WORKING DRAFT for White Paper on ROI Circadian Adaptive Lighting 2011
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Circadian Adaptive Lighting A Landmark Paradigm Shift with Unprecedented ROI Potential Deborah Burnett, ASID, CMG, LGC, AASM DSI / BURNETT … humanizing light Executive Summary and White Paper Deborah Burnett ASID, CMG, LGC, AASM April 2012 RETURN on INVENSTIMENT (ROI) can be defined as the monetary and/or marketing benefits derived from having spent time and money on developing or revising a system. For decades, both the installation and operating costs associated with electric lighting systems has been considered an ongoing monetary expense when it comes to ROI. Accounting for up to 22%1 of yearly business expense, rising energy costs are driving the growing acceptance of modern building science solutions which employ electronic lighting sources and daylighting technologies for the purpose of reducing ongoing operating costs. However the shift towards energy efficient lighting practices can only be thought of as a first step towards reducing ongoing business related costs. A lighting strategy which has the potential to reduce healthcare premiums and related healthcare burden will be a paradigm shift with direct financial benefit. In 2011, the Kaiser Family Foundation report calculated the average business contribution for family health care premiums alone to be $10,944.00 per employee per year. Recognized as Circadian Adaptive Lighting this new lighting strategy has the potential for creating a health promoting built environment while fostering lean bottom line yearly expense. In the coming years ahead, the effectiveness of this strategy will be evident in three areas: a.) measurable enhanced sleep efficiencies, now recognized as instrumental in health promotion, preventing disease and major contributor in the healing process, b.) measurable lower allostatic load index scores, a biomarker and non- invasive health assessment used to determine physiological dysregulation in the workplace now also recognized as an indicator of disease trajectories2, 3.) and for business owners, an overall reduction of expense line items including: employer health care premiums, costs associated with medical and employee errors, and the escalating costs associated with workplace accidents and fatalities especially among shift work populations. A lighting strategy which is supportive of the human need for both ambient light and darkness levels suitably designed to impact the human circadian system will be the way forward in transferring lighting costs from a line item expense to a valued investment asset. A recent Reuters business online article revealed a survey by the National Business Group on Health (which cites research documenting skyrocketing healthcare costs climbing at over 7% per year with no end in sight. The article goes on to state that “beginning in 2012, US employers are expected to pay an increase of over $12,000.00 per employee per year in health related costs”. If providing the right lighting strategy can play a role in reducing those costs, then the case for a circadian-correct lighting system is a very compelling story….. whose time is now. Deborah Burnett ASID LGC CMG AASM http://www.deborahburnett.com http://www.benyaburnett.com +1 615 351 8337 Overview and Benefits Of Circadian Adaptive Lighting The continuing scientific discovery linking ambient light to human health, disease, and The term circadian means “about a day” and refers to the synchronized nature of the innate human wellness is one of the most exciting stories of the rhythms of body and brain functions throughout a decade. Research in the fields of chronobiology, 24 hour day. Keeping it running smoothly is a collection of cells located deep within the brain photobiology, and scotobiology has made the identified as the Master Biological Clock. Science has also established the existence of multiple case clear for how environmental light directly organ-based time keepers located throughout the impacts the human body and brain. In fact, the body including red blood cells. In nature, solar light and dark signals drive the master biological 2002 discovery of specialized non-visual ocular clock with a synchronized balance of bright light cells responsible for capturing ambient during the daylight hours, darkness at night, and a perfectly timed cycle of changing wavelength environmental light signals involved with aligning dominance throughout the 24 hour day. Ambient temperature conditions are also a key signal driving the human master biological clock was cited by and influencing pacemaker clocks. the prestigious journal SCIENCE as one of the The “clocks” are responsible for keeping body most important breakthroughs of the year.3 and brain functions synchronized with changing environmental conditions in order to ensure Translated into a practical understanding and survival. The principle or major biological clock application, this discovery has a direct impact on is the suprachiasmatic nuclei and is located within the brain. Peripheral or secondary clocks the way modern day buildings are designed, are located in major organs and can have either constructed and lighted. 24 hour regularity (Circadian) or shorter than 24 hour (Ultradian) or feature longer (Infradian) patterns of occurrence. An example of this is a As important as this discovery has been for the woman’s 28 day menstrual cycle. scientific community, the movement from Ongoing scientific research is now demonstrating knowledge to applied practice by the design and that ordinary ambient electric lighting is also capable of direct influence upon the master architectural communities has been hampered due biological clock and the circadian system; an to a failure to communicate. Currently there is important human life system which impacts all of our daily functions and lifelong biological neither common language nor lighting terminology processes. It is both a major biological and neurohormonal system comprised of the sleep / to establish an open understanding between wake cycle and the innate circadian rhythm. design professionals and scientific disciplines. With plain language, this paper hopes to bridge the gap between science and applied lighting design by presenting a user-friendly perspective of the human circadian system and how this impacts the design of our built environments. Deborah Burnett ASID LGC CMG AASM http://www.deborahburnett.com http://www.benyaburnett.com +1 615 351 8337 Practical and wide spread acceptance of built environmental lighting strategies capable of circadian influence, calls for an open line of communication between the scientific research community who define and establish the light and health connections, the medical community who ensure the health promoting benefits, and the design community who will apply the knowledge in a manner embracing the intent of the Hippocratic oath “first do no harm”. Termed Circadian Adaptive Lighting, the proposed lighting terminology and recommended application guidelines have the potential to dramatically impact all aspects of business expense and profitability due to the interconnection between human health and the built environment now demonstrated to entrains, align, and directly influence the human circadian system. For the professional lighting and architectural communities the connection between built environmental light to human health is an amazing discovery with untapped potential for new business growth and worldwide market development. In the very near future, this will be realized with the opportunity to provide clients with more: homes where clients feel better, office buildings where employees work more efficiently, schools where kids learn more effectively, and hospitals where discharge rates are accelerated and preemies gain weight faster simply because design professionals understood the light and health connection with more than just passing lip service. For the lighting manufacturer, the strategy of Circadian Adaptive Lighting will be an opportunity to develop new products while tapping into the global marketplace including: healthcare, manufacturing, light commercial, institutional, hospitality, medical tourism, governmental and residential. The ROI potential is significant due to one overarching fact; humans need a balanced diet of both light and controlled darkness. The case for new and updated light sources which provide for critically timed and dynamically active light is proving to be paramount for the most basic of all human survival needs- health. The forward thinking manufacturer will embrace this fact and deliver electric light thru innovative sources and specifically designed circadian correct luminaires. Deborah Burnett ASID LGC CMG AASM http://www.deborahburnett.com http://www.benyaburnett.com +1 615 351 8337 For the controls manufacturer, the move towards dynamically-adaptive lighting environments is even more relevant as the circadian-correct protocol is predicated on precisely timed and controlled shifts of light and darkness operational on astronomical governances. And to make the circadian story even more appealing, scientific research is also demonstrating the need for critically timed ambient temperature conditions which vary throughout the 24 hour cycle. For the employer, healthcare provider, school administrator, and hotel marketing executive, the potential for this type of precisely controlled ambient built environment is unprecedented for both human health benefits and immediate monetary ROI. With circadian correct dynamic ambient light levels likely to provide for enhanced employee productivity