DTU Daylight
Perfect Daylight, even without Sunshine.
Despite best efforts by architects to make natural daylight available throughout buildings, it is not always possible. Older buildings especially suffer from a lack of daylight in many areas. Of course, this may be easily solved with regular artificial lighting, however, studies conducted over the last few years have found that regular lighting solutions are not ideal in places where there is no daylight at all, since they do not stimulate the so called “circadian rhythm” which is the natural change of colour temperature in daylight. The circadian rhythm is extremely important for regulating our internal clocks, and thus plays an essential role in our wellbeing.
Technical facts
- Project responsible: DTU Campus Service
- Installation date: June 2015
- Total Units installed: 50
- Luminous flux per unit: 4065 lm
- Wattage per unit: 48.5W
- Colour temperature: 2200 – 6500K
- Special features: Daylight simulation
Lighting challenges
The campus of the Technical University of Denmark is very large – more than 100 hectares, and there are a few places where the management team wanted to improve the lighting. The team wanted a solution that simulates the natural change of colour temperature throughout the day, however, they wanted to preserve the existing light fixtures in place. Most standard retrofit solutions could not provide an insert that allowed for daylight simulations, or that were customised to the exact needs of the clients.
The LED iBond solution
Our team was very excited for the opportunity, and to explore various proposals together with DTU campus service.
Whilst Dynamic White was a given, we also had to double check how the existing diffuser was affecting colour temperature, and made sure to find the right mix of LEDs through extensive testing.
We ended up with a blend of 2200K and 6500K LEDs, which are individually controlled through a light management system to adjust the colour temperature not just according to the time of day, but also to the season, since Denmark can have dull and dark weather in the winter months. During the darkest months, the lighting is enhanced by LED RGB projectors which provide comfortable lighting conditions – brightening up many of DTU’s students’ days.
The solution itself consists of a customised insert, utilising LED iBond’s proprietary and patented technology, which is only 6mm thin. This allowed for easy, and quick installation. The inserts are fixed to the luminaires with magnets, further helping to cut down installation cost, with a plug and play system.