LED school lighting benefits schools and educational facilities in many ways beyond your imagination. Proper LED school lighting is paramount to an educational environment. LED lighting can not only reduce electricity bills for your school but also help improve student performance and campus security. LED school lighting has a profound impact on students, teachers, and even the entire learning environment, in terms of improving mood, reducing eye strain, and reducing absenteeism rate and other aspects. This blog post explores the importance of upgrading to LED lighting for schools and how LED lighting can be used in certain areas of the school to create a better school experience for students and staff.
A Brief History of LED School Lighting
As artificial lighting was unavailable before the 1930s, schools were completely illuminated by daylight. Then from the 1930s to 1945, with the rise of the “open air” movement in schools, natural spaces were incorporated into their school designs.
To improve students’ physiological and psychological well-being, many schools encourage students to engage in outdoor activities and physical exercise. This continued until post the war, but the difference was that lighting, acoustics, heating, ventilation and other factors began to be considered in school designs.
It was around this time that fluorescent lighting became popular in school lighting systems. However, studies in recent years have shown that fluorescent lights have many adverse effects on humans, so more and more schools are now switching to LED lighting.
Why Schools Are Turning to LED Lighting
Energy Savings
While lighting accounts for about half of a school’s electricity bill, upgrading existing fluorescent lighting to LED lighting can reduce electricity consumption by up to 60%. The savings on electricity bills can be spent on students, teachers, facilities and improving academic offerings.
LED bulbs are mercury-free, can be easily recycled and result in less energy use than other lighting options. Also, they reduce carbon dioxide emissions, thereby achieving a lower carbon footprint, which is a huge bonus for schools.
Enhanced Student Performance
Studies have shown that LED lighting mimicking daylight helps students keep focused and improve their academic performance. Students who test in classrooms with LED lighting instead of fluorescent lighting are prone to score higher as well as be more active and alert. Conversely, in classrooms with flickering fluorescent lighting, students’ concentration decreases dramatically and a host of health problems arise, such as eye strain, headaches, fatigue, etc.
Increased Lighting Control and Flexibility
It’s easier to add controls to LED lighting fixtures than conventional lights like incandescent and fluorescent lights. This increases flexibility as the color temperature of the lighting can be adjusted to match different times of the day and student activities. Thanks to the dimming and color-tuning features of LED lighting, online learners do not have to worry about being distracted by flickering fluorescent screens. Connectivity through the Internet of Things (IoT) technology makes it possible to remotely and automatically control lighting.
Reduced Maintenance Costs
If you use fluorescent lights throughout your school building, maintenance workers will spend most of their working hours replacing thousands of bulbs. Conversely, since LED bulbs last much longer than traditional bulbs, maintenance crews can save a significant portion of their time maintaining or replacing bulbs. This will far lower maintenance costs and will not disturb the school day. In addition, LED bulbs have a significantly longer lifespan, which results in minimal maintenance. This is undoubtedly very handy for schools where students and teachers frequently use classrooms.
Better Lighting Quality
Glare and flicker are two major issues affecting students and teachers with vision or learning challenges. They can cause distraction and more seriously can lead to a range of health issues, such as eyestrain, headaches, increased hyperactivity and compulsive behavior, etc. In contrast to incandescent and fluorescent lights, LED lights do not give off light with glare, flicker and harmful radiation.
Where LED School Lighting Can Be Used
Here are 4 places where conventional lighting does not meet the standards and need to switch to LED lighting.
Classrooms
Classrooms are often used by students and teachers, where they will spend most of the school day. LED lighting provides them with greater flexibility, enhanced focus and comfort. According to a study on the effects of light on learning, switching to LED lighting can effectively increase reading speed and reduce hyperactivity behavior. Plus, It doesn’t emit the distracting flickering and buzzing that fluorescent lights do. LED high bay lights, LED corn lights and canopy fixtures are available for classroom lighting.
Libraries
Libraries in schools are good places for studying individually or collaboratively and reading quietly. Layered lighting is required to provide softer ambient lighting and high-intensity task lighting. LED overhead light fixtures give off even, soft light that reduces eye strain. Using indirect fixtures can make people feel more spacious and reduce glare on student laptops. LED lights with smart sensors can automatically turn on or off based on occupancy.
Hallways and Stairwells
Hallways and stairwells need to be well lit as they are places where students and staff have to travel through frequently during the school day. Flickering fluorescent lights turn a campus hallway into a horror movie scene rather than a higher education venue. In contrast, LED lighting reduces maintenance in high-traffic but inaccessible places by providing steady and continuous light. LED panel lights can serve as emergency lighting to help students and faculty leave safely in the event of a power outage or other emergencies.
Exteriors of the Building
Lighting outside the building has a lot to do with safety as students and staff have to get in and out of the building frequently. LED area lights can provide drivers and pedestrians with better visibility, thereby increasing the safety of parking lots. Higher Kelvin LED wall packs are typically used for security lighting as it reduces shadow contrast and improves image clarity from security cameras.
Prioritize LED School Lighting from MOKOLight
LED school lighting can be leveraged as a crucial environmental factor to benefit students and staff. While working to create comfortable and healthy campus environments, schools should provide optimal lighting for students and staff to enhance their health, well-being and performance.
Over the past decade, MOKOLight has partnered with a large number of educational facilities around the world, including schools. Our lighting experts will get an in-depth understanding of your specific needs through conversations with you. We will provide you with free lighting evaluations and proposals and design lighting plans that suit your educational goals and budget. To explore more information about our lighting solutions, please get in touch with us via our website.
