Light in nature is a fluid presence in our lives—like sunshine, firelight, and the soft beam of the moon. The right light will captivate and fascinate, commanding control of our emotions.
Historically, indoor lighting has never been able to mimic these enchanting qualities. However, recent advances in lighting technology have allowed for a greater range of indoor lighting possibilities.
For the first time ever, Ketra is bringing the dynamic power of natural light to the indoors.
Natural light is often described in terms of light that mimics the sun. While this is true, the sun isn’t the only example of natural light—any burning object will demonstrate characteristics of natural light. The science behind this phenomenon deals with the special properties of blackbody radiators.
An object that burns hot enough will create flames that can begin to reflect the temperature of the object rather than the object’s composition. When this happens, the burning object is referred to as a blackbody radiator. As a burning object slides along the blackbody radiation spectrum, both the color and intensity of the light emitted change together.
Ketra's Dynamic Spectrum allows for an unparalleled ability to move precisely along the Black Body Curve to produce natural light.
Consider a flickering campfire—the flames towards the top of the fire, where the temperature is less intense, show a lot of dim reds and oranges. Towards the center of the fire, where the fire is hottest, the flames are bright yellows and whites. This is the blackbody radiation spectrum and it’s observable in all burning objects.
The light emitted by blackbody radiators is what we describe as natural light.
For a long time, incandescent bulbs were the only commercially available lightbulbs that dimmed along the blackbody radiator curve—thanks to the superheated filament at their centers. Today, Ketra’s innovative Natural Light solution effortlessly weaves the comfort of incandescent illumination with the contemporary technology of LEDs.
LEDs revolutionized the lighting industry when they burst onto the commercial lighting scene less than a decade ago. They became widely adopted in the years since, thanks to their low energy costs and unparalleled longevity—but they’ve brought their own issues as well.
One problem is that every generic white LED is always the same color—regardless of the intensity of light. This means that no matter how much you dim or brighten an LED bulb, it will retain the same color temperature throughout. Ketra’s Natural Light solution changes in both intensity and color temperature as the light is dimmed, similar to how an incandescent light would behave.
Aside from always maintaining the same color temperature as they dim, LEDs also dim along a linear regression. Real natural light does not follow this pattern, so it can feel unusual to be in a room where the internal lighting does. To fix this, Ketra lighting dims naturally along the blackbody curve, which allows for extreme flexibility in dimming options.
There are plenty of well-documented theories that connect natural lighting to comfort and wellbeing. We evolved for thousands of years alongside the natural light of the sun—so we have grown to work and respond to those conditions.
Strictly speaking from an aesthetic perspective, natural light provides a far more satisfying environment to live and work in than its artificial counterpart. There’s a huge visual disconnect when you’re in a room lit by cool white LEDs while the sun outside is rising or setting.
When you’re designing for a natural light experience, good reactive control of the light inside is imperative to success. Ketra’s Natural Light can be easily scheduled to match the lighting outdoors, bringing the power of natural light into your home.
Recent years have seen a huge spike in interest from business and residential contractors who are designing workplaces and homes with the people who will occupy them front of mind.
Delos Headquarters in New York is filled with Ketra's Natural Light, providing the right light at the right time of day.
Ketra’s Natural Light solution offers flexibility in color temperature and light intensity that can give you the bright, white light you need to prepare a meal—and then transition to something softer when it’s time to serve and entertain.
Ketra’s Southern California Home design project demonstrates a great application of this multi-use feature.
The key to Ketra’s Natural Light solution is the patented technology that allows us to shift in color temperature and intensity across a dynamic, near-infinite spectrum of correlated color temperatures. Your interior could bask in the blue glow of dawn—or simmer in the golden intensity of dusk. Thanks to our custom chip and emitter design, the power to create these colors—and every other color in between—is harnessed at your fingertips.
Similarly, all other components that define natural light are at your control as well. By designing our light to be tuned along the blackbody radiation curve, we have brought LEDs up to the natural light standards set by incandescents—and then fully surpassed them. LEDs can now do more than incandescents ever could, without sacrificing quality.
Other manufacturers that claim to offer a natural light option require extra technical work to set up and customize that lighting to fit your lifestyle and precise location. With Ketra, that functionality is built-in and pre-programmed based on information from a geolocator that makes sure that your natural light inside matches the natural light outside.
Ketra’s Natural Light brings new possibilities that redefine the limits of lighting design.
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