As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. Historically, the way we produce and deliver light has made incremental improvements since the paraffin lamp – each iteration solving the challenges posed by the previous method. Edison’s incandescent sources in the 1880s were a huge leap forward, proving to be cheaper, more convenient and safer than the widespread gas light. Today, we continue to look for ways to further reduce lighting costs and use energy more wisely.
IoT lighting is the latest revolution. As an industry, it is expected to grow in value to $4.5 billion by 2026 in U.S.; it is also referred to as a “disruptive force in the lighting industry“. So what exactly is IoT lighting and how can your property benefit from it?
IoT-based ‘smart’ lighting
As business owners and facility managers become more aware of energy usage, they are more likely to implement some type of lighting control system. Many of these systems are already in place today, sometimes as part of a Building Management System. Being able to create a set schedule for lights (to turn them off when no one is around) helps to save energy and reduce costs.
An IoT lighting system goes one step (sometimes several steps!) further. Imagine lights illuminating a room a few minutes before a conference starts. Or access to information about how long a customer has been standing in the aisle of a retail shop, and what they are looking at. These things can be achieved with IoT lighting.
IoT smart lighting uses wireless switches, eliminating the need to wire light switches directly to fixtures. These light points are then connected to a network, allowing them to be monitored and controlled from the cloud. Via the web or a mobile app, individual lights or groups of lights can be managed based on things like occupancy, outdoor light levels and time of day; dimming and colour changing can also be controlled. And smart luminaires like these can also transmit information about broken and burnt-out lighting, all in real time.
And since lights are ubiquitous in buildings, these interconnected lighting points are also an excellent channel for collecting additional data about a building. Sensors can be incorporated into luminaires in order to accumulate and transmit information about a structure, including room occupancy, air quality and temperature, among other things.
The more information you have about how the building is being used, the better equipped you are to manage it more efficiently.