Issue Date: February 25, 2007

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Seeing the light

By using natural light to your advantage, you can brighten up your home and your disposition.

By Natalie Ermann Russell

Light is the ultimate mood lifter -- some might say it's better than ice cream or even chocolate. Study after study has shown that productivity and attitude are improved when people are exposed to natural light.

Perhaps it's because light provides you with vitamin D, suppresses melatonin, keeps your circadian rhythm on track and makes you sleep regularly. And lack of light can cause seasonal affective disorder (SAD), especially in regions that see fewer hours of daylight. "When you look at the macro scale, you see a correlation between light and the development of [a city's culture]," says lighting designer Bentley Meeker. "Say, Seattle vs. Los Angeles."

WHY INTENSITY MATTERS
In an electrically lit room, the levels of light intensity and color stay stagnant. Why would that matter? Because natural daylight changes color and intensity throughout the day and year, and we need that. "A person working in [an electrically lit] office doesn't know if it's noon or midnight," says Neall Digert, vice president of commercial market development for Solatube, which manufactures tubular solar fixtures that bring natural light from the outside in. Someone working under natural light or tubular solar fixtures intuitively knows how long he has been there, which helps him make the most of the regular workday hours. "We're seeing that workers are about 6% more productive in a daylight environment," says Digert, who wrote a doctoral dissertation on daylighting. "And that affects the bottom line."

The color of the light also can make a difference. "The brain doesn't respond as well to red light as it does to blue light," says architect and interior designer Johnna Doane, of Brown Doane Architects in Atlanta, who has studied how lighting can transform a space. In tropical countries, for example, people tend to long for cooler light because it offers a retreat, she says.

WAYS TO LIGHTEN UP
"Use skylights, clerestories and the appropriate location of windows [to achieve proper daylighting]," says Abhay Wadhwa, principal of Abhay Wadhwa Associates, an architectural lighting design firm in New York City. Clerestory windows, for example, are high up in a room and can offer indirect light that won't elicit as much glare or unwanted heat.

Solar tube lighting, such as that made by Solatube or Velux, is another great option. Looking at it, you'd think it was just a recessed light, but it's actually a complex skylight-like apparatus. A highly reflective shaft collects, redirects, transports and diffuses daylight, no matter if it's a bright or overcast day. Perhaps the best part is that solar tubes, which start at about $300, can reduce electric bills when used in lieu of traditional electric lights during the day.

Full-spectrum light bulbs also can provide what you need. "They increase the quantity of blue light we receive," designer Doane says, "which helps to set natural circadian rhythms." But because they're artificial, you won't get any vitamin D.

MAXIMIZING LIGHT
What's outside your window can affect the light inside. "Reflective surfaces, such as water bodies, next to windows can maximize light," Wadhwa says. He also suggests making sure that wanted sunlight isn't blocked by trees in the yard or too many mullions (strips of wood or metal that separate windows into smaller panes); the fewer panes, the more light is able to come in.

The color of the room also can influence how you perceive light. "One of the worst mistakes is painting the walls in a south-facing room with a strong warm palette," Doane says. "The intense sunlight from the southern exposure will reflect off of reds, yellows and oranges and amplify those tones. In general, paint south-facing rooms with cool colors (blue tones) and reserve warm tones for rooms with northern exposure."

Window treatments can alter the quality of light, too. You may want to consider installing solar mesh screens, which reduce heat and glare, or curtains made from a translucent fabric, which are great for correcting the tone of light.

"Try an experiment with some inexpensive, bright white sheer panels," Doane says. "Hold one up in front of your window [at different points throughout the day] and watch how the color of the room will change [when the sunis in different positions]. It's extremely dramatic."

The bottom line: The right light can make a space look better and feel better -- and save you money by reducing utility costs. No need to search for the bright side of that.