Addressing Visual Comfort Issues in Healthcare Facilities Using LED Lighting Technology - A Review on Daylighting Importance, Impact of Correlated Colour Temperature, Human Responses and Other Visual Comfort Parameters

Abstract

In the field of lighting technology, the choice of lighting has shifted from conventional incandescent and fluorescent to LED (Light Emitting Dode) lighting. Many businesses have yet to take full advantage of LED lighting technologies to address visual comfort problems for occupants. The current focus of installations and retrofitting jobs is only on dollar returns and energy-saving measures. By defining a range of vulnerabilities and discrepancies, this paper reviews the typical criteria affecting occupant visual comfort and shifts gear into those that are fundamental to healthcare setup. Issues such as the importance of daylight introduction into hospital wards and the benefits of choosing correct correlated colour temperature are discussed, among others discomforts. LED lighting technology has advanced immensely by offering flexibility to build a lighting system that meets the environmental requirements of the end-user. Lighting technology and approach are shifting to a new paradigm by focusing not only on vision but also human psychophysical wellbeing in interior spaces. A balance must exist between energy efficiency and visual comfort factors.