Evolution of lighting
More than just being practical, connected lighting serves as a way of life, writes Balqis Lim
LIGHTING plays a major role in our lives. Whether in public places, homes or offices, proper lighting makes doing things easier. Like other products that have evolved to embrace the Internet of Things (IoT), lighting units have also advanced from standard to smart and connected.
Lamp makers have started using LED technology to produce millions of colours and allow users to adjust the brightness and intensity of their lighting as well as their tint, from warm to neutral to cool.
Over time, smart lighting has taken over with bulbs that can wirelessly connect with phone apps, which can be controlled from anywhere.
Signify Asean’s chief executive officer, Alok Ghose, says lighting is now used for more than just illuminating an area.
“Now that lighting have electronics on board, it allows for a connection with networks in the building. This serves as a means to collect and distribute data and services,” he says. name change to be implemented in all the countries where it is active by the beginning of 2019.
Ghose says the company is not offering bringing in lighting as a product but more of a holistic solution to make homes smarter, offices connected and street lights that can transmit data.
For example, currently in an office, all lights have to be switched on and off manually, and there are areas that are not occupied but where the lights are switched on.
“Imagine a situation where your lights can detect people’s movement and switch on or off automatically.
“These are some of the solutions that helps us become more productive besides saving energy. But with an intelligent system, which is based on real data analytics, it is intuitive,” says Ghose.
As Malaysians become more tech-savvy, Ghose says there will be more affinity to new technology.
He adds that Malaysia has embraced the LED technology much better than many other countries.
“During the launch of Philips Hue in Malaysia, many were very interested.
“We also have many iconic installations in the professional space. In Melaka, more than 1,000 streetlights are already con- nected with one another and are feeding real-time data to the town council.
“The data includes the number of working lights, causes of error and traffic density. All these are connected in one platform,” he says.
Melaka was the first state in Malaysia to successfully deploy a cloud-based, intelligent street lighting management system through Philips CityTouch, changing from 250W conventional streetlights to 150W LED luminaires.
Signify also collaborated with Mah Sing Group last year for a residence project in Rawang where house owners were given the opportunity to instal the Philips Hue system in their homes.
Ghose says the company still faces challenges when it comes to educating the public on energy-saving.
Nonetheless, he says rapid technological evolution will see more government bodies searching for continued efficiency in terms of lighting.
He adds that with a programmable lighting system, the authorities will be able to take advantage of smart lighting systems in the event of an emergency and resolve it in a swift manner.
“Connected lighting serves as the backbone of a smart city. The mechanism with which light points can be connected, and the ability to monitor wirelessly in the IoT is changing innovations in the office, and residential environment.
“The integration of all systems brings a greener future where energy management, traffic, alarm and security systems can be managed sensibly with a single connected lighting platform.”