When lighting follows our biological clock.
That light influences our well-being is no longer just a sensation: this is demonstrated, among others, by a study published in Frontiers in Psychology. Researchers have observed that lighting that varies throughout the day – just as natural light does – improves concentration, mood and quality of sleep. In essence, respecting circadian rhythms through artificial light means helping the body and mind function better.
The B2 Labtech project was also born from this awareness, a Trentino startup based in Rovereto that aims to revolutionize the way we conceive light in interior environments. No longer simple lamps to be turned on or off, but an intelligent system capable of automatically adapting to people’s physiological needs. The objective is to create “human-centric” lighting, capable of imitating the natural cycle of the sun and harmoniously accompanying the rhythm of the day.
Chameleon light. The heart of the system is a combination of environmental sensors, machine learning algorithms (in other words, artificial intelligence) and an IoT control unit that manages modern “tunable white” LEDs, capable of varying the color temperature from 1,800 to 6,500 degrees Kelvin. At dawn the light appears warm and soft, becomes more intense and cold in the middle of the day, and then turns golden again at sunset. Data coming from the web – such as geographical position, sunrise and sunset times, calendar and time – allow the system to self-regulate, without human intervention. Whoever occupies the room can still intervene manually, and the software learns the user’s preferences over time to reproduce them automatically. The idea was born from a personal experience of Luca Benedetti, co-founder of B2 Labtech together with Francesco Brocca. «During my studies in Denmark – he says – I experienced the extreme alternation between the summer midnight sun and the long winter darkness, and I realized how much my mood and ability to concentrate changed with the light. From here was born the desire to create a technology that could restore balance and well-being even in closed spaces”.
To verify the effectiveness of the system, B2 Labtech collaborated with the Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences of the University of Trento and with Trentino Sviluppo, involving more than eighty employees in a trial at the Rovereto headquarters. The results were encouraging: an increase of up to 15% in productivity and good mood, fewer absences from work and a general improvement in psychophysical well-being.
Furthermore, the system fully complied with the Italian regulatory parameters regarding lighting in the workplace, which are often disregarded.
To strengthen the validity of this approach there are several international scientific studies. In addition to that published in Frontiers in Psychology, other research, also conducted in hospitals or other environments, confirms that artificial lighting calibrated to biological rhythms promotes concentration, mood and quality of sleep. On the contrary, inadequate light affects up to two out of three workers, causing a 30% increase in cases of eye strain and sleep disturbances, a 15% reduction in productivity and an increase in energy costs of up to 40%.
But B2 Labtech’s “intelligent” light is not limited to individual well-being: it is also a question of sustainability. In fact, the platform integrates ESG analysis software that measures energy savings and the reduction of CO₂ emissions. Initial tests indicate a decrease of up to 40% in energy consumption, a 30% cut in emissions and a reduction in operating costs of between 20 and 30%. Already winner of the Trentino Startup Valley 2023-2024, of the l’Adige Futuro Award and second place in the Innovation Award of the Alpbach European Forum, B2 Labtech has obtained an initial investment from Spreentech Ventures and is now preparing for a new phase of growth.
Scientific studies, empirical tests and first company findings therefore seem to converge: light is not just a furnishing element, but a key factor for health, concentration and productivity. And if the future of lighting truly imitates the sun, we may soon discover that well-being — mental, physical and energetic — simply begins with a more human beam of light.
