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Seeing Red Could Benefit Health, but LEDs Offer Efficiency Instead

By Lori Lovely | Jan 21, 2025
Close-up shot of LEDs
In an ongoing quest for increased energy efficiency, indoor lighting has progressively gone the route of LED. Sunlight provides nearly equal amounts of near-infrared (NIR) and visible light, but NIR is absent from most current electric lighting systems and energy-efficient windows filter it out. 

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In an ongoing quest for increased energy efficiency, indoor lighting has progressively gone the route of LED. Sunlight provides nearly equal amounts of near-infrared (NIR) and visible light, but NIR is absent from most current electric lighting systems and energy-efficient windows filter it out. Since NIR wavelengths are invisible to the human eye, they have been considered unnecessary for illumination and have been excluded from newer lighting systems to reduce energy consumption.

A new study published in December 2024 in the Journal of Environmental Psychology examines the impact on human well-being of excluding NIR as one of the wavelengths of light that do not contribute to visible illumination.

The study concentrated on university students in a preregistered within-subjects double-blind experiment to explore the acute effects of NIR and far-red wavelengths in ambient illumination on cognition, emotional state and cardiovascular health. Participants were monitored at rest and during cognitively demanding tasks during a two-hour session under both 3,500K white light generated by an LED system and under LEDs with peak wavelengths in the NIR (875 nm, 960 nm) and far-red (735 nm) spectrum.

When comparing standard LED lighting to LED systems enhanced with NIR wavelengths (875 nm and 960 nm), researchers discovered that study participants exposed to lighting with NIR reported better moods. Researchers compared this result with the psychological comfort derived from experiencing natural light.

Physical differences marked among participants under lighting with NIR exposure included improved heart rate variability, which signals reduced stress and enhanced cardiovascular health. Improved physiological resilience was suggested by the display of better adaptive responses to cognitive stress. However, the study found that NIR-inclusive lighting did not improve cognitive performance.

The conclusions from the study support the assertion that the absence of NIR from architectural lighting influences people at both a psychological and a physiological level. Furthermore, the study suggests that ambient NIR exposure may enhance mood and reduce stress, creating a potential tradeoff between energy efficiency and occupant well-being.

While the findings are preliminary and more studies are called for to validate the health benefits of NIR in ambient lighting, the data seems to suggest that health and productivity benefits need to be balanced with energy-efficiency goals. Whether or not the lighting industry can develop new designs that selectively integrate NIR without significantly increasing energy usage has yet to be seen.

About The Author

Lori Lovely is an award-winning writer and editor in central Indiana. She writes on technical topics, heavy equipment, automotive, motorsports, energy, water and wastewater, animals, real estate, home improvement, gardening and more. Reach her at: [email protected]


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