Summary
This study evaluates LED lighting parameters needed to support ornamental indoor plants in biophilic design settings while also meeting human visual and biological needs, finding that horticultural grow-light LEDs optimized for food production are unsuitable for occupied interior spaces. Lighting designers, architects, and facility managers can use the spectral and photometric data provided (CCT, CRI, PPFD, DLI) to select LEDs that maintain plant health, natural appearance, and appropriate growth rates without compromising occupant wellbeing.
Key Findings
- Horticultural LED spectra optimized for food production (typically heavy in red/blue wavelengths) render ornamental plants with an unnatural appearance, as confirmed by visual assessment questionnaire surveys.
- Appropriate light-dark cycles (photoperiod) were identified as a crucial factor for indoor ornamental plant health, with implications for how lighting control systems in occupied spaces should be programmed.
- Spectral power distribution, CCT, CRI, PPFD, and DLI measurements were collected across multiple LED sources, providing a comparative dataset for selecting biologically and visually effective lighting for biophilic indoor environments.
- The study concludes that a dual-purpose LED specificationâbalancing plant photosynthetic requirements with human visual comfort and circadian considerationsârequires a fundamentally different approach than single-purpose horticultural lighting.
Categories
The Science of Light: Provides spectral measurements (CCT, CRI, SPD, PPFD, DLI) and analysis of LED action spectra for both plant photobiology and human visual perception.
Sleep & Circadian Health: Addresses the importance of appropriate light-dark cycles (photoperiod) for both plant health and human occupants in indoor biophilic environments.
Author(s)
KM Zielinska-Dabkowska, J Hartmann, C Sigillo
Publication Year
2019
Number of Citations
16
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