FUTURE OF SMART LIGHTING and LIGHTING CONTROLS.

With the influx of IoT and the upgrades in lighting technologies, sensors and lighting automation has become an integral component of modern lighting control systems.

Lighting control is gradually becoming the future of what lighting systems will be; being at the forefront of adopting IoT technology, they play a vital role in the lighting industry. With both parallel industries rapidly transforming; until now, the Internet of Things (IoT) has been revolving around the management of devices and attaining access to information that is based on the interests of individuals. With the influx of IoT and the upgrades in lighting technologies, we have witnessed that sensors and lighting automation become an integral component of modern lighting control systems.

Smart lighting is the mix of IoT technology and lighting installations, designed to improve the proficiency and the management of devices. The essentials of smart lighting include comprehension of basic lighting control frameworks and the operation of sensors. They can fundamentally impact the consumption of energy by using fixtures that detect the presence of the users and illuminate only when required.

Lighting plays a vital role in the advancement of smart buildings due to its existing control capabilities just as its simplicity to install and use. A significant feature of the smart lighting device is that innovative control technology can be incorporated into a solitary luminaire to give a lighting control system in its own right. They can alter individual light levels depending on the occupancy and ambient light in the vicinity of each luminaire. Thus implies they are intelligent control solutions directly from the purpose of production and help make smart buildings immediately after installation.

There are many technologies currently in existence for the control of lighting. The most common one is still the one where the lighting fixtures are hard wired in a single loop and the loop is then fed from a centrally located dimmer module. The control wiring may run together with load wiring or may be independent of the load wiring depending on the type of dimming protocol in use. The other technology that has gained ground with the advent of LEDs is the POE technology where in the LED lamp is fed power on a network wire that carries both load signal and the control. The future however looks to be where the control moves from a central cabinet to the ceiling or in future times into the luminaire itself. Users can even calibrate the lighting control settings of each luminaire through portable applications. They can communicate with the luminaires without running any new cables and spot precisely where required, including on glass partitions. These lighting control solutions, likewise, can gather important information about the structure empowering the end-users to make well- informed decisions about its operation and the comforts of occupants. While connected luminaires are available today,   they are more as a standalone or a very small application solution. Large installations be it commercial or residential, still is mostly wired technology for power and wired or wireless technology for control, at least presently.

Due to its integrated network spanning an entire building, its simple installation and commissioning as well as its ease of use, lighting has a significant advantage over other controls technology and makes it a logical choice as the backbone of a smart building.

The industry has responded by creating retrofit solutions like dimmable LED drivers, Potentiometer based dimming and so on. Be that as it may, with every one of these products developed, interoperability has been a challenge.

In the interim, there has been consistent progress on developing wireless lighting control solutions, and these are currently indicating an incredible guarantee. A few of the wireless technologies which have been adopted to lighting control are Wifi, Zigbee, Proprietary 2.4GHz RF, 865 Mhz, other Sub-1GHz bands and Bluetooth. With the release of Bluetooth 5.0, which significantly extends the range of Bluetooth devices, Bluetooth might get back in the race.

The major technology behind smart connected homes is IoT. Smart lighting offers convenience, control and comfort in many ways; such as a change in colour if it starts to rain to set the right mood or a light pulse to replace the doorbell when the children are asleep. The possibilities are endless. Smart LED bulbs and switches connect to Wi-Fi and other apps, which enable button and voice controls for the positioning, brightness, warmth and colour of connected bulbs. Lighting products and IoT are becoming ubiquitous across the digital fabric of our lives, and with smart lighting coming to the fore, realization and unlocking the potential of smart automation across residential and commercial domains is extensive. Even though smart lighting works on a reasonably basic operational model, it involves a large volume of sensors, controls and a central system that is responsible for the operation of this technology. Dimmers, sensors and timers have become essential aspects of lighting design.

Lighting will remain at the very heart of smart networking solutions for buildings and homes. Investing in smart lighting can be a great way to manage all your lighting controls and sensors. A smart system allows you to manage all of your connected lighting from any of your smart devices, adjusting lighting schedules and sensor functions as needed. With talks of the need to become more energy-efficient, lighting automation becomes more important for saving energy and increasing the life of your light bulb, so that they are friendlier to the environment and your pocket. Lighting control is expected to be the next big thing.

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