How to Find The Right Lighting Options For Your Daycare

Are you looking for the right lighting options for your daycare? While last month focused on best practices for lighting in child-centric facilities, this post covers how, from LED retrofits to customized installations, you can revamp a space to suit childrens' needs perfectly in a daycare environment. 

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Everybody knows that lighting and luminosity are very important. They play crucial role in your daycare set-up and can contribute to the overall well-being of your staff and children. Investing in quality commercial lighting will:

• enhance the safety of the children
• create a warm, inviting, and welcoming space
• encourage more active participation
• improve sleep

Commercial Lighting Tips For Daycares

Many people underestimate the importance of lighting and learning but in fact, the type of commercial lighting you place in your daycare will have a significant impact on the happiness, health, and productivity of young children. 

Here are some tips you must keep in mind for lighting up a daycare:

1. Emotional and Physiological Consideration.

Commercial lighting, whether through the use of daylight or artificial means, must ALWAYS be designed primarily for the physiological needs of the occupants and their expected tasks within the given space. Some things to think about include:

• Visual comfort: Remember that extreme brightness contrasts (e.g. bright light bulbs and dark ceilings) can cause fatigue and discomfort.
• Highly Luminous Areas: Try to avoid having too many highly luminous areas because they can heighten sensitivity to contrast and cause visual discomfort and poor performance.
• Poor Contrast: Poorer contrast requires higher light levels to perform a visual task, which may reduce visual comfort and cause eye strain.    

 

2. Lighting Design Considerations

When designing the layout of your daycare, it is absolutely essential to take some time to consider your commercial lighting design options. Working with a lighting expert can help you create the safest, most comfortable space for little ones.

Consider the following:

• Some variety is always needed. Both dark and light places should be provided in a daycare, because it helps add visual life and texture to a space.
• Various areas must be lit up differently. For example, the book reading area will require a higher level of illumination than the block or nap area.
• Visual interactions of the light with the environment must always be kept in mind so when planning your interior lighting design remember to consider the colors of your walls, floors, ceilings, as well as the size of your room.

 

3. Sources of Light

Choosing the right sources of light for your daycare is a very important component of your interior lighting design. There are several options available to you, but you should discuss these with a lighting expert to ensure you’re making the right choice.

Natural light: While natural light is less predictable and steady than artificial lighting, it does have many benefits including:

• reduced energy costs

• increased aesthetics of a space

• happier, calmer, and healthier children

• reduced mould and mildew development

Both skylights and windows can give you the amount of natural light you would require for increased energy and happier children. Our Calgary lighting team can help you set up a lighting system that lets you take advantage of the sunlight when it's available, while at the same time giving you the option to light your space more brightly during winter months.

 

Purchase The Right Lighting Products

Many daycares are located in commercial areas or buildings, which are, unfortunately, often equipped with fluorescent lighting that is out of date, doesn't flatter the space, and can even cause visual fatigue.

Here's our comparison of the three most popular bulb types for commercial facilities:

Incandescent Bulbs: Incandescent bulbs have been used in many Calgary homes and commercial spaces because of their colour rendering and cost-effectiveness. However, they do have a short lifespan and would require more frequent replacements compared to LEDs and fluorescent bulbs.

Fluorescent Bulbs: Unlike incandescent bulbs, fluorescent bulbs are extremely energy efficient and have a very long lifespan. However, they create a very harsh white light, making it not a good choice for daycare owners.

LED Lights: Today, LED lights are one of the most popular lighting options amongst business and homeowners. This is because they’re EXTREMELY energy-efficient and come in a variety of colours, sizes, and shapes.

 

Already Have a Lighting Design in Place? Consider an LED Retrofit

While desirable, making the switch from your old bulbs to LED ones is not always easy. We understand that a full commercial lighting design upgrade comes with high installation costs and time required for fitting selection.

But we can make it easy with our affordable LED lighting retrofit services, which involves upgrading your existing light fittings to make them compatible with energy-efficient LED lights.

An LED retrofit:

• saves you the time and money that would have been spent to replace your existing fittings.
• allows you to keep any high-quality and unique fittings you may have.
• lets you choose from a variety of temperatures and styles, so you can customize any space in the daycare.

Call Today

From affordable and efficient LED retrofittings to our customized design, installation, and maintenance services, the experienced and professional team at Fluorescent Man Lighting will help you fulfill all the commercial lighting goals for your daycare quickly, safely, and efficiently. To find out more about our lighting services, including LED retrofits, contact our Calgary office at 403-863-8529 or fill in our online contact form.