The dingiest home or office can now be transformed thanks to the launch of a revolutionary ’sky ceiling’ which recreates a sunny day indoors at any time of year. The eye-catching virtual skylights create the illusion you are beneath a sunny sky even when you’re in a room, corridor or hallway without a single window.

The ‘SkyCeilings’ use high-resolution photographs of the sky featuring wisps of cloud and overhanging trees which are suspended in the ceiling to create a 3-D effect. To fool the mind into believing it is actually the sky these are reproduced on transparent tiles and lit from behind by high-powered LED or fluorescent lights.

This is the same strength as in light boxes used to treat Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and the human mind treats it in the same way as daylight rather than artificial light. The system can even be programmed so that the 3-D images mimic the time of day, getting brighter from dawn to midday and darker as dusk approaches.

By programming in the longitude and latitude, the ceilings can not only track the rising and setting of the sun but emulate the passing of the seasons, being brighter in summer than in winter. The innovative ceilings are being launched in Britain where they are expected to be used in homes, offices and also hospitals (source).