Across all segments and typologies, the value of lighting is being recognised, especially at the workplace. According to Harmeet Singh Issar, Founder Partner, Design Director, Design Matrix, a recent study states that nearly 55 per cent of office-goers complain about workplace lighting and 80 per cent want a more humane lighting that promotes good health, is in sync with the body鈥檚 circadian rhythm, and supports work performance and sleep quality.
鈥淎utomation has helped a lot in the commercial working space as it automatically detects human presence and accordingly increases or decreases the quantity of lighting required for that area,鈥� explains Rupande Shah, Principal Architect, Rupande Shah & Associates. 鈥淚nstead of having dead lighting or flat lighting through workspaces, focussed lighting has helped the productivity of working spaces to a great extent.鈥�
Clearly, effective lighting is becoming the roadmap to enhance employee comfort, productivity and safety through personalised control of work spaces, enabling performance tracking through real-time updates on lighting system status. 鈥淏y changing the colour or intensity of light, workspaces can provide bio-dynamic light based on the human circadian rhythm for increased employee concentration, cognitive performance, alertness and general well-being,鈥� informs Sanjay Gupta, Senior Vice-President, Wipro Consumer Lighting and Switches.听听
For his part, Sumit Joshi, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Signify India Innovations shares, 鈥淚n large offices, our Interact Office platform, which was launched in India early this year, enables employees to personalise the intensity and colour of light at their workstation, thereby enhancing productivity.鈥澛�
鈥淚nstalling glass partitions or walls ensures light is filtered through the space uniformly, thereby minimising the use of artificial lighting,鈥� adds Sachin Goregaoker, Director, GA design. 鈥淰intage LED bulbs with a retro look are trending at the moment; they help to make the workplace look stylish and positively affect creativity.鈥� And Amol Prabhu, Partner, Shashi Prabhu & Associates shares, 鈥淚nstead of conventional fixtures, LED fittings provide a ROI of nearly 12 months and render a great aesthetic.鈥澛�
In Srinivas Shanbhogue鈥檚, Vice-President, Retail Business, Schneider Electric India view, lighting market players and technology giants are expected to collaborate in coming years to ensure maximum ROI and achieve huge profit margins from the evolving smart lighting market.
Combating challenges
Although the adoption of smart lighting is on the rise, several challenges still prevail.聽
While Gupta confirms that consumers lack awareness of the benefits of using efficient LED lights, Shah points to the affordability of automation and smart switches as an obstacle.聽
Traditionally, lighting control has been viewed more as a feature to be tick-marked rather than a more holistic approach towards lighting and its controls. In Issar鈥檚 opinion, while consumers are asking for more personalisation, automation and adjustability in lighting, all of it together cannot compensate for poor lighting. 鈥淚t is, therefore, crucial to first ask for better lighting and then ask for more control,鈥� he asserts. 鈥淥therwise, it will be more of a gimmick rather than something designed to improve quality of life.鈥�
Goregaoker suggests it is important for an architect or an interior designer to take lighting and automation into consideration at the onset of a project as it minimises the need to rewire later.聽
What鈥檚 more, lighting companies, manufacturers and consumers are getting increasingly aware of the benefits of sustainability and the importance of maintaining the green quotient.
鈥淭here are a lot of manufacturers, who openly disregard the standards set forth by the Government of India for consumer safety. Thankfully, the situation has been slowly improving and we have seen a decrease of around 30 per cent in BIS non-compliant LED bulb manufacturers, and expect to see these numbers improve much further next year. The spurious and non-branded products are an issue for both, consumers and manufacturers alike,鈥� comments Joshi.
As for Vivek Sharma, Managing Director, Panasonic Life Solutions India, he urges the Government to set up certain standards. 鈥淭hough the Chinese are not technologically and safety-wise strong enough, they copy designs. For this, a regulatory mechanism should be implemented soon.鈥�
All considered, though, there鈥檚 only one way to describe the future: bright!
