Strategically placed blue light could help cut crime

Minimise Energy’s external T-Floods, pictured below, can be customised to suit individual lighting concepts and, when fitted with blue LED chips, can positively affect mood and help tackle issues such as self harm, violence, vandalism and graffiti, according to Minimise.

Available in 30W, 60W, 90W and 120W, the T-flood luminaires have an IP65 rating and can be employed in public spaces such as car parks, stairwells, building exteriors, subways and bus and train stations, to help reduce ‘undesirable behaviour’.

Minimise state that research has shown blue light to induce calm, and as a colour often associated with authority, particularly the police, blue light in public places is different enough from the norm to encourage people to consider their behaviour more carefully.

Minimise Energy has already successfully completed installations of blue lights for clients including Network Rail. When used alongside white LED luminaires, the combination of blue and white LED lighting improves visibility on CCTV systems, which can prompt a quicker reaction from staff.

However, planners and companies placing blue lights in residential areas will need to add public wellbeing to the list of considerations they face when deciding upon final placement of the lighting systems, and whether or not to invest in them.

Light, especially in blue wavelengths, was shown in a 2012 Harvard study to have a disruptive impact upon human circadian rhythms. Retinal cells in the eye, which contribute little to vision but signal to the brain when it is time to release sleep hormones, react to different wavelengths of light. If the eyes are exposed to certain wavelengths at the wrong time of day, the resulting signals can disrupt sleep, impact upon sleep quality and potentially contribute to depression.

“Our T-Flood luminaires are suitable for exterior and architectural lighting and can have a positive effect on lowering anti-social behaviour rates,” said Andrew Shortis, Managing Director, Minimise Energy. “As with all of our LED lighting products, these floodlights can be tailored to meet the individual requirements and specifications of each client. Placing a blue filter over a white light can reduce light output by up to 60%. We developed our blue floodlights with an internal blue LED chip to emit superior light levels of 100% pure blue LED light.”