Natural Light Benefits

Natural light has been proven to improve production and happiness while making people healthier and calmer. It has been known to help with depression and seasonal affective disorder. Allowing natural light into a space helps to boost vitamin D, which has numerous health benefits. Natural light can really help with energy use in a building as well. Replacing artificial lighting with natural light is a good way to cut down on energy costs, as well as heating costs for a space. Natural light is also much easier on eye strain compared to artificial lighting.

Replace Those Old Blinds

Next time you are driving around the city take a look at the buildings as you pass by and you will notice how many spaces have all the blinds pulled down, blocking the natural light. Occupants pull the blinds down to block the direct sunlight, that may be causing a glare or heat issue in the moment, but never get around to putting them back up once the sun has moved to another side of the building. These blinds are then blocking the natural light from entering the space for the rest of the day. The same can be true for residential windows where a shade is pulled to block the direct light, but isn’t reopened for the rest of the day. If only there were some solutions to this issue.

Daylighting Solutions

Replacing blinds with a window film product can be a perfect solution to addressing the issue the sun can cause, but still allowing natural light to come into a space. Window film is a semi-permanent solution that you don’t have to put up and take down daily, it works no matter where the sun is located. There are varying light transmission to choose from, as each situation is unique and therefore not every window film application can be the same. Window film will help take out that harsh glare while removing the need to pull a blind down to block it. 3M has also created a product called 3M Daylight Redirecting Film which can have a dramatic impact on the daylighting of a space. The film is created to reflect the incoming natural light deeper into a space, making artificial lighting unneeded.