While people are being forced to spend so much time indoors there is a heightened awareness of the mental health issues associated with indoor living. While we are been urged to exercise it is seen to have a considerable impact on your mental health, often it’s the benefits of natural light and fresh air that accompanies outdoor exercise that is often overlooked.
As we spend more times indoors people are also looking at energy efficient options that help reduce their carbon footprint. What many people do not realise is that they are often sacrificing basic elements that have a significant impact on our health and wellbeing. Poor lighting, indoor air pollution, use of LED’s as a replacement of natural light, using blue or white coloured artificial lighting are all areas that we have control over and should avoid in our homes for our family’s health and wellbeing.
While Solatube has specialised in these type of products for many years, in these difficult times we are making slight changes to our sales process that allows customers to get access to our products that we believe are essential in any facility, particularly while we are spending so much time there.
Did you know that:
With a few simple questions, our Daylighting systems can be quoted over the phone.
We can do a Virtual Consultation with you with one of our daylighting experts via Online Communication Apps – we want to keep it simple, we just need to get a visual sense of the areas of your home you want to improve. This can allow us too:
Explain the product features and technology
See the specific location in your home (phone or web camera required)
Discuss and provide recommendations on the space
Take a virtual tour through one of our showroom rooms (if available in your territory)
View the different diffuser options
Provide you with a quotation of the product
The majority of our installations require little to no personal interaction with our certified installers, it can be scheduled based on accepted schedule and terms.
Poor lighting often gets overlooked in the workplace, as we talk about mental health and well-being, and the focus is firmly on creating happier and healthier workplaces. But bad lighting is associated with a range of ill-health effects, both physical and mental, such as eye strain, headaches, fatigue and also stress and anxiety in more high-pressured work environments. As we spend much of the day in artificial lighting, there is evidence that the lack of natural sunlight has an adverse effect on the body and the mind, and can result in conditions such as seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
As we navigate the darkest (and shortest days) of the year, 40% of office workers are struggling to work in poor lighting every day. This has a negative effect on their productivity and wellbeing – according to a new research report, looking at the impact of lighting in the workplace. This is a recent research report by the UK company Staples, where an online survey of 7,000 office workers was conducted in October 2018. The research sample consisted of a sample of desk-based office workers from ten European countries including: United Kingdom (2,000, with 302 in London), Germany (1,000), France (500), Netherlands (500), Sweden (500), Norway (500), Spain (500), Italy (500), Portugal (500) and Finland (500).
80% of office workers, said that having good lighting in their workspace is important to them, and two-in-five (40%) are having to deal with uncomfortable lighting every day. A third (32%) said better lighting would make them happier at work. However, when access to natural sunlight is so limited in the winter, many are feeling stressed and suffering from seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and often spend long hours at their desks which is sometimes their only access to light during the day. The results have also shown that 25% of the surveyed are frustrated at having to deal with poor lighting in their workplaces.
Often just 13-15 mins of exposure to natural light are enough to trigger the release of endorphins or “happy hormones”. Dr. Joe Taravella, a supervisor of pediatric psychology at NYU Lagone Medical center said that SAD “affects anywhere from 5% to 10% of the population:, which is a huge proportion of the population suffering from clinical levels of depression for up to a quarter of the year.
Another research concludes that there is a strong relationship between workplace daylight exposure and office workers’ sleep, activity, and quality of life.
There are no statutory workplace lighting levels in the UK. Regulation 8 of the Workplace Health, Safety and Welfare (WHSW) simply requires that lighting at work is “suitable and sufficient” and that, where possible workplaces are lit by natural light. The emphasis on natural lighting and other related research reflects the consensus that daylight is the best form of light. But, in parts of the northern hemisphere, daylight by itself will not provide sufficient illuminance throughout a working area. This means that “sufficient and suitable” lighting usually needs a combination of natural and artificial lighting, and especially artificial lighting that can be personalized as per the activity, function and individual requirements, and those that can imitate natural daylight.
The research by Staples recommends providing SAD lamps to employees, and to have cold-tone lighting with high illuminance in the mornings for maximum productivity. In this research report, 68% of the surveyed workforce admitted that they would feel more valued by their employers if they considered their health and well-being and invested in suitable lighting.
Personalized lighting options can help create more inclusive work environments. One such way is the use of biodynamic lighting which can then adjust the lighting during the day for the tone and illuminance as per natural daylight levels outside, and also the individual requirements of the user. This way the employees feel more in control of their work environments, which has been shown to increase their levels of happiness and productivity in the workplace.
