Lighting in Design August-September 2015

without forcing you to adjust to bright light. For home-use, many of these systems are still quite costly.You also need to consider how easily you’re going to wire things in, or end up using wireless sensors taped all over. Three Philips Hue lamps costs about R3 000, for starters. However, if you’re tasked with improving ef- ficiency at an office, lighting plays a tremendous role in enhancing the work environment. Similarly, ensuring lighting is only on where needed can save a business much money. Integrated sensors and controllers are becom- ing big business. Nest, started in 2010 by former Apple engineers Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers, developed a thermo- stat which required minimal user interaction while

Any adaptive lighting system must also rec- ognise, and take advantage of, ambient lighting. The term increasingly being used to describe such systems is circadian lighting. The philosophy is that lighting should support your body's natural sleep-wake pattern. Lighting should be more subdued (and warmer) in the morn- ings and evenings, and brighter (and bluer) during the day. Lighting is not only about LEDs, or other synthetic light sources, but also about controlling daylight. Sensors, actuators and various controllers can determine ambient light, as well as the number and location of people in a room, as well and can choose the best way to deliver a required light colour mix. Philips Hue, Belkin WeMo, GE SmartLink and LIFX all offer LED ‘smart’ lights which go into ex- isting sockets and link to wireless hubs, controlled by the inevitable smartphone app. When paired with additional actuators (for instance, controlling window blinds or ventilation), these systems can follow a ‘script’ chosen by the user to deliver light- ing that helps you wake up, work, and relax at the end of the day. For the truly ambitious, Honda has demon- strated a circadian system that provides floor-level subdued lighting to help you navigate to the bath- room or kitchen for those late-night emergencies

Philips Hue

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