Since the popularity of Edison’s light bulbs, we have grown accustomed to using electric lighting. With the advancement of smart lighting, which can be managed by linked devices, voice-activated connected devices, or an app (locally or remotely), convenience and efficiency have increased. There are numerous options, including brightness settings, colours, and timetables.
How Does Smart Lighting Work?
The majority of popular smart bulbs establish wireless connections with one another to form a network that is managed by a hub that is connected to a router. As a result, networked personal assistant devices like Google Home or Amazon Alexa can communicate with the light bulbs. Several systems additionally support If This Then That for controlling lighting in addition to apps and linked devices (IFTTT). Applets, which are collections of conditional statements, are made using this web-based tool. If you have smart lighting, for instance, your LED lights can flash blue whenever you get a text or call.
Where Is Smart Lighting Useful?
Some could counter that Smart Lighting is useful everywhere. It may be a great tool for the house to improve security, comfort, and to bring a new dimension to entertainment. For today’s offices, businesses, and public spaces, smart lighting technology is ideal. The energy savings and reduced operating expenses offered by connected lighting are for everyone’s benefit. Lighting in public areas can be automatically changed to match the amounts of available natural light. Occupancy sensors ensure that lights are only turned on when necessary, saving energy by not lighting conference rooms, restrooms, or parking lots that are rarely or never used. To allow workers to customise lighting wherever they are, energy and performance reports can be provided to a building’s facility management from outside the residence.
What Are the Drawbacks?
Any new technology may go through a learning curve. One major worry is that smart bulbs require constant “on” status in order to function properly. When it comes to light switches, which ought to always be kept in the “on” position, this can be confusing. Because of how little electricity the bulbs use, this is not the problem. The issue is that when a switch is turned off, the bulb also turns off and stops being smart.
There has been considerable discussion over the vulnerability of infrared-capable, plug-in bulbs to hacking. The infrared might potentially be used by hackers to obtain data. To maintain data security and consistent uptime, it may be desirable to select a system that uses a connected hub.
Connected lighting is undoubtedly here to stay and can significantly improve facility and building management.
