Learners Live

Did you Know?
Menu

DOE: Why Tunable? A Look at Schools Using Tunable Lighting

William Attardi on June 27, 2025

LED technology enables dynamic lighting solutions that can adapt to the occupants, tasks, and daylight in a space. Tunable lighting systems can alter the intensity and/or spectral characteristics (color) of the source. As more schools across the U.S. transition from fluorescent to LED technology, many are likely to consider tunable lighting. This case study aims to help decision-makers by looking at past and current tunable lighting projects.

    • Why did schools choose tunable lighting?
    • What features were selected?
    • How was tunable lighting implemented?
    • What was the teacher feedback?

This case study examines tunable lighting installations at eight school districts across the United States. Why Tunable? A Look at Schools Using Tunable Lighting

 

The Lagging Transition to LEDs in Schools — Part 3 by Jessica Kelly, Andrea Wilkerson, Dan Blitzer

William Attardi on January 21, 2025

Parts 1 and 2 of this series discussed the sluggish adoption of LED technology in schools and the dim prospects for fluorescent lighting. This final part addresses the LED choices school facility personnel are considering and the new tradeoffs they face. Based on PNNL’s conversations with schools, the change to LEDs is underway. Upgrading lighting can reduce energy consumption and operating costs and refresh the look and feel of the school. Fluorescent lighting has served schools for a long time. What does maintaining an LED system look like for the next 30 or 40 years? While TLEDs seem like an easy solution today, relying on fluorescent luminaires and other components will become more challenging in the future. Compare the up front and ongoing costs for each LED option and consider developing a “standard” lighting solution that can be repeated over time, space by space, or school by school. The Lagging Transition to LEDs in Schools — Part 3 | EC&M

What Do the Colors on Bread Tags Mean? – These color-coded tags indicate the date the bread was baked and packaged.  Now that you know that the color-coded tags actually mean something, how can you remember which color means which day? Luckily there is an easy way to remember the schedule. The colors correspond to weekdays in alphabetical order: Blue (Monday), Green (Tuesday), Red (Thursday), White (Friday), then Yellow (Saturday). Maybe you just learned something you did not know…..