How beneficial is LED lighting? At Cherokee Elementary School in Scottsdale, Ariz., new-fangled LED lighting fixtures not only save energy, they also prevent special education students with autism from being bothered by fluorescent lighting. Researchers maintain that individuals with autism are more vulnerable to the sub-visible flicker of direct fluorescent lighting, which can cause headaches, eyestrain and increased repetitive behavior.
In a pilot project, Scottsdale Unified School District replaced 69 2x4-foot fluorescent lighting troffers in four special education classrooms with 60 2x2-foot flat-panel LED fixtures from lighting manufacturer MaxLite. The install has the added benefit of energy savings. According to Charlie Bowers, Arizona Business development manger for installer Centennial Contractors, the school saw energy savings of about 60 percent in areas with the new LED fixtures. Most importantly, these fixtures do not flicker when fully dimmed, a quality that is important in a special needs classroom.
MaxLite rep Adam Robbins from lighting supplier Perseid LED specified the MLFP22D4535 2x2 Direct Lit Flat Panels. These panels each emit 3,850 lumens of brightness while using just 45 watts. The lumen power is far less than the 8,000 lumens the school’s previous fluorescent troffers offered, but those classrooms had been overly lit.
“When a lighting layout was done, nine fixtures were determined to be unnecessary to adequately light the areas,” says David Delgado, MaxLite lighting applications engineer.
In a single room with 22 fixtures, the new products were able to reduce the lumen output by 121,000 lumens for substantial energy savings. The room initially had a light intensity of 65 foot-candles. After the install, the room was down to 42 foot-candles at the desktops, meeting Arizona state standards.
Designed for drop-in ceilings, the LED flat panels were offered in the correlated color temperature (CCT) of 3500K, which emits a “soft white” light. The lights have a CRI (Color Rendering Index), a measurement of color accuracy, of >80, which is considered by lighting experts to be good, with 90 to 100 considered excellent. An IR remote allows teachers to adjust the lighting levels to meet the changing needs of the classroom or to alter children’s moods. For additional energy savings, the fixtures are dimmed or switched off when the rooms are not in use.
Replacement Without a Hitch
Each of the 2x4-foot troffers with T8 fluorescent tubes was completely removed, along with its
