Menu
In the Driver’s Seat – time to make lighting controls sexy?
There’s big money to be made in the smart lighting’ sector – it’s worth around $9.5bn, set to grow by over 13% per year to be worth over $18bn in the next five years. This tech isn’t just for shiny new buildings – around 40% are retrofit – Smart Lighting Market Analysis by Installation Type (New, Retrofit), Component (Hardware, Software), Source (LED, Fluorescent Lamp, HID Lamp), Connectivity (Wired, Wireless), Application (Indoor, Outdoor) – Global Industry Growth and Demand Forecast to 2030.
We’re used to the sustainability arguments –
It’s harder to make the case when it comes to human outcomes but there is some good
We have the technology, we know it works.
So why is most ‘smart’ lighting so dumb?
In sheer energy terms, office buildings use up to twice as much energy as they say they will on paper – schools gobble up to four times as much – Review of the building energy performance gap from simulation and building lifecycle perspectives: Magnitude, causes and solutions.
The human experience is too often a casualty too. I hosted a panel at Light24 with Paul Nulty, Ravi Lakhani, and Miguel Aguado in a room equipped with ‘smart’ lighting – a ceiling grid and two switches marked ‘lights’ and one marked ‘dim’ that didn’t seem to alter the grim uniformity of the scene.
Some of the takeaways from a lively discussion
Paul Nulty kicked off with admission that lighting designers are part of the problem: Controls may not be sexy or come naturally to someone who considers themselves to be a ‘creative’ but getting to grips with these technologies are key to a successful client-led result – and profitable long-term relationships. Paul is clear that designers need to go beyond concept sketches to get to grips with the tools and how they integrate with other building services: to build the brief with the client, to take the time to get to grips with the details (beyond brochures and buttons) and stick around to the end of the project to make sure the original idea is carried through.
Ravi Lakhani pointed out that Smart Building consultants too often get concept drawings from designers that are hard to translate into effective real world solutions or a quality-led business case that can compete with the barrage of data from the HVAC sector on human and environmental benefits of focusing their limited budget on bettter-quality air. ‘Too hot’ or ‘too cold’ are the main complaints he hears from his clients- we all understand what that means. But few of us will log a service ticket for uncomfortable lighting – like the conference room where we were chatting, so it doesn’t get the attention it should. Ravi is convinced and keen to help. But needs the sector to give him the ammunition he needs. Should we have a dedicated lighting controls standard to give those non-specialist professionals a helping hand?
Miguel Aguado from Lutron is often at the sharp end of a ‘smart’ lighting solution gone wrong: on site with his team with no instructions, no time and no budget to do the job properly. He’s the one who gets the phone calls when the system goes wrong and is happy to help. He admitted that lighting controls manufacturers could do better too – they need to work harder to explain what their products do, why it’s important to talk to them early in the process – and why they’re worth their weight in hold. He’s clear that education and outreach are key.
There are guides out there – from the SLL’s LG14 to the RIBA’s Smart Buildings Overlay.
But there’s still more to do.
I have a feeling this conversation has only just started.
Will keep you posted!
Anticipate London 2-4 December
If you’ve ever wanted to talk to the professionals who plan ahead to keep the lights on, the loos flushing and the emergency exits clear, come along to this mega-show next week at Excel. They’ve bundled Facilities Management, Health and Safety Expo, FIREX and IFSEC (security and risk) with multiple stages and demos, including the Nerve Centre which promises to showcase some cool new immersive technology for adaptive facilities management. I’ll be trying that out on the 3rd at 1:30pm (https://www.anticipate-event.com/london/en/news/nerve-centre.html) and sharing some of the latest research on smart lighting solutions for environmental and human performance. Would love to see you there! More info about the event and registration here.
Black Friday? – Make it a red letter day
Everyone likes to feel they got a great deal.
Writing SALE in big red letters and placing the sign to the right of the display is most likely to tempt your customers to buy – Seeing Red? The Role of Font Color, Size, and Sale Sign Location in Retail Garden Center Displays.
Men are more likely than women to believe they’re getting a bargain when the sign is red – Are Men Seduced by Red? The Effect of Red Versus Black Prices on Price Perceptions.
But beware – when the deal is really ‘hot’, a red label will boost the warm glow you get from getting a good deal. But when the discount isn’t so good, you’re more likely to devalue the product and may even be less likely to buy – Disadvantages of red: The color congruence effect in comparative price advertising.
How do SAD lamps work?
Lots of us feel down in winter – although the link with seasons is a hot debate – Seasonality of mood and affect in a large general population sample.
But whether your blues are seasonal or not, there is good evidence that ‘Bright light therapy’ can be as good as an antidepressant and can even reduce your risk of slipping down into that dark and lonely place to start with – Efficacy of light therapy versus antidepressant drugs, and of the combination versus monotherapy, A systematic review and meta-analysis; Bright Light as a Personalized Precision Treatment of Mood Disorders [Review].
But what’s the science behind it – and what does that mean for what you should buy?
People who suffer from the blues tend to have a delayed sleep-wake cycle. They also seem to have different serotonin transport and reuptake levels between synapses – less of that mood-regulating hormone in circulation.
Bright light therapy can do three things:
What does that mean for the lamps you should buy?
The amount you need to boost your mood is really personal to you.
But European experts suggest the baseline is around 2,500 lux for 30 minutes every morning before 10am.
If the lamp isn’t so bright – and very few consumer lamps come anywhere near that level- you’ll need to use it for longer.
If you get that daily dose at the same time every day, you should start to feel a bit brighter after a week – and those effects can build up over time.