For decades, fluorescent lighting was the standard in most commercial buildings. But over the last decade, digital LED fixtures and control options have transformed the lighting landscape. Intelligent lighting systems, capable of providing actionable data to inform efficient, human-centric design, has taken center stage in smart building projects.
Data culled from integrated occupancy and daylight sensors helps owners and facility managers understand how and when space is utilized. This facilitates responsive energy optimization, customized scene and zone control, and more proactive system maintenance to ensure a comfortable and efficient environment that adapts easily to changing building needs. The resulting spaces are beautiful and inviting, efficient and future-proof, and designed to keep getting better over time.
In this article, we’ll highlight three ways smart lighting and shading systems can enhance building performance and the occupant experience:
- Increase sustainability and energy efficiency without sacrificing comfort or control.
- Improve real-estate value by delivering space-utilization insights.
- Empower a human-centric environment that enhances well-being, sustainability, and value.
Greater flexibility; more energy efficient
Smart lighting control systems offer zone-based or fixture-level control configurations to enhance design freedom while maximizing efficiency and user comfort. While wired fixture-level control has been around for over a decade, wireless technology delivers granular control through luminaire-level lighting control or LLLCs without complicated, time-consuming wiring which reduces material and labor costs and makes intelligent control accessible for most projects.
LLLCs integrate networked control capabilities and occupancy and daylight sensors directly into each fixture. In offices, retail, hospitality, or large commercial buildings, LLLCs can also facilitate data capture and analysis and make reprogramming lighting from an app or control device easy — no rewiring required. Facility teams can then use the data collected to inform human-centric system adjustments, manage energy use, optimize daylight, and improve the bottom line.
The result is a lighting system that starts smart and continues to evolve over time, simplifying engineers’ work and providing owners or tenants with insights that help boost comfort and efficiency.
Data-fueled and cloud-connected — lighting technology moves to the next level
By specifying connected, wireless lighting control systems, engineers provide solutions that adapt to meet evolving needs, giving building owners and managers the tools they need to improve space planning and enhance real estate value.
While cloud-connected technology is a paradigm shift in lighting control, it is commonplace in our laptops and mobile phones. We invest in the hardware with the expectation that functionality-improving updates will be delivered frequently and automatically via the cloud. Physical hardware is the front end, and we count on it becoming more innovative and capable as software and firmware are enhanced. Wireless lighting control follows the same principle, actually gaining functionality with time as new features are released. The result is a more dynamic, sustainable environment that enhances well-being and provides actionable operational insights.
Sustainability and well-being — optimizing the user experience
Today’s system designs encourage a culture of well-being. Lighting is always functional and necessary; however, lighting also has the power to be an attractive building amenity, a means to more resilient spaces, and a system that continues to enhance building value over time. Maximize these benefits by specifying digital, wireless lighting and shading solutions that welcome people into the space and embrace evolving technologies.
Help your clients invest in lighting control solutions that go beyond electric light to bring the outdoors in. Embrace total daylight control with integrated shading solutions that increase occupant comfort, promote views, reduce glare, and help meet energy reduction goals. Together, lighting and shading systems combine to create a more engaging and enduring building environment.
Finally, choose systems that help building owners and their tenants get the robust lighting performance they demand. Design systems that respect individual building mandates while contributing to space resilience, space flexibility, and occupant well-being. Work with providers with a proven history of innovation and customer care who can help you think through desired system performance from initial design to system commissioning and for years into the future.
