasks really took a toll on you. But now, just as research shows, you feel happier, more energetic, extra alert and ultra-productive.

In addition to the focusing effects of blue lighting (mentioned earlier), the white light might help fight off seasonal affective disorder (or SAD) as well. SAD is a disorder that results from your body not receiving enough sunlight during the winter months and is estimated to affect an estimated 10 million Americans each and every year. One of the most effective treatments is called light therapy which essentially mimics increased sunlight exposure. And while office lights alone aren’t enough to completely eradicate the disorder’s effects, as much white light as possible just may help you fight off those winter blues.

Night

After a long day at the office, you’re ready to just come home, plop down in your favorite chair and unwind. As you walk through your front door your lights are already set to a dim and mellow ruby red, shown to be the most relaxing color, all without you having to lift a finger to make your end-of-the-day laze that much more restful. And when you’re ready to read a bit, switch over to a rich emerald hue as it’s the easiest on the eyes.

Don’t get too comfortable though as there’s dinner to be made. With a quick flick of the finger on your smart device you turn up the kitchen lights to a bright white to make all the delicate chopping and sautéing even more precise. After your beautiful meal has been prepped, dim the lights down a bit to make evening dinner conversation a bit more relaxed and a lot more enjoyable.

After cleanup finally comes the time to retire for the evening. On your way to the bedroom your FluxSmart WiFi LEDs automatically shift to a softly lit pink, a color many researchers assert exudes a calming effect unmatched by many other colors. And as time passes, the lighting gradually gets dimmer and dimmer with sunset mode, increasing your melatonin production and helping to ease you into a restful night’s sleep so you’ll be ready for tomorrow!

Tell us what you think!

How do you utilize your smart lighting throughout the day? Tell us some of your favorite uses. And don’t forget to check out the wide range of FluxSmart products!