Indoor outdoor lighting developed

Office design news from Morgan Lovell

Published on 04-01-2012

Office staff could soon be given the chance to work under open skies without stepping outside.

A research team at the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering (IAO) has developed an LED-based ceiling tile system for office interiors that simulates outdoor conditions.

Dr Matthias Bues, head of department at the IAO, which developed the system along with German firm LEiDs, explained that before replicating the natural light conditions researchers studied how the light spectrum changes as clouds sweep across the sky.

Following this study, a combination of red, blue, green and white LEDs was used to produced the full light, creating more than 16 million hues.

Dr Bues revealed that each individual tile, which is mounted on the ceiling, comprises an LED board with 288 light-emitting diodes, while a diffuser film in matt white is attached around 30cm beneath the LEDs to merge the points of light together.

"The LEDs allow us to simulate these dynamic changes in lighting in a way that is not directly obvious to the naked eye. Otherwise, the lighting might distract people from their work," Dr Bues said.

"But it does need to fluctuate enough to promote concentration and heighten alertness," he added.

Copyright Press Association 2012