New Human Health Study by Wakefield Research Supports Transition from Fluorescent to Flicker-Free LED Lighting in the Workpla...
January 17 2017 - 9:00AM
Energy Focus, Inc. (NASDAQ:EFOI), a leader in LED lighting
technologies, today unveiled the results of a workplace
environmental health study that supports the case for replacing
fluorescent office lighting with greener, healthier, flicker-free
LED lighting. A variety of health issues associated with
optical flicker, including eye strain and aches, headaches,
inability to focus and visual disturbances like blurred or
temporary loss of vision, were all cited in the study as serious
health hazards tied to lighting, predominantly fluorescent, in the
workplace.
The study investigated a wide range of factors that can lead to
an unhealthy work experience, including air quality, temperature
issues and light quality from a variety of light sources.
Among the top workplace complaints, 69 percent of workers have
reported a problem with office lights, from glare to brightness to
excessive flicker.
In fact, 75 percent of employees said they would leave a job if
it was in an unhealthy building and 71 percent of employees
surveyed experienced a health issue that they specifically
attributed to the lighting in their office. One problem with
office lighting includes substropic flicker, which is typically
invisible to the human eyes but has scientifically been proven to
put unnecessary stress on the human brain. Eliminating
flicker, which is a key mission of Energy Focus, can help reduce
headaches, eyestrain and other discomforts in the workplace.
People with sensory disorders like autism or epilepsy can be
affected even more deeply.
Flicker is such a concern that nearly half of those surveyed -
47 percent - expressed that they would prefer a bad Internet
connection to flickering lights and, most notably, 94 percent feel
that flickering lights should be banned from all workplaces.
Despite these concerns, 98 percent of commercial buildings still
use fluorescent lighting, and most LED lights bring even higher
levels of flicker than fluorescent. Therefore, substropic flicker
remains present in most work environment.
“Consumers are raising their standards for wellness, and they
expect these to not only be reflected at home, but also in the
place they spend the majority of their day – the workplace,” says
Jerry Yudelson green building expert, a U.S. Green Building Council
LEED® Fellow and formerly president of the Green Building
Initiative. To improve the health of a workplace, Yudelson, a
world renowned sustainability thought leader since 1970s and author
of 13 books on green building, recommends that consumers be vocal
about their concerns and request that their employers replace
fluorescent lighting to flicker-free LEDs.
The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) in
its standard document, PAR 1789-2015, defines acceptable limits to
flicker in LED-based lighting systems. The equation recommended by
the standard calculates the maximum recommended flicker percentage
by multiplying the frequency of a light source by 0.08. For
example, at 120 Hz, which is common in most lighting applications,
ten percent maximum flicker is allowable to avoid human health
hazards in most applications. Energy Focus, Inc. manufactures the
first and thus far the only UL certified lighting to have less than
one percent flicker.
“Whether we recognize it or not, flicker in lighting has adverse
impact on how we feel and our overall health on a day-to-day basis
as modern workers spend 90 percent of the day under artificial
lighting,” said James Tu, CEO and President of Energy Focus. “As
the lighting industry is finally asking how much flicker is
acceptable, led by the flicker standard from IEEE in 2015, at
Energy Focus we are committed more strongly than ever to making
flicker-free the new gold standard of lighting quality for the
lighting industry.”
Consumers interested in learning more can visit
www.energyfocus.com/flickeroff which features educational materials
and a pre-drafted email that they can send to their facilities
manager – requesting the change to Energy Focus flicker-free
LEDs.
MethodologyThe Energy Focus workplace
healthiness survey was conducted by Wakefield Research among
1,000 U.S. full-time office workers, between December 6 and
December 12, 2016, using an email invitation and an online
survey.
About Energy Focus Energy Focus is an
industry-leading innovator of energy-efficient LED lighting
technology. As the creator of the first and only UL-verified
low-flicker LED products on the market, Energy Focus products
provide extensive energy and maintenance savings, and aesthetics,
safety, health and sustainability benefits over conventional
lighting. Our customers include U.S. and foreign navies, U.S.
federal, state and local government, healthcare and educational
institutions, as well as Fortune 500 companies.
Energy Focus is headquartered in Solon, Ohio, with additional
offices in Washington, D.C., New York and Taiwan.
Contact:
Janna Mino
Marketing Manager
(216)272-2711
jmino@energyfocus.com
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