Some lighting designers have recommended an emphasis on cooler, daylight temperatures, for example by adding more blue to the mix. A trial by the University of Surrey’s sleep research center suggests that certain wavelengths of blue light suppress the sleep hormone that regulates sleep/wake cycles. The trial compared alertness levels among staff working in the blue-enriched light with those on a control floor. It found that first thing in the morning and at lunchtime, alertness levels were the same on both floors. But another measure just before staff left for home found significantly higher alertness on the trial floor. Staff also reported improved sleep patterns, and although not scientifically validated, indicated that visual acuity was better with the blue light, and after four weeks, 92% of people on the floor said they preferred it over the old lighting.
There is sufficient evidence now to show that well-being in the workplace can be hugely improved by providing lighting that mimics natural daylight, by bringing more natural light in with large windows, by providing suitable levels of illumination for visual acuity, and by providing personalized lighting that can be adjusted as per the individual biodynamics as well as the task on hand.
Want to see how you can design with daylight in spaces that were once considered impossible? Here are five strategies you can incorporate into your building design to maximize the benefits of daylighting with Tubular Daylighting Devices (TDDs). Check out these amazing projects where architects have used Solatube Daylighting Systems with brilliant results. These designers have creatively added daylight to building spaces, used daylight to highlight beautiful colors and architectural designs in an office building, and used TDDs from supplemental to complete off-set lighting designs.
Focus on High Impact Areas
Ensuring that daylight reaches the highest impact areas is important in building design. It has not only financial benefits (reduced electrical costs) but also health and wellness benefits for those who occupy the space for long periods of time. Think of the impact that daylighting has on office space or classroom with large groups of employees or students. More people + more daylight = Most Efficient. And since Solatube TDDs offer a wide variety of flexibility from 90° turns to 50′ extension tubes, just about anything is possible
Consider TDDs for Supplemental or Off-Set
Natural light is one of the most abundant natural elements we have to work with. So why not make the most of it and do amazing things with it? Daylighting is a beautiful solution to lighting space, but we realize there are times when you need to make a choice: use supplemental or off-setting lighting? Solatube Tubular Daylighting Devices (TDDs) offers a variety of options, whether you have a limited budget, complicated plenum space, or challenging energy codes to meet. We are the daylighting experts who can help you determine the best plans to achieve your design goals.
Design Around Improving Employee Morale
If you had the choice between working in a room lit by natural light or one lit by artificial light, which would you choose? Most of us would prefer the former. Artificial light can’t come close to replicating the quality of natural light and its positive impact on us. Scientists at the Lighting Research Center (LRC), in Troy, N.Y., have reported that daylit environments increase occupant productivity and comfort. It also provides the mental and visual stimulation necessary to regulate human circadian rhythms and the production of neural transmitters, such as serotonin which helps people feel more energized, happy and well-rested. Workspaces designed to deliver natural light? Brilliant!
Utilize Increased Daylight to Improve Learning in Schools
It’s been proven that access to daylight is an important element in the learning environment. When designing new schools or remodeling old ones, introducing adequate daylighting can often be challenging.
With Solatube TDDs, daylight can reach places never thought possible in both new and retrofit applications. Our TDDs provide a solution for improving an educational environment and do more than simply brighten up space. Studies have shown that properly daylit spaces improve concentration, reduce behavioral issues and foster greater student achievement. Properly daylit spaces also contribute to lower absenteeism and higher employee retention.
Apply Daylighting to Improve Color Rendition
Using natural light is one of the best ways to highlight an architectural design. Whether it’s in a museum showcasing historical pieces, using it to complement a biophilic green wall, or to highlight a colorful structure in an office environment, daylighting is the perfect way to help improve color rendition. Not all TDDs are created equal, though. Tube lining materials can shift the color of natural light. Be sure to use higher color rendition indices for best color rendering. Solatube’s Spectralight® Infinity not only provides a color rendition index (CRI) of 100 but also eliminates unwanted infrared wavelengths of light. Therefore, you get complete color purity without the heat.
Do you have a project and would like to learn more about the benefits of daylighting? We can help find solutions by incorporating daylighting into your projects!
47% of Employees feel Tired Due to Lack of Natural Light 70% of Employees Perform improve their performance when they have Access to Natural Light
In the workplace, there are a lot of things that are provided as perks. But the one that bubbles to the top might not be what you’d expect. A recent Business Insider article cited a Future Workplace study for the Harvard Business Review that identifies natural light in the workplace as a major benefit for employees. In fact, the survey of 1,614 North American employees “found that ‘access to natural light and views of the outdoors’ was the most popular perk of all, beating out other things like cafeterias, gyms, and on-site childcare.” of the environment we are exposed to for 90% of our day.
