LED Lighting Design 2024: Understanding the Basic Concepts

LED Lighting Design 2024: Understanding the Basic Concepts

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Lighting design is very important in construction projects, and the best results are achieved by using detailed lighting calculations instead of “rules of thumb”. Compared with other components like HVAC equipment and plumbing fixtures, the lighting system is special - there is a subjective and artistic factor involved. Lighting designs must provide enough visibility, but they also set the ambiance of built environments.

LED lighting Design is frequently recommended by energy consultants. The payback period is typically less than three years, and leading manufacturers offer a five-year warranty. Since the upfront cost is recovered during the warranty period, LED lighting is a very safe investment.

Using Temperature Values To Describe Lighting Colors
colortemperature

Objects glow in a characteristic color depending on their temperature, and this is why lava from a volcano looks red. The same principle applies to stars, where a yellow star like the Sun is hotter than a red star, and a blue star is hotter than a yellow one. In physics, this behavior is described with an abstract concept called a “black body”, which is an object that only emits light when heated, and each temperature matches a specific color.

Lamps are not heated to the correlated color temperature, but it is a convenient way to assign a number to their color. If a lamp has a CCT of 4000K, it glows with the same color as a “black body” at 4000K, but the light source itself does not reach that temperature. In most residential and commercial buildings, the CCT ranges from 2700K (yellowish-white) to 6500K (bluish-white).

The optimal lighting color depends on personal preferences, but the following principles apply to most lighting designs:

Low color temperatures like 2700K are considered “warm”, and they tend to have a relaxing effect. They are preferred in areas like home bedrooms, hotel rooms, and high-end restaurants. Warm colors are not suitable for commercial and industrial settings, where the relaxing effect can be counterproductive.
High color temperatures like 6500K are considered “cool”, and they tend to have an energizing effect, boosting awareness. They are preferred in applications where maximum visibility is required, such as high-precision manufacturing. Cool colors may delay sleep when used in homes and apartments, and some persons may be stressed by these colors after a long exposure.
CCT values around 4000K are perceived as “neutral”, and they are considered balanced. Neutral white is the ideal lighting color for offices, classrooms, kitchens, and other areas where people concentrate for long periods.
Effect of the Light Source on Objects and Surfaces
Even if two lamps have the same CCT, their lighting quality may differ depending on their color rendering index. A CRI of 100 means the light source is as good as sunlight.

Despite their low energy efficiency, incandescent and halogen bulbs have a CRI of 100.
Fluorescent bulbs tend to have the lowest CRI values, and low-quality lamps go below 70.
CRI values for LED bulbs can vary a lot depending on product quality. Low-end products go below 70, while high-performance LEDs reach values close to 100.
The minimum CRI for an ENERGY STAR lamp is 80, which means you should look for labeled lamps to get high-quality lighting. The label also means a lighting product is reliable since it has passed rigorous laboratory tests.

When dealing with LED bulbs, a higher CRI normally comes with a higher price tag. However, there are places where the CRI metric is very important, such as art galleries and shopping mall stores.

Conclusion
LED upgrades can reduce lighting costs by 30-90% in most cases, depending on which lamp types are replaced. In spaces with air conditioning, the reduced heat output of LEDs also results in minor cooling savings.

It can be tempting to simply replace the existing lamps with the most efficient LEDs available, but lighting design should not be overlooked. Electricity savings are welcome, but they should not be achieved at the expense of quality.

If you have a property in NYC that is covered by Local Law 88, you must upgrade the lighting systems according to the Energy Conservation Code by 2025. However, you can achieve a higher ROI by exceeding the efficiency level required by code, while using the opportunity to improve lighting quality.