- DIKSHA JAWLE
Across all segments and typologies, the value of lighting is being recognised, especially at the workplace. According to Harmeet Singh Issar, Founder Partner, Design Director, Design Matrix, a recent study states that nearly 55 per cent of office-goers complain about workplace lighting and 80 per cent want a more humane lighting that promotes good health, is in sync with the body鈥檚 circadian rhythm, and supports work performance and sleep quality.鈥淎utomation has helped a lot in the commercial working space as it automatically detects human presence and accordingly increases or decreases the quantity of lighting required for that area,鈥� explains Rupande Shah, Principal Architect, Rupande Shah & Associates. 鈥淚nstead of having dead lighting or flat lighting through workspaces, focussed lighting has helped the productivity of working spaces to a great extent.鈥滳learly, effective lighting is becoming the roadmap to enhance employee comfort, productivity and safety through personalised control of work spaces, enabling performance tracking through real-time updates on lighting system status. 鈥淏y changing the colour or intensity of light, workspaces can provide bio-dynamic light based on the human circadian rhythm for increased employee concentration, cognitive performance, alertness and general well-being,鈥� informs Sanjay Gupta, Senior Vice-President, Wipro Consumer Lighting and Switches.听听For his part, Sumit Joshi, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Signify India Innovations shares, 鈥淚n large offices, our Interact Office platform, which was launched in India early this year, enables employees to personalise the intensity and colour of light at their workstation, thereby enhancing productivity.鈥澛犫�淚nstalling glass partitions or walls ensures light is filtered through the space uniformly, thereby minimising the use of artificial lighting,鈥� adds Sachin Goregaoker, Director, GA design. 鈥淰intage LED bulbs with a retro look are trending at the moment; they help to make the workplace look stylish and positively affect creativity.鈥� And Amol Prabhu, Partner, Shashi Prabhu & Associates shares, 鈥淚nstead of conventional fixtures, LED fittings provide a ROI of nearly 12 months and render a great aesthetic.鈥澛營n Srinivas Shanbhogue鈥檚, Vice-President, Retail Business, Schneider Electric India view, lighting market players and technology giants are expected to collaborate in coming years to ensure maximum ROI and achieve huge profit margins from the evolving smart lighting market.Combating challengesAlthough the adoption of smart lighting is on the rise, several challenges still prevail.聽While Gupta confirms that consumers lack awareness of the benefits of using efficient LED lights, Shah points to the affordability of automation and smart switches as an obstacle.聽Traditionally, lighting control has been viewed more as a feature to be tick-marked rather than a more holistic approach towards lighting and its controls. In Issar鈥檚 opinion, while consumers are asking for more personalisation, automation and adjustability in lighting, all of it together cannot compensate for poor lighting. 鈥淚t is, therefore, crucial to first ask for better lighting and then ask for more control,鈥� he asserts. 鈥淥therwise, it will be more of a gimmick rather than something designed to improve quality of life.鈥滸oregaoker suggests it is important for an architect or an interior designer to take lighting and automation into consideration at the onset of a project as it minimises the need to rewire later.聽What鈥檚 more, lighting companies, manufacturers and consumers are getting increasingly aware of the benefits of sustainability and the importance of maintaining the green quotient.鈥淭here are a lot of manufacturers, who openly disregard the standards set forth by the Government of India for consumer safety. Thankfully, the situation has been slowly improving and we have seen a decrease of around 30 per cent in BIS non-compliant LED bulb manufacturers, and expect to see these numbers improve much further next year. The spurious and non-branded products are an issue for both, consumers and manufacturers alike,鈥� comments Joshi.As for Vivek Sharma, Managing Director, Panasonic Life Solutions India, he urges the Government to set up certain standards. 鈥淭hough the Chinese are not technologically and safety-wise strong enough, they copy designs. For this, a regulatory mechanism should be implemented soon.鈥滱ll considered, though, there鈥檚 only one way to describe the future: bright!- DIKSHA JAWLE
