What Is Human-Centric Lighting?

Home Lighting That Anticipates the Perfect Mood

We’ve all been in spaces that are lit too brightly. Imagine walking into a hospital or a fluorescent-lit store. Cool-white lighting may feel fine during the day, but it often feels harsh or uncomfortable after dark. On the flipside, dim interiors during the day can feel gloomy and stuffy.  

Many homeowners accidentally use lights that aren’t suited to the right time of day. They might turn on an icy-white lightbulb that looks fine when getting ready in the morning but appears much too bright at night. Incorrect lighting goes far beyond aesthetics—light’s been proven to influence our moods, both positively and negatively.

The solution? Install a smart lighting system that will automate your lights to follow natural sunlight. Lutron’s tunable lighting solution, Ketra, transforms the way you illuminate your home with ‘human-centric lighting.’

As a Lutron installer based in the Delray Beach, FL, area, we’ll shed some light on what human-centric lighting really means and how it can improve your daily moods.

SEE ALSO: A Lighting Design Is Worth the Home Investment

What Is Human-Centric Lighting?

Ketra describes its smart lighting products as ‘human-centric.’ You may be wondering what that means. Well, our internal clocks—the circadian rhythm—remind us when to feel sleepy, alert, and even hungry. But our inner clock can be thrown off by unpredictable lifestyles and outside factors. One culprit? Artificial lighting.

Maybe you’ve heard that the blue light waves on screens can negatively affect sleep. This also extends to the lightbulbs in your house. Until recently, there’s never been a way to customize how our lights look according to the time of day.

With Ketra tunable lighting, you’ll program lighting fixtures to automatically shift their color temperature throughout the day. In the morning, lights should appear a bright, cool-toned white. As the day progresses, lights should dim and warm by evening. Warm lighting will tell your brain to start producing melatonin, so you’ll sleep soundly later.

How Does It Work?

When you install Ketra’s smart LED lights, your Lutron installer will connect them to a Lutron lighting system. From the control system, you’ll freely adjust the color and brightness of your lights, grouping them into rooms and specific scenes.

On the Lutron app, you can fine-tune your Ketra lights from cool to warm shades of white. We measure color temperatures with the unit Kelvins. The lower the number of Kelvins, the warmer a light will appear. A ‘Candlelight’ setting around 1800K will create a cozy, golden glow, while the ‘Daylight’ setting at 7000K is a pale, bright white, like a blue sky on a sunny day. 

What Are the Benefits?

With Ketra, your lighting will boost your mood for the appropriate setting. For instance, if you’re working in the home office, a bright environment will inspire energy and creativity. If you’re hosting a party, set the lights to funky colors and warm tones. Ketra makes your home’s atmosphere more inviting and comfortable.

Plus, Lutron can program your lights to adjust automatically, so you won’t have to remember to change them manually. The transition occurs so gradually that you won’t notice the lights transforming until it’s already a beautiful golden afternoon in your living room.

You’ll save time, enhance the ambiance, and feel better spending time in your home. If you’re interested in the tunable lighting experience, get in touch with First Priority Audio, a Lutron installer. Contact our team here or chat with us now below.