Are smart lights in your future?
OK, I just have to say that my husband and I have a hard enough time getting our light timers to work and someone wants to make them even smarter? Seriously though, according to Pike Research, the world is poised for an explosion in the installation of so-called intelligent lighting controls, which as know are one component of the bigger smart/green buildings movement.
Over the next five years, the firm predicts that global revenue from this segment will reach $2.6 billion, which is essentially double the size that it is today. If things go ESPECIALLY well, that number could reach $3.5 billion.
The reason this is interesting to you green techies that electricity used for lighting control consumes something like 17.5 percent of all global electricity. Which is why the fact that Congress is thinking about killing a law that calls for the phase-out of incandescent bulbs in the United States next year just baffling.
In any event, intelligent lighting control technology is relevant because many of the lights in commercial buildings today are controlled by the good old on/off switch. Forget to turn them off, and they will burn all night. Intelligent lighting would help with things such as daylight harvesting, by dimming or turning off lights automatically when they aren't really needed. Most of the sales in this category are anticipated in the retrofit segment, and as commercial building owners upgrade to include building management systems that are more attuned to green concerns. It doesn't surprise me, either, that office and education buildings will be the biggest chunk of the sales, followed by healthcare and retail.
In a press release about the report, Pike Research President Clint Wheelock explicitly tied the anticipated sales increase to the green building movement:
"In addition to the drive to cut energy consumption, there is recognition that lighting control systems can contribute to the pursuit of green building certifications, an interest in increasing the amount of natural light available to occupants, and a desire to providing people with more control over the light levels in their work environments."
Personally speaking, I have to get up at least two to three times during an average work day to turn off or on the lighting. I need the break, but it would be nice if this was handled behind-the-scenes, especially when I'm really into my head writing something. This technology makes sense.