Working with the lighting at schools, colleges and universities can be a challenging but rewarding achievement.
What the electrical contractor needs to think about is the way a room is lit, plays a huge roll in education as it sets the scene for four main methods of learning for students of all ages and abilities. The methods are known as
Visual, (you need to be able to see comfortably without glare)
Auditory, (you need to be able to concentrate without the lighting affecting you)
Read and Writing, (you need to be able to see what you are reading and writing down)
Sensory (you need to be aware of the way lighting can affect your mood or behaviour)
Typically, classrooms are set into teaching zones and student areas. Teachers tend to require supplemental lighting for delivering illuminance for whiteboards and chalk boards, video screens and projectors.
For decades, fluorescent lighting has been used in educational settings, especially Primary and Secondary schools, yet they have many disadvantages when it comes to learning. The fluorescent is known to be a brash light that has a flicker effect which can overload sensory issues, cause migraines or just be distracting and make the students feel uncomfortable.
Another significate disadvantage of the fluorescent lighting is the glare factor, this occurs when the lighting is substantially higher than the human eye can naturally adapt to.
Colour of lighting is a crucial but often overlooked element of any project as this forms an integral relationship with light and can impact performance, mood, environment, health and general well being.
Therefore it goes without saying that LED (light emitting diode) fixtures are a must in a lighting project. Not only is LED Technology a highly efficient energy source, it offers excellent controllability, high flexibility in terms of optical design as well as a high resistance to vibration or flicker in a fluorescent.
Modern motion and occupancy detectors are focused on ensuring that light is being used on demand and this helps with budgets on schools and colleges.
Education facilities have a duty of care to make sure their staff and students are in a place of safety and comfort. If you are aware of anyone in your family or friends that have a diagnosis of autism or are neuro divergent, the fact that these LED lights can be dimmed or even be on a colour change unit within each classroom can be a game-changer for the students, We at Tezelec are more than aware of this, as we have seen our neuro-divergent son blossom at our local Calderdale College, we put that down partly to the difference of good LED lighting and the way it is controlled in the classroom. The tutors are of course awesome, but that goes without saying!
Overall, the introduction of a controllable intelligent lighting design can be that it integrates all human needs and stimulates a positive learning environment, with schools under pressure to be more environmentally friendly and cut costs due to lower budgets and soaring energy prices, incorporating the occupancy sensors to cut down on overuse provides the facility with a potential to gain substantial energy savings.