'Virtual Sky' LED Ceilings for Modern Offices

The sky is the limit for innovative appliances involving eco-friendly LED lightning systems. Experts from the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO want to work on the aesthetic side of modern offices, to highlight the close connection between people and nature.

The ceiling built using 50cm x 50cm tiles is lightened using 228 LEDs to recreate the image of a cloudy sky, Treehugger informs.

The effects are amazing and will definitely make the people working in the office feel a little more relaxed. The main goal is to give employees the impression that they are enjoying a beautiful day in the middle of nature.

“The board is mounted on the ceiling. A diffuser film in matt white is attached approximately 30cm beneath the LEDs and ensures that the individual points of light are not perceived as such. This diffuser film creates homogenous lighting that illuminates the room throughout,” explains Dr. Matthias Bues, head of department at the IAO.

The virtual sky revolutionizing modern offices and putting a big smile on the faces of employees is meant to be energy-efficient, since it is entirely depending on LED technology, to help companies improve their buildings without being forced to throw money out the window by wasting electricity.

Tests have indicated that the ingenious lightning method inspired by nature is considered “pleasant” by most of the participants.

The system is obviously making work more fun without distracting people from their daily tasks.

“The LEDs allow us to simulate these dynamic changes in lighting in a way that is not directly obvious to the naked eye. Otherwise the lighting might distract people from their work. But it does need to fluctuate enough to promote concentration and heighten alertness,” explains Bues.

Since the concept has been received with enthusiasm so far, developers have created a virtual sky prototype using no less than 34,560 LEDs to lighten a surface of 34 square meters.