Recreate the cues of daylight without opening the roof.
A ceiling light creates the appearance of blue sky and distant sunlight without an opening to the outdoors.
IT ItalyIn practice. An Italian optical lighting system developed through EU-supported research from 2010 to 2012 and subsequent products.
What to keep in view
Clinical benefits, circadian equivalence and energy savings are not established by the visual effect.
More than brightness
CoeLux creates an artificial skylight using directional LED illumination, optics and a nanoparticle diffuser. It reproduces selected cues associated with blue sky and distant sunlight without a roof opening. The EU research programme ran from 2010 to 2012, followed by product recognition in 2014.
A nanoparticle diffuser, directional LED light and optics reproduce selected scattering and depth cues rather than show a video of the sky.
Design the perception you want to create
Our reading: brightness alone does not describe the experience of daylight. The system directs attention to scattering, direction and perceived depth, showing how a familiar quality can be approached through its perceptual components.
Specify the quality people perceive before deciding which technical output to reproduce.
Sources (3)
- cordis.europa.eu · CoeLux: the sky light reconstruction in artificial illumination by means of solid transparent nanocomposites | COELUX | Project | Fact Sheet | FP7 | CORDIS | European Commission
- coelux.com · Light Source Innovation of the Year
- coelux.com · CoeLux® 60 HC
Read next.
The Moon, close enough to gather beneath.
Both bring a celestial impression indoors. A shared lunar artwork and an optical skylight produce different effects and should not be treated as equivalent daylight.
Winter sunshine, redirected.
Two responses to missing sunlight: redirect actual daylight, or reproduce selected visual cues with optics. The energy and perceptual effects differ.