How Smart Lighting Controls Can Enhance University Learning Environments and Save Costs

Smart lighting controls in educational establishments can enhance the learning environment while also reducing estate operational costs.

According to the Energy Saving Trust, LED lighting lasts five times longer, and uses 80% less energy, to produce the same amount of light compared to traditional lighting systems. Consequently, significant cost savings can be made by switching to energy-efficient LED lighting equipment, including lighting controls.

In this article we explore why lighting controls can make a difference and how universities, colleges and schools can benefit from their use.

Smart Lighting Controls: Key Features

Smart lighting controls allow building managers and users to optimise how, when and where lighting is used. The key features of smart lighting controls include:

• Bluetooth control: Instead of using individual switches throughout the building or classroom, head teachers and facility managers can control the entire property from a single point using smartphone apps and other connected devices.
• Occupancy sensing: Motion sensors can detect when a room is empty and automatically switch off the lights, preventing energy waste from lights left on when they are not needed.
• Daylight harvesting: Schools often feature large windows. Smart systems can adjust the artificial lighting based on the natural light available, ensuring natural daylight is maximised.
• Time scheduling: Lights can be scheduled to turn on only when needed so they cannot accidentally be left on.
• Tunability: The brightness and intensity can be controlled, allowing teachers and facility managers to adjust lighting according to specific needs—dimmed lights for quiet time or videos, and brighter lights to counteract the mid-afternoon energy slump.

Reduced Energy Use, Reduced Carbon Emissions, and Improved Wellbeing

Universities, colleges, and schools are multi-use buildings. Not only might multiple users use a single classroom over the course of a day, but spaces could also be used out of hours by clubs and the local community. This means lighting needs to be flexible and easy to use.

Maximising daylight is also particularly important for a classroom, lecture theatre or other teaching space. It has been proven that natural daylight enhances concentration and promotes wellbeing; research indicates that quality lighting can help students stay focused and perform better academically.

Furthermore, careful consideration needs to be given to the wide-ranging needs of individual students, including those with diverse neurological needs. Smart controls make it easier to adjust lighting systems to meet these needs. 

By helping to optimise the use of lighting, smart lighting controls can also help to reduce an estate’s energy consumption. In turn, this helps to reduce carbon emissions which is important given education is the public sector's largest emitter of carbon from buildings, amounting to 37% of all public sector emissions.

The installation of LED lighting controls is an immediate and cost-effective way to upgrade education estates, delivering benefits for students and staff, and supporting the UK’s broader net zero agenda.

• Tamlite offers a full range of products for the education sector designed with occupant wellbeing, sustainability, and performance in mind. The products in this range can be retrofitted to existing lighting systems and includes luminaries specifically tailored to meet the specific lighting needs of sports halls, corridors, lecture theatres, classrooms and reception areas.
• For further information about our products for the education sector, please visit our website. For further information about our VISION lighting controls, please click here.