Often, the current situation in workplace environments provides quite the opposite situation. The majority of workspaces lack an abundance of natural lighting, resulting in workers being less happy and more tired, increasing the likeliness of poor work quality or employees missing work completely. The article stated that “47% of employees admit they feel tired or very tired from the absence of natural light or a window at their office, and 43% report feeling gloomy because of the lack of light”.
When the employees are fulfilled in their workplace environment, they are more engaged, produce higher quality individual work, and are much happier in general, which creates a more enjoyable work space. “The Future Workplace Employee Experience Study found 78% of employees say access to natural light and views improves their well being and 70% report improved work performance.” So it’s not just a perk for them, but also a benefit to the companies where they work.
So how do you bring natural light into commercial buildings, especially in interior spaces where there are no windows? One of the ways the most progressive companies are doing it is with tubular daylighting. This top-lighting approach captures sunlight through a dome on the building’s roof, with technology that brings it in from virtually any position within the sky. The light is then sent down a highly reflective tube (whether through open ceilings or drop ceilings), into the space below through fixtures that deliver beautiful, diffused light. Tubular daylighting is the simplest and smartest method of capturing natural daylight and distributing it through your workplace while minimizing heat gain.
The originator and leading innovator in tubular daylighting is Solatube, which provides effective workplace solutions to help ensure employees feel good, are happy and more productive throughout the day. Its daylighting products improve the environments in every type of workplace and support employee wellbeing for virtually all occupations.
For example, in factories, warehouses, airports, and other facilities with very high ceilings and large volume areas, Solatube’s SkyVault can be integrated. This tube is the largest of the three offered in the commercial space, delivering a massive amount of light to brighten large spaces, all the way down to the work area. Offices and retail spaces can bring in natural light with the SolaMaster series, which provides the same brilliant natural light, but for ceilings between 10’ and 25’. On the smaller side, the Brighten Up Series can be used in any type of business for tighter spaces like bathrooms, hallways and nooks. And all three series allow you to control the level of natural light in your space with optional dimmers.
If you want to learn how to maximize natural light in your commercial workspace, you can contact us at Inquiry@egphil.com
If you want to create a healthier home through renovations, Solatube skylights are a fantastic solution. Introduce more natural light into the home to make the space brighter and happier, and as a means of lowering your overall electrical lighting use during the day. Solatube skylights can reduce energy costs, improve the look and feel of a space, and create a healthier home.
If you’re considering renovating, Solatube skylights are a cost-effective way to improve overall levels of natural light. Below, we’ve listed a few considerations to guide you through choosing Solatube skylights during your upcoming home renovation.
Budget and design aesthetic
The first consideration for your project will be your budget. If you aren’t working with an unlimited budget, talk to one of the specialists at Hometech to get an opinion on ideal Solatube placement. We can come to your home and consult with you on how best to light your home.
Solatube provide natural sunlight through their high-tech design. Prisms deflect harsh light to provide a consistent level of light through the day. For areas of the home requiring different types of lighting, we can add a dimmer switch so you can brighten or dim your Solatube as you like (particularly good for living rooms!). You can also add an electric light fitting for use during the night, to make any trips to the kitchen or bathroom well-lit and safe.
Location and limitations
Another key benefit of Solatube skylights is their ability to disperse greater levels of natural light throughout a home in comparison to windows or traditional bulbs. Dual Lens Array technology within Solatube incorporates special lenses that spread the light right around your room. This is why one Solatube can make a substantial difference even rooms that would traditionally require multiple, harsh lightbulbs. This also provides greater flexibility with where you want to position your Solatube skylights.
When you’re planning your renovation, Identify the direction and quality of light received by your home during the day, as this will help determine placement and any limitations of your home’s positioning. Look at how your preferred daylighting system integrates with your existing structure, and how you’ll fit these in to the finished home.
How to create healthier spaces with natural light
Hometech has helped thousands of Kiwis install natural light solutions in their homes, creating healthier environments for families across the country. Our Solatube skylights use cutting-edge technology to absorb and direct sunlight throughout your home, previously dark spaces will come alive for a brighter, healthier space.
This is because our Solatube skylights are lined with Spectralight Infinity, a special super-reflective material that bounces light through the Solatube and into your home. A 3-metre long Solatube will only lose 3 per cent of the light it receives – the other 97 per cent is beamed straight into your home!
If you’d like to talk to one of experts about your upcoming renovation, contact EGPHIL Solar Solutions today to learn more about our Solatube skylights and Solatube products, and how we can help you make the most of your home’s lighting.
EGPHIL participated in the Big 5 – Saudi in collaboration with our international partners for Solar Water Heating – SOLE SA from Greece.
