Press Release

LED technology makes for moving moments with light

July 29, 2013

A wonderful idea: every morning millions of commuters climb onto busses and trains and leave them again at the end of their journey in a better mood and more prepared to perform well at work. Why? Because while travelling the interior lighting systems provide the blue light that is so important for people’s well-being. “This is reality, not science fiction,” says Lars Jörges. Leipzig-based company SBF Spezialleuchten is currently setting a whole new agenda with LED lighting technology in rail vehicles.

It is a long established scientific fact that more blue light, simulating daylight with incident sunshine, increases cortisol and serotonin levels among human beings. Both of these hormones not only make people more wakeful, but also enable them to perform at a higher level.

Light with added value

“Our innovative LED technology enables us to simulate a wide variety of lighting situations,” says Lars Jörges, Managing Director of SBF Spezialleuchten GmbH. “Thanks to our close academic ties with The Technical Universities in Dresden and Ilmenau and the Fraunhofer Institute, our Research and Development Department produced a whole series of patents that we are already installing as standard.”

Thus, Deutsche Bahn’s double-decker trains are being fitted with a full LED general lighting system that gives passengers a different spatial experience based on the lighting conditions. “Double-decker trains do not have the usual headroom for passengers. We use light to make the carriage seem bigger.” The luggage racks are also illuminated, significantly adding to spatial perceptions.

“Our product strategy is to give light added value. For us, light is not just the physical lamp that makes the vehicle visible from the outside, making travel safer.” Jörges believes that light in rail vehicles has a new, social dimension. “We have mastered this dimension. We use our ceiling systems as a plausible way to convince rail vehicle manufacturers that passengers can be made to feel not just safer, but also more comfortable by taking this approach.”

Cutting costs while increasing comfort

According to Jörges, the comfort aspect has been underestimated for far too long in local public transport but will pay for itself several times over for operator companies. The right light conditions leads to greater acceptance for this mode of transport among passengers. In addition, the new LED technology in trains cuts energy costs by up to 80 per cent. This reduces the lifecycle costs for vehicles by 30 per cent.

“Everybody is talking about sustainability, by which they primarily mean ecological and economic aspects. However, there is also a social dimension to sustainability,” says Jörges. “Our systems not only use less energy and reduce operating costs, but also offer technical reliability, safety and a high degree of comfort. This is the social dimension from our perspective.”

These aspects are consistently reflected in the latest developments from SBF. Thus, SBF is currently fitting out commuter trains in England with a complete ceiling system that has an emergency light function powered by two buffered accumulator batteries, as well as integrated ventilation, ambient lighting and reading light. In the event of an accident, the ceiling light will stay lit for at least two hours without an energy supply.
 

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