Melanopic lighting
BioUp technology

Increase wellbeing
in the office by applying
melanopic lighting
Maximizing WELL points

The importance oflight on performance
We have become the indoor generation. On average, wespend more than 90% of our time indoors, with 36% of thatspent in the workplace. But the more time we spend indoors,
the less we’re exposed to the beneficial effects of light. As aconsequence, we don’t receive enough nutrition from natural
daylight to helps us:

See better

Feel better

Function better

What is melanopic light?
Light has a visual impact (see better), an emotional impact(feel better) and a biological impact (function better).
Although the biological effects of light determine ourgeneral wellbeing, indoor lux levels are generally tuned
to the visual functions of light (500lux). And it is below
recommended levels regarding biological impact.

Melanopic light is the part of biological light which plays amajor role in synchronizing the internal body clock in linewith non-visual effects of light. When you properly designmelanopic lighting in your building it brings the benefits ofnatural daylight indoors, enhancing visual comfort, wellbeing
and performance. Melanopic light has a direct relation with:

Light intensity

2Light-dark cycle(circadian rhytm)

Light spectrum

3

A productive office isdesigned for wellbeingof staff:• 90% of business costs are staff related1•	20% fewer workdays missed by people
who are emotionally and mentallycommitted2•	up to 8% increase in productivity with
better building design (e.g. lighting)3

Maximize WELL lighting points
In the WELL Building Standard, the concept ‘Light’covers nine features, one of which is CircadianLighting Design (L03). This provides guidelines
on ways to minimize disruption to the circadiansystem, enhance productivity, support relaxationand provide appropriate visual acuity.
Philips solutions will help you maximize the WELL
points for Circadian Lighting Design (L03):
1 point: melanopic-EDI 136 lux or 109 lux*
3 points: melanopic-EDI 218 lux or 163 lux*

* Lowest lux value applies when theproject also meets L05 Part 1(daylight design) or L06 Part 1 (daylight simulation).
1

 orld Green Building Council. Health, Wellbeing & Productivity inWOffices: The next chapter for green building. 20142

 iller NG, Pogue D, Gough QD, Davis SM (2009) Green buildings andM
productivity JOSRE 1(1):65-89
Guy R. Newsham, Jennifer A. Veitch & Yitian (Vera) Hu (2018) Effectof green building certification on organizational productivity metrics,
Building Research & Information.

3

Lighting and the WELL
Building standard™
A WELL certificate offers an opportunity to increase the value ofreal estate through the technical requirements that indicate towhat extent a building is designed for health and wellbeing ofstaff. Functional environments are giving way to spaces that:• engage and inspire• improve mood, supports a sound rest and performance• attract talent and retain high-value employees
4What is melanopic-EDI?
Melanopic equivalent daylight illuminance(melanopic-EDI), unit lux, is the circadian metricadopted by the International Commission onIllumination (CIE). It describes the response of thenon-visual photo-receptors (ipRGCs) in our eyes.
This response is indicative for how the body will
respond and is a combination of the spectrum of
the light and the intensity.

What is melanopic-DER?
The melanopic daylight efficacy ratio is a spectral
metric of the biological effect of artificial light sourcecompared to daylight (6500K). The melanopic-DER
of a reference daylight spectrum is 1. Typically,
artificial lighting has a lower biological effect thandaylight, the melanopic-DER being below 1.
5

What is BioUp?
Philips BioUp technology enhances the LED spectrumwith cyan light. This increases the biological impact ofthe light. With BioUp the melanopic-DER is 42% higher
compared to standard LED spectrum (see table 1).
There is no change in visual color impression andvisual light output (4000K, CRI>80, R9>50).

Four ways to increasemelanopic light levels
and achieve WELL
points for CircadianLighting Design (L03)
Option 1
Install more luminaires• provides more light• higher installation costs• higher energy consumption

This graph shows the spectra of standard LED (whiteline) and the new BioUp (black line). The peak in thecyan wavelength is clearly visible.
Table 1

Option 2
Use luminaires with ahigher light output• provides more light• higher energy consumption• risk of disturbing glare
Philips PowerBalance is available with a light
output up to 6000lm, while still meeting theglare requirements for offices.

ProductMelanopic-DER

PowerBalance 4000K CRI 90

0.62

PowerBalance BioUp 4000K

0.88

+42%

Option 3
Increase color temperatureswith Tunable White• higher color temperatures provide a cooler light• the more blue in the spectrum, the more biologically
active the light (higher melanopic-DER). See table 2.
• however, not everyone likes cool light• tunable white solutions allow cooler light mid ofday and warmer light in the morning and evening,
following the circadian rhythm380420460 480 500

540580

620

660

700

740

780

Wavelength in nmOption 4Use luminaires withBioUp technology• BioUp is a cyan enhanced spectrum• cyan light increases biological impact
Using BioUp technology is the most energy andcost efficient way to gain L03 WELL points.

Table 2: melanopic-DER value of Philips PowerBalance
Tunable White (TW9) for different color temperatures.
Table 2ProductMelanopic-DER

PowerBalance TW9 4000K CRI 90

0.71

PowerBalance TW9 5000K CRI 90

0.86

PowerBalance TW9 6500K CRI 90

1.00

Philips PowerBalance

67Light up working
environments
Offices designed for wellbeing are becoming increasingly important:human-centric lighting principles increase visual and biological comfort.

Mentally and emotionally-committed employees are likely
to be top performers who miss 20% fewer workdays1

Organizations with a high engagement levels report
20% higher productivity2

People who appraise theirlighting as ‘good’ will also
appraise the room as more
attractive, be in a more
pleasant mood, be moresatisfied with the workenvironment, and moreengaged in their work.3

 igh melanopic light levels benefit office worker’s wellbeing, andH
therefore the strength of your organization.

Philips PowerBalance tunable white and BioUp for WELL lit buildings
Our innovative lighting solutions will help you meeting WELL standards.
We have the expertise to calculate with melanopic lighting for solutions
that can create the ideal lighting plan for your application.
To find out more, contact your Signify representative.

Extract from: Miller 2003
Extract from Harvard Business Review 2013 by the Gallup OrganizationExtract from: “Linking Lighting Appraisals to Work Behaviors” Jennifer A. Veitch, Mariska G. M. Stokkermans and Guy R.
Newsham Environment and Behavior2Ol3 45: 198 originally published online 16 September 2011.

123

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