Eaton 2018 Lighting Predictions
Posted by: electrical-poster 13th December 2017
By: Stephen Currier, UK Sales Director at Eaton
LED is the future
Innovation has largely centred around improving performance and efficiency for LED lighting. This is now starting to plateau as LED chip technology has started to reach its maximum potential. With that said, more and more, we are seeing various designs of products that have become more innovative and are designed around the LED light source rather than those that have been adapted from older technologies—such as fluorescent lamps.
The advantages of LED completely outweigh older technology as there are now very few examples where LED’s don’t offer significant improvements over traditional lighting models. From reduced energy consumption and longer lifetimes to better lighting possibilities, LED is here to stay in 2018 and beyond.
IoT will have a big influence on LED
We’re still in the early stages regarding different protocols and competing for dominance. To those who may not be as familiar with the lighting space, I would suggest it’s like having Betamax, VHS, VideoDisc, LazerDisc, DVD, BlueRay, Blockbuster, Netflix, Amazon Prime all happening at once! As it’s such a fast moving area, it’s very hard to predict—but it’s clear that the applications with a strong business proposition are the ones gaining the initial traction, including energy control and monitoring, footfall and hotspot counting, remote security and safety applications. And with building regulations as they currently are, the vast majority of light fittings will be equipped with sensors— allowing them to interact with their surroundings.
The future of lighting facilities managers will be daunting
We live in a society where we have endless options, and this is no different when it comes to lighting. Because of this, it’s important that facilities managers chose their lighting products carefully. We often see a number of companies selling products that do not necessarily meet the claims they suggest, as well as companies deliberately misleading customers with false claims and data. I would encourage people to ensure that they are buying from a reputable manufacturer and for them to ask for a lot of information on products prior to purchasing.
With that said, these seemingly endless choices may end up making life easier for facilities managers. This means that if chosen carefully, there is the possibility for virtually eliminating maintenance issues, reduced energy bills, as well as the potential for remote monitoring and BMS linkage.
