Lighting Controls Designed Around Wellness

At Peel Manor Senior Health and Wellness Village, lighting is about far more than illumination. It is an integral part of creating an environment that supports the health, comfort and well-being of residents.
Medgar Lighting & Controls Inc. was proud to contribute as an industry partner to the innovative lighting systems developed for the new seniors’ health and wellness centre. Working alongside architect Montgomery Sisam, engineering design consultant EXP and lighting designer Dawn Brown of Ontario Aesthetic Lighting Design (OALD), Medgar helped bring an ambitious vision for human-centric lighting to life.
At the heart of the project is an innovative circadian lighting strategy, the first of its kind implemented in an Ontario long-term care facility. The approach uses changing light levels and colour characteristics throughout the day to better align the indoor environment with the body’s natural day-night cycle.

Making the transition seamless

This is where sophisticated lighting controls become essential.
Medgar supported an advanced controls platform that manages the transition from high-intensity biological daytime light to warmer, lower-intensity evening light. These changes happen seamlessly in the background, without abrupt shifts that could startle or agitate residents. This is handled by a DALI control system from Cooper Lighting Solutions. The DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) lighting control system is a two-way digital communication network used to manage, configure, and monitor individual light fixtures and sensors throughout the space.
The result is an environment that responds to the time of day while remaining comfortable and intuitive for the people who live and work there.
The controls also support a carefully considered lighting strategy throughout the facility. Bright, high-quality light in communal spaces helps create an energetic environment that encourages alertness, cognitive engagement and social interaction. Within residential households and dining areas, lighting gradually shifts toward a softer, warmer spectrum as the day progresses, helping create a calm and comfortable atmosphere in the evening.
Even the corridors benefit from thoughtful control and consistency. Highly uniform perimeter lighting minimizes harsh shadows and glare—important considerations in environments where age-related changes in vision can make obstacles and changes in floor surfaces more difficult to perceive.

Technology with a human purpose

The lighting at Peel Manor demonstrates what can happen when design, technology and human needs come together. Rather than simply providing light, the system is designed to support how residents experience their environment throughout the day.
For Medgar, that is the value of lighting controls: making sophisticated lighting solutions work quietly, reliably and intuitively behind the scenes.
The innovative approach contributed to the project receiving an IES Illumination Award of Merit in two categories: Interior Lighting Design and Lighting Controls Innovation.
It is a recognition shared by the entire project team—and a strong example of how the right controls can transform an innovative lighting concept into a responsive, wellness-focused environment.