Lightfair 2018: Lighting for Well-being and Control Systems

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I spent two very full days at Lightfair 2018, getting an in-depth look at the lighting industry, trends and technologies. As I walked the expo floor, a few topics were highlighted – lighting control systems and sensors, and human centric lighting.

Read more here: Lighting Trends at Lightfair 2018

We also discuss other lighting takeaways and new solutions that stuck out and how to submit content to the BUILDINGS editorial team.

In This Episode

• Lighting control systems and sensors
• Human centric lighting
• Spotlighted showroom features
• Give us feedback 
• Editorial submissions

Lighting Control Systems and Sensors

People were calling their systems “simple, scalable and flexible,” “set and forget,” and “moving beyond saving energy to monitor the environment.” Many are brand-agnostic solutions, with something for every price, budget and space. They offer various levels of support and information on what they collect and how it’s used. The ways the controls and apps talk and who can control it (and what they can control) vary.

If you want to implement lighting control systems, think about what your current and future needs are, what you want to get out of a system and what you currently have capabilities for.

Human Centric Lighting

Human centric lighting is getting a lot of attention, as it can play a role in health and wellbeing and bringing more natural light indoors. Because of that, a lot of the focus was on how it can be used in schools and hospitals.

Hand-picked from interiors + sources:
VISA Lighting and the Evolution of Lighting Technology

Experience rooms on the show floor featured lighting solutions and what could be done throughout the day, shown in just a few minutes. In these rooms, light was mimicking or actually reflecting via sensor what was going on outside. Also shown was how lights could change in different parts of the room different times of day, and how window shades could play into that.

Spotlighted Showroom Features

While lighting control management (and sensors) and human centric lighting were the two big things, other cool solutions and features were displayed on the show floor, including:

• Slim LED lights. With a low profile, these offer more flexibility on placement that regular lights can’t offer. 
• Below ceiling grade solutions. An electrician isn’t needed to install these. Simply use your maintenance team you have on staff. 
• Colorful lights. Especially popular in schools and hospitals, they offer flexibility in one lamp, with school colors for a spirit day or pink for breast cancer awareness at a hospital. 
• Disinfecting lights. There are options safe for humans that look like regular lights to the human eye, but disinfect. This can be helpful in school gyms or hospitals. 
• High bay with an uplight. Hubbell offers what it says is the first of its kind. Set your light via barcode. Cree is working on a light where you set how you want it to be on your phone, scan the barcode of the new light and it is set. You only need to have one product in stock.

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Editorial Submissions

Read the BUILDINGS guidelines for editorial submissions to learn about our publication, audience, ways to pitch articles, topics we're looking for and share story ideas or news releases. This is also the place where you'll submit your information to us. If you want to write an article, be a source or have an idea for something we should cover, let us know!

Additional Resources

• Get tips on how to manage your first lighting retrofit
• Find out how lighting can disinfect your facility’s workspace
• See how sensors bring the outdoors in with tunable lighting
• View all lighting content, including articles, educational webinars and new products