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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
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
Philips Hue