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15 Jan 2024

The Brilliance of Smart Lighting

In the rapidly-evolving landscape of home automation, smart lighting is transforming the way we illuminate our living spaces. No longer confined to the simple flip of a switch, smart lighting has ushered in a new era of convenience, efficiency and personalised ambience in the lighting world, says Antonio Formisano, Product Manager at 4lite.

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If you are building or fully renovating your home, then installing a smart lighting system should be an essential component. Given the intricate level of control and customisation it facilitates, it offers huge energy and cost savings across its lifetime. In fact, a well-designed and operated smart lighting system can reduce lighting energy use by up to two-thirds, which, based on the common assumption that 15% of your overall electricity bill is spent on lighting, translates to a 10% reduction in your bill.

Smart lighting can also play a pivotal role in bolstering home security. Automated lighting schedules can be used to simulate the appearance of an occupied home, even when you are at work or on holiday, deterring potential intruders.

Smart lighting automation enables every single detail of lighting, both indoors and out, to be programmed and automated, ensuring that energy is used only where and when it is needed. You can control the use of individual luminaires, switching them on and off at specific times as required, as well as controlling elements such as brightness, intensity and colour temperature to suit the mood or the time of day. A real game-changer, it has the ability to transform the comfort of residential spaces and can even be integrated with weather apps so that the colour of the lights will automatically adjust according to the weather outside.

Real health and wellness benefits can also be felt through smart lighting in the home. For instance, automatic transitioning from a bluer hue in the morning to a softer orange hue in the evening can help regulate your natural circadian rhythm, resulting in improved focus and productivity during the day and fewer sleep disturbances at night.

Operated via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, smart lighting systems are also simple to operate. They can be controlled via remote control, an app on your smartphone, programmed to respond to voice or motion and can even be integrated with ecosystems such as Alexa, Hey Google and Siri.

As a relatively-new technology, with lots of different products and options available, knowing where to begin and which products to incorporate in an automated lighting system can seem like a minefield.

As with all lighting schemes, planning is key. Consideration should be given to the location of natural light sources, functional requirements and how the light should be delivered. As smart lighting systems need Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to operate, consideration should also be given to the fabric and the structure of your property, ensuring any factors that might restrict signal and functionality – such as the thickness of walls – can be addressed.

When it comes to specifying fittings, there is a vast array of choices available. From interior downlights, strip lights and bulkheads to outdoor bi-directional wall lights and garden spikes, almost every type of lamp or fitting can be found. For spaces where lighting is required infrequently, considering smart lighting products with corridor functionality or intuitive presence and absence detection sensors will also help to optimise energy use.

Product interoperability is another key consideration. Smart lighting is all about added convenience, so select a system that works across a variety of ecosystems to make the scope of illumination possibilities and functionalities wider, not to mention any future product additions much easier. Elect for products that are compatible with a wide array of modules, drivers, sensors and switches and can be paired with any ecosystem on the market.

When it comes to installation, what is truly amazing about smart lighting, especially given the high level of technology involved, is its ease of installation. As the technology is controlled and hosted on the cloud, there’s no hub or wiring required, and the majority of the units are simply installed like a normal light bulb or switch. Lamps and other standalone light fittings can also be added to a smart lighting system with the use of smart bulbs or smart plugs.

Undeniably at the forefront of the home automation revolution, smart lighting truly has a myriad of benefits to offer. As the technology continues to advance, it has become an integral component of the modern home, adapting to our preferences, routines and the ever-changing demands of modern living.

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