Is a smart home a healthier home?

Tas Kyriacou, Director at Intelligent Digital Solutions, on how new technologies can be healthier than traditional ones.

“Today, new luxury residential developments must include the latest technology to make life simpler for residents. People want easy, modern control in their homes” Sunil Pankhania, Westcombe Operations Director.

Whether designing, developing or buying a property today, it is expected to include an element of smart home technology. Smart homes are equipped with lighting, heating, and electronic devices that can be controlled remotely by smartphone, control panel or computer. They bring many benefits to users’ including comfort, security, energy (ideal for BREEAM and energy regulations) savings and more recently wellness.

Millennials (who account for three-quarters of the current property market) are most concerned about health and wellness. Supporting this, research has shown that where we live can impact our health — but can a smart home be a healthier home?

Where the smart home excels in health benefits is in its support of the circadian rhythm.

Firstly, let’s address what the circadian rhythm is:

The National Sleep Foundation states:

Your circadian rhythm is basically a 24-hour internal clock that is running in the background of your brain and cycles between sleepiness and alertness at regular intervals. It’s also known as your sleep/wake cycle.

Light is the most powerful synchroniser of the human circadian clock. The time spent exposed to different colours and levels of light throughout the day and night is responsible for how circadian rhythms are synced with our environment. Disruption to our body clocks can result in poor sleep and health risks.

Tas Kyriacou, Director, Intelligent Digital Solutions, comments, “the flexibility and control that a smart home offers means that integrators can use light (natural and artificial) to improve health and wellbeing, setting systems, in particular lighting and blind control, to support circadian rhythms. This is known as circadian lighting.”

So, what is circadian lighting?

The concept of circadian lighting follows that of the human circadian rhythm. The area of the brain called the hypothalamus controls each person’s circadian rhythm by receiving signals from the eyes that report when it’s daytime and night time. The hypothalamus, in turn, controls the amount of melatonin released to correlate sleepiness with darkness and alertness with lightness. Scientists have discovered that long-term exposure to certain wavelengths of blue light at a specific intensity can have a negative impact on melatonin production.

Circadian lighting, therefore, controls electric light to support health and wellbeing by reducing the effect it has on the human circadian rhythm.

How do design and architecture play a role?

Dicky Lewis, Director White Red Architects, says “the role of the architect or interior designer is to assist the client in exploring the design of spaces and a fundamental part of this is the lighting strategy. As architects we benefit from building relationships with integrators to help inform us of the latest developments in lighting technology which in turn provides added value to our clients.”

Engagement with architects

Dicky continues, “with the ever-increasing prioritisation towards both sustainability and the promotion of health and wellbeing in design, smart home technology is becoming a vital component in achieving these desired outcomes. The most efficient way of ensuring that correct smart home technology is installed is the early engagement of the design team with the correct consultants. Providing a clear brief to the architect will enable early coordination with integrators, which will also ensure that the most cost-effective solutions can be explored.”

Integrators can work with architects to introduce tech which supports a wellness approach to buildings. Controlling natural and artificial lighting is one of the most effective ways to transform a home making a real difference to the quality of life.

For example, technology and design can fuse together. Big windows can take advantage of bright summer mornings, then sensors can detect light and temperature to control blinds to bathe rooms in soft morning light or block out darkness.

When winter draws, and natural light is of a premium, technology comes into play; lighting sensors and timers can be tuned to match the circadian rhythm. Gently Start the day with colour temperatures close to natural morning light (<2700K), move to brighter whites (5000K) for alertness and end the evening with warming soothing colours (<2700K), removing some of the blue spectrum to slowly ease into the night time rhythm.

For more information on how to integrate smart controls or circadian lighting into your next project please contact Intelligent Digital Solutions.

Qandor is a property club for professionals in property and construction. Through several networking opportunities and exposure, we aim to help you in growing your portfolio and moving forward in your career. To know more about becoming a member, send us an email or click on this link. We also have a bi-monthly online magazine, Q. Magazine. To check it out, click here.