SOLE Company was established in 1974 and has had extensive experience that they use in research and development of the right products and systems to meet customer’s need. EGPHIL and SOLE team to assure reliability of offered solutions for the Saudi Market.
Systems offered from SOLE include:
ALPHA Solar water heater is an integrated collector storage system that is fully pre-assembled ensuring ease in installation. For our climatic condition, it is designed to easily dissipate excess energy during summer to avoid overheating. The unit is available in 200 liter capacity.
EUROSTAR Solar water heater is a Thermosiphon system available in capacities of 150L, 200L, and 300L. Eurostar is unique as its built to tolerate up to 22.5 bar pressure, which assures that the system can stand overheating conditions that have led to premature failure of Solar Water heaters in Saudi Arabia.
Forced Circulation Systems are design by our expert engineers for large commercial scale projects. Our in-house team provide complete engineering support to ensure maximum savings are achieved by the system based on client’s requirements and limitations. These solutions are best for high hot water requirements of Schools, Malls, Hotels, etc.
Looking forward to supply and installation Solar Water Heating for your need.
It is now one of the hottest summer months in the country, there is an abundance of daylight supply. People are not used to the extreme heat outside their homes, but daylight also brings so much benefits in our daily lives.
Today, daylighting is considered one of the most efficient environmental strategies that has begun attracting a huge amount of interest in sustainability point of view. However, it’s no longer limited to simply placing transparent or reflective surfaces to provide internal illumination. It requires well-thought innovative product that can maximize its benefits yet limit its concerns.
Daylighting systems in the comforts of your place
Daylighting is controlling the entrance of natural light or direct sunlight in a facility, through the use of transparent and reflective systems, which also reduce electricity consumption.
However, best daylighting systems are composed of daylight-responsive structures which are also designed to avoid direct contact with the sun and reduces harmful rays and heat gain. If enough daylight has been provided, this system can eliminate requirement of electrical lighting.
A Good Daylighting Design
What makes a good design?
If you aim to have a visually stimulating and productive environment in an establishment, there must be significant attention given on the daylighting when doing the architectural design of the building. A good daylighting design is like a puzzle piece – if you forget to consider one part, it will fail the rest.
Remember that the architectural design should meet the following characteristics:
Provision of ambient lighting requirements
Avoid direct light problems through good management (high brightness ratios, direct sunlight controls, etc.)
Must be adjustable and easy to use for the occupants of the facility
Fully implement the overall project goal with its lifetime in consideration.
Things to consider when planning the design
As there are things to watch out during the designing phase, ask yourself these questions:
How appropriate is the daylight in the specific area?
How much light would I need?
What controls do I target?
Is your electric lighting control properly utilized and suited solely for night time functions?
Also remember that the area should have enough sunlight considering the variation expected from the sun.
What are the benefits of daylighting systems?
Reducing costs
Since one of the main advantages of daylighting systems is its attempt to reduce the cost of electric lighting, most buildings with daylighting has a range of 40 to 80 percent savings. Furthermore, these systems also reduce the HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) costs.
A natural need for the well-being
Several studies stated that daylighting has a direct effect on a person’s well-being as it improves productivity, emotions, and overall sense of satisfaction in life. These psychological benefits result in reduced absenteeism from offices, as well as improved educational performance and patient recovery time in hospitals.
Healthcare
Remember that proper amount of daylight benefits the overall health of a person. Researches stated that natural light helps in providing mental and visual stimulation necessary for regulating the human circadian rhythm – the 24-hour physiological cycle in living beings that can be regulated by sunlight and temperature.
What is a disadvantage of daylighting systems?
Light and heat that is out of control
If setting up the daylighting project was not properly executed, it can produce risky results. Direct contact with sunlight gives an unpleasant glare and intolerable heat on task surfaces like computer screens – it will make everything difficult for the person who is working.
Tubular daylighting devices are equipment that bring natural light into your place through a sleek and transparent narrow tube. Compared to installation of windows or traditional skylights, these tubes are cost and time efficient – as these can be installed in just a few hours. For you to get all the daylighting benefits, use Solatube’s tubular daylighting systems which EGPHIL and its affiliates aim to correctly design, supply and install.
Light as Light: Solatube Daylighting Devices in Saudi Arabia
Solatube’s tubular daylighting devices redirect, reflect, and deliver visible spectrum of light to designated interior spaces. More than preventing harmful ultraviolet light and reducing glare, these also maintain a consistent light distribution pattern to avoid any damages or fading of the furniture and fabrics.
SolaMaster® Series
With optical technologies that deliver predictable light levels, the SolaMaster® Series can be used in commercial lighting that is similar to traditional lighting equipment. They are also most applicable for warehouses, production facilities, commercial spaces, offices, health centers, and gymnasiums.
SkyVault® Series
These are big tubes that deliver massive amounts of daylight for large spaces. With proper application of modular components, you will be able to increase light capture, maximize light output, dim or darken a specific area in the establishment when you need, and reduce the thermal exchange. These are applicable for distribution centers, airports, convention centers, manufacturing facilities, and military bases.
Brighten Up® Series
This is a line of tubular daylighting devices that has consistent lighting during the daytime in areas where light is always needed. These have options such as decorative diffusers, dimming, and light add-on. This device features Raybender Technology, an optical innovation built into rooftop domes. Brighten Up® Series is designed for applications in residences, offices, low ceiling requirements, and basements.
Smart LED™ System
A day and night solution applicable for residences and offices, this energy-efficient tubular daylighting device is a combination of daylighting device and automatic LED luminaire. Through this, efficient lighting is guaranteed as daylight levels that are monitored in the system and LEDs will automatically adjust when the levels get too low.
EGPHIL Solar Solutions is an experienced provider of energy efficiency and solar energy solutions in Saudi Arabia. Our services will assure you an excellent experience as we bring light into your place by installing an efficient solar lighting system in Saudi Arabia. For more details, give us a call on +966 12 668 1177.
Solatube Daylighting System had been installed in Public Toilet facilities in Tabarjal in Northern Saudi Arabia. The project was undertaken as a sample construction and has received positive feedback in terms of design and sustainability. The project was covered by the local news and can be found in the following link: http://www.tabarjalnews.com/3363664.html
Now that it’s spring, you’re likely excited by the abundance of daylight. Whether inside or out, daylight has a way of enchanting the mind, soul and body. From the moment you wake up in the morning to the moment you retire in the evening, you experience the mental and physical benefits of daylight.
Solatube Tubular Daylighting Devices can help you reap these benefits in the spring and every season. By engineering daylighting systems to improve the quality of home lighting by integrating natural light, Solatube makes living better.
Why Is Spring a Time of Renewal?
Beginning on the vernal equinox, spring is a time of renewal, rebirth and rejuvenation. It’s the time when we do our spring cleaning, clearing away the clutter from our homes. It’s the season when the Northern Hemisphere gets more light from the sun. So, we do more indoor and outdoor activities, as we enjoy the weather and reap the benefits of longer days.
The ritual of springing forward one hour for daylight saving time heralds the coming of the spring and summer months for many of us. Our love of nature and the great outdoors seems to increase when we’re out in the sun. Gardening, spring cleaning, shopping and playing sports are just a few of ways we rejuvenate ourselves after a long winter.
What Are Some Benefits of Daylight?
The sun gives us the life-sustaining properties of light. When indoors, we can see the full range of light through windows and tubular daylight devices (TDDs), designed for distributing natural light in residences and commercial buildings. Because daylight triggers the production of serotonin, we experience calming mood effects as a result. These euphoric feelings help us avoid seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which is a form of depression attributed to less exposure to sunlight.
Our exposure to daylight can also help control the debilitating effects of non-seasonal depression and premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Other benefits of daylight include soaking up vitamin D, which is great for bone health, reducing stress for mental health, and providing therapy for healthy skin. Adding sunlight to daily activities improves our quality of life and appreciation of natural light.
How Is Natural Daylight Helpful in Our Homes?
Daylight can boost our comfort and productivity levels at home. Due to its mental and visual stimulation, daylight regulates our circadian rhythms for better sleep. A naturally lit home also establishes a positive mood by minimizing energy demand. Studies show that the integration of natural lighting into our homes lowers total energy consumption and makes us happier and healthier. Interior daylighting not only helps our home decorating by optimizing visual effects but also gives therapeutic benefits. Some popular ideas for your home include daylighting kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms, staircases and hallways.
How Do Solatube Products Connect Us to Nature on a Daily Basis?
Solatube, a manufacturer of TDDs, commands authority in energy-efficiency solutions around the globe. Solatube leverages its patent for daylighting systems by channeling sunlight from rooftops through reflective tubing for diffusion near ceilings. In this way, Solatube products link us to nature in the places where we need it most — in our homes and our workplaces. We bring the life-giving energy of the sun to communities.
Why Is Daylighting Essential to Our Needs?
Many of us reap the rewards of daylight, especially during the spring and summer months. We notice the changes in our activities, moods and feelings. When you use daylighting systems, you can spend more time basking in the sun in the comfort and privacy of your own home. Thus, getting daylight on a daily basis can renew the spirit, heal the body and rejuvenate the soul.
