david k warfel
Human Centric Lighting (HCL) is a nebulous term quickly replacing Circadian Lighting as the go-to language for describing lighting strategies intended to improve our lives. The more expansive idea behind HCL is that it includes circadian rhythm science but also accounts for moment-to-moment human wellness, comfort, and needs. Human Centric Lighting sounds awesome, doesn’t it? Recently... Continue Reading →
Imagine the future: light helps you keep your balance as you age, cuts down on point sources that cause glare, minimizes sleep disturbances, and helps you see what you are doing better than ever. Wouldn't it be nice? Pushing these boundaries requires experiments like our recent lighting makeover at my parents' farmhouse in Illinois. The... Continue Reading →
A few years ago I heard a simple phrase from a leading lighting researcher: "Light is a drug." Like most drugs, light causes chemical reactions in our brain and body. Moods change, biorhythms change, migraines disappear. Wait, migraines? Dr. Mohab Ibrahim, director of the chronic pain clinic at a hospital in Tucson, Arizona, has an... Continue Reading →
There are more lighting products than ever on the shelves, but that can make it tough for a homeowner to make smart choices. Why is lighting getting harder? How can we wade through the hype and get better lighting in our homes? The last fifteen years have seen the biggest disruption in lighting since Thomas... Continue Reading →
I live by the rules. But am I wrong? One of those rules is to never mix warm white bulbs (yellowish) with cool white bulbs (bluish). I learned this rule back in the fluorescent day by looking at ceilings where some bulbs were pink and some were blue and the end result is that the... Continue Reading →
I frequently hear myself saying that lighting is not brain surgery, that getting it right just requires the attention of a dedicated experienced professional. I might be wrong. (Not literally. I could never do brain surgery because I would pass out as soon as the knife dug in. I'm getting faint just thinking about it.... Continue Reading →
I am as guilty as the next lighting designer. See my design above for proof. Once upon a time, light indoors depended on light through windows or flames from candles, lamps and fires. The windows were automatically scheduled to turn on slowly in the morning and turn off slowly in the evening. They changed intensity... Continue Reading →
One of the reasons that light in our homes and workplaces is not good for us is that our primary considerations are 1) how cheaply can we get lighting and 2) how few watts can we use. I am often asked "will good lighting cost more than regular lighting?" Yep. Let's say you hire a... Continue Reading →
The Gift of Light must be fully unwrapped to be understood. Inside the gift box of white light are all the colors of the rainbow, only visible when we split the wavelengths apart with a prism or raindrops. The power of light is also multi-layered, affecting our lives in many ways. My approach to better... Continue Reading →
I like to believe that I am a forward thinker and not a person who looks behind longingly at The Good Old Days. Most of the time. When it comes to architecture, I love where the world is headed. We're seeing modern homes with large expanses of glass, schools with huge amounts of daylight, factories... Continue Reading →
the language of light 