At Trick Insight we love technology, but we love people even more. We believe it is important that technology helps people. To work easier and smarter, and to live better. Smart IoT solutions help with that. Like the biodynamic lighting from Firefly. Smart lighting can recreate a natural day and night rhythm, for example for residents of nursing homes. In this article, we will tell you how it works.
The sustainable lighting from Firefly.
Firefly is English for firefly. These smart insects give light and use it to communicate with each other. And they are also very sustainable. Because a firefly is the only light source in the world that gives light, but no heat. When making light, fireflies convert 100% of the energy into light. It couldn’t be more efficient. And that is exactly the goal of Firefly. This innovative company wants to make buildings and public spaces smart with sustainable LED lighting so that they are ready for the future. That is good for the world and good for the wallet. Firefly does this with smart, customized lighting plans. But the company does more. In addition to smart buildings, the company also develops biodynamic lighting for nursing homes.
This is biodynamic lighting.
‘Biodynamic lighting is the Dutch name for human-centric lighting ‘, says Andy Vrooland, manager of business development and marketing at Firefly. ‘With this, you can recreate a natural day and night rhythm with artificial light. The human body is used to a certain rhythm. You learn that as a child. In the morning, when you wake up, you see the bright light. That way you know that the day has started and that you have to get up. In the evening, the light gets warmer and it slowly gets darker. That way you know when it is time to go to sleep.’
‘It’s a game of two hormones that we all produce, cortisol and melatonin’, Andy continues. ‘Cortisol wakes you up and makes you energetic. And melatonin makes you calmer and sleepy. We can influence those two hormones a little bit with light. With bright light, your brain thinks: ‘It’s morning, we have to wake up’. Then your body produces cortisol, which makes you more productive. With dimmed light, you produce melatonin and you become calmer.’
The benefits of biodynamic lighting in healthcare.
Firefly’s biodynamic lighting solutions are used in various places. For example, in healthcare. Andy explains: ‘In nursing homes, people spend a large part of the day indoors. Usually, because there are too few staff to keep residents occupied or to take them for regular walks outside. Some residents can still do this themselves, but people with dementia often can’t. That’s why they spend a lot of time indoors. Often in the same room, under artificial light that always has the same color and strength. That usually doesn’t create a positive feeling. And it disrupts their rhythm because they no longer know when it’s morning, afternoon or evening.’
‘Since we installed our smart lighting plans at various healthcare institutions, we have seen positive changes there’, Andy continues. ‘Residents feel fresher and more active during the day. And they become calmer and tired more quickly in the evening. When they wake up at night and get out of bed, they realize more quickly that they have to go back to bed to sleep. Not only because they are more in a natural rhythm, but also because it is darker in the corridors and in the communal areas. That ensures fewer wanderers at night. We are also developing cloud ceilings. These are LED luminaires, a supporting structure with a housing for 1 or more LED lamps in it, and clouds on it. They show a blue sky with clouds, just like outside, through which light comes. This light moves with the biodynamic rhythm. Some residents sit under these LED luminaires and look at them calmly. Just like they would do outside on a bench, that also provides peace.’
Curious about Firefly’s cloud ceilings? This YouTube video shows you how they work:
It is possible with IoT.
In order to accurately recreate a natural day and night rhythm, Firefly’s smart lighting can be adjusted per minute. This happens automatically, and the color intensity and tint can both change. Andy explains how it works: ‘Our solutions all work wirelessly. With SIM cards in the lighting, we create a mesh network. This IoT solution allows the lights to communicate with each other. Every minute, a command is sent to the lights, so that they are all adjusted in the same way. You can also manage the entire network from the cloud. Really handy.’
