Wellness Lighting · Healthy Home
Healthy home lighting: what it is and how to plan it
Short answerHealthy home lighting is lighting planned around the people in the house, not only around how the rooms look. It comes down to three decisions: light that changes through the day, dimming that does not flicker, and wiring that keeps high voltage out of the walls and ceilings.
The three decisions
Each one is a separate choice in a conventional home. In a Colorbeam home they come from one system.
Light that follows the day
Fixtures tune from 2200K, a warm evening light, to 5000K, a cool midday light. The shift can run on a schedule, so the house moves through the day without anyone touching a switch.
Circadian lightingDimming that does not flicker
Many dimmers lower the light by switching it on and off very quickly. Colorbeam dimming is flicker free at every level, down to 0.1%.
Flicker-free dimmingLow-EMF wiring
Conventional lighting sends 120V to every fixture. Colorbeam ends high voltage at a central rack and runs 48V over CAT6 to the lights. This reduces EMF from the lighting wiring. It does not make a home EMF free.
Low EMF lightingConventional lighting compared
| Conventional lighting | Colorbeam low-voltage system | |
|---|---|---|
| Color of the light | Usually one fixed color temperature | Tunable from 2200K (warm) to 5000K (cool) |
| Dimming | Depends on the dimmer and the lamp; many flicker at low levels | Flicker free, down to 0.1% |
| Power to each fixture | 120V through every wall and ceiling that has a light | 48V over CAT6 cable for downlights, 24V for tape light |
| Where high voltage runs | From the panel to every switch, dimmer and fixture | It stops at the central rack. Everything after the rack is low voltage |
| Control | By circuit: every light on the switch does the same thing | Each fixture is individually addressable |
| Color rendering | Varies by lamp | R9 red rendering of 97 with the HEKA chipset |
How to plan it
- Decide early.The cabling is different from conventional wiring, so the decision belongs before rough-in, with the architect, designer or builder.
- Choose where the equipment lives.Power and drivers sit together in a central rack instead of being spread through the house.
- Decide how each room should change through the day.Bright and cool for the kitchen at midday, warm and low for the bedroom at night. Each fixture can be set on its own.
- Get a lighting design.A design study sets fixture positions, beam angles and scenes before anything is installed.
Colorbeam works with architects, interior designers, builders and integrators, and offers lighting design services.
Questions and answers
What is healthy home lighting?
It is lighting planned around the people who live in the house, not only around how the rooms look. In practice it covers three things: light that changes through the day, dimming that does not flicker, and wiring that keeps high voltage out of the walls and ceilings.
What color temperature should lights be in the evening?
Warm. Colorbeam fixtures tune down to 2200K for the evening and up to 5000K for the middle of the day, and the change can run on a schedule so nobody has to think about it.
Can you see LED flicker?
Often not. Flicker from dimming can be too fast to notice as a visible pulse, which is why it is worth choosing a system that is flicker free at every dimming level instead of judging by eye.
Does low-voltage lighting remove EMF from a home?
No. It reduces the part that comes from the lighting wiring, because high voltage stops at a central rack instead of running to every fixture. Other sources in the home, such as appliances and outlet wiring, are not changed by the lighting system.
When should it be planned?
Early, before the walls are closed. The cabling is different from conventional wiring, so it is simplest in a new build or a major renovation. For an existing home, ask what is practical.
Planning a healthy home?
Talk through the project and what the lighting could do in each room.