LightSpeed

City lighting

Over the course of the last decade, solid-state lighting has replaced high pressure sodium lamps in street lighting infrastructure. This has enabled a lowering of municipal lighting budgets, thanks to the smaller power consumption demands and longer operational lifespans associated with LED luminaires. It has also provided greater uniformity of output. There are still other issues that must be addressed, however, the most serious of these being light pollution. Dramatic reductions in insect populations have been connected to it, and this is causing damage to local ecosystems. It is therefore important that street and stadium lighting features superior lenses to prevent light output being lost. This will also bring advantages in terms of the operation’s energy efficiency. In some European countries, regulations are already in place that mandate the use of warm white in street light infrastructure - so that illumination does not cause stress to insect species or to humans.

Horticultural lighting

There are increasing concerns across Europe about the environmental impact of transporting fruit and vegetables from other countries, and the carbon footprint that results, as well as the fuel costs that such activities call for. This is leading to greater emphasis being placed on smart horticulture and vertical farming. Here natural lighting is supplemented, or in vertical farms completely replaced by artificial lighting. Crop yields can be increased, and growing cycles accelerated, so seasonal conditions no longer need to be factored in and multiple harvests are possible throughout the year. Initially, high-pressure sodium lamps were used in many installations, but this method is too expensive and unreliable. With energy costs continuing to rise, using solid-state technology is now the only practical approach. Though LEDs represent a larger upfront investment, their lifespan is much longer, so they prove more economical in the long term. Their power consumption is markedly lower, thanks to the efficacy characteristics they achieve. Also, LEDs allow a better match with the optimal wavelengths of the particular crops being grown. 

Being able to source the most appropriate LEDs and accompanying drivers will be the first considerations for engineers developing lighting systems for smart horticulture and vertical farming sites. Next, they will need to think about addressing the light pollution aspect, with lenