Can LED Lights Actually Have a Positive Impact on Overall Health?

Out of Clark County Las Vegas comes a story that has resulted in the formation of the Las Vegas LED Classroom Lighting Initiative Project. This story is worth telling, because it is a moving story of how all the students at one small private school benefited from actions taken to help one little girl with a rare, life-threatening medical condition called erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) which makes her very sensitive to ultraviolet (UV) light. When she’s exposed to sunlight or the fluorescent lights commonly used in schools, she experiences severe pain, itching and blistering of the skin. Prolonged exposure can develop gall bladder and liver disease.

The principal was moved to help this little girl. She understood how the light spectrum goes from red, orange, yellow, green, blue and then to ultraviolet. The red color has the longest wavelength. At the other end where blue and ultraviolet are, the wavelengths are much shorter.

Most fluorescent bulbs use blue and ultraviolet wavelengths. LED lights can be manufactured with controllable wavelengths and the ultraviolet waves can be programmed out. LED lights create white light by combining the red through green wavelengths of the light spectrum.

LED lights generate much less interference with visual and auditory processing than traditional fluorescents. One of the researchers said, “The light acuity is so sharp with LED lamps that the eyes don’t have to work as hard to focus. Therefore, people experience less eye strain and headaches.”

Another researcher stated, “I also suspect that there are a large number of children being mislabeled as ADD or ADHD as a result of spending approximately 75 percent of their daylight hours in classrooms under fluorescent lights. The Centers for Disease Control published an article in 2010 stating that the percentage of children with a parent-reported ADHD diagnosis increased by 22 percent between 2003 and 2007. That time-frame correlates to the introduction of compact fluorescent light (CFL) into residential use as a means to replace traditional incandescent bulbs. So nowadays, children are bombarded with fluorescent lighting both at school and at home.”

The principal and her research team were able to raise the funds to get the school’s lights switched out to LED in 2010.

There were astonishing results. First of all, the little girl with EPP improved dramatically in the 2010-2011 school year. Her EPP levels dropped 40 points, her immunity levels increased, and she missed only one day of school. She used to fall asleep during the ride home from school, exhausted after a day spent under fluorescent lights. She experienced an enormous increase in her energy levels, practicing Tai Kwan Do four nights a week. She even won a regional tournament.

Most amazingly, most of the students reported academic test scores that were well above average. Improvements in these scores, as well as listening and thinking skills, caught the attention of several community leaders.

There are many more stories like this in the LED lighting world. What if every school, hospital, commercial and residential building across the country upgraded to LED lights?

This could bring a healthier learning environment, a more healing environment, a better, less stressful work environment all while saving money and conserving energy. Because the truth is that LED lights pay for themselves very quickly. With financing and local incentive programs, the very first month after installation often results in a POSITIVE CASH FLOW!