Smart Lighting and Lighting 2.0 are terms being tossed around in the lighting industry, but what are they and what benefits can they bring to cities and businesses worldwide? The move to upgrade outdated fixtures with energy efficient LED lighting is already sweeping across the world, with businesses, governments, and consumers alike eager to save on energy bills and reduce their carbon footprint. The benefits of LED lighting are numerous, from their incredible energy efficiency and quality of light to their flexibility in design and layout. However, another revolution is gaining momentum and is posed to become an invaluable complement to next generation lighting systems. Smart Lighting will change the way we think about lighting, moving from simple binary systems to intelligent networks that can monitor and adapt to changes.
As the number of smart devices connected to the Internet of Things continues to grow, new innovations in technology will allow lighting solutions to become smarter and more adaptable, enabling consumers and building designers to save more on energy and customize how they brighten or accent spaces with light. General Electric estimates that there will be 50 billion connected “things” by 2020 and that the data provided by their interactions with the environment will reach into the exabytes!
Among the global shift to energy-saving LED lighting technology will be the customization that smart lighting introduces. Innovative LED solutions are already available with wireless connectivity, and smart lighting controls will allow lighting products to interact with the spaces around them in entirely new ways. From business being able to program specific schedules for their light fixtures to run on, to smart grids with street lights that react to traffic patterns and dim when they aren’t needed, smart lighting technology will aid cities and businesses in reducing their energy consumption by giving them the power to control their lighting and utilize it when and where they need most.
In addition to benefiting the environment, smart lighting will reduce the installation costs related to modern lighting systems as traditional wiring setups are bypassed in favor of wireless retrofit systems. Ditching complex and costly wired controls will also give lighting designers unprecedented freedom in how they craft lighting that perfectly accents the interior and exterior spaces around us.
With Bluetooth mesh technology coming to Deco Digital lighting products in Q1 2016, customizing and controlling lighting systems will be even easier. With a single smartphone connected to a Bluetooth mesh network, property managers and city planners will have the power to control the lighting for entire buildings or large areas for greater flexibility, customization, and energy savings. Additionally, smart lighting with Bluetooth mesh technology will allow the devices to exchange valuable data and become increasingly adaptable. This data will provide building owners with energy-usage information and inform the network of which areas of the building can be modified to save energy throughout the day. The Lighting Controls Association estimates that this automatic control of dimming and switching by building management systems can deliver lighting energy cost savings of up to 38%! That’s on top of the 50% or more in savings that comes from switching to next-generation lighting solutions alone.
Deco Lighting is at the forefront of LED lighting innovation with the Deco Digital line of top-quality, energy efficient products designed and manufactured right in the heart of Los Angeles. On top of their extended 219,000-hour lifetime and unmatched 10-year warranty, Deco Digital LED products will all be compatible with bluetooth mesh technology when it is introduced in early 2016. Smart lighting systems will pair with Deco LED products to create extremely adaptable solutions and will allow consumers to truly take control of their energy consumption.