Mining Publication: What is Human-centric Lighting?

During the early 1900s, safety was the primary driver prompting use of the new technology of electric lighting for underground mining. The Edison electric cap lamp was approved for mine use during 1915, and it eventually gained wide acceptance. Lighting technology continued to evolve over the years and, until recently, only gradual improvements occurred with incandescent lights.

The advent of light emitting diode (LED) lights revolutionized mine illumination. White LEDs are achieving about 170 lumens per watt (lm/W), the amount of visible light per unit of electrical power, in comparison to about 15 lm/W for an incandescent bulb. They can provide useful light in excess of 50,000 hours of operation as compared to about 1,000 to 3,000 hours for an incandescent light.

Now, there is a new lighting revolution taking place called human-centric lighting (HCL), also known as integrative lighting, that can help improve the safety and health of miners—especially those miners working shifts who experience disruption of their natural circadian rhythm and miners who work underground in conditions of dim artificial light. This article will give an overview of HCL, explain the need to investigate HCL to improve the safety of miners, and provide an overview of HCL research currently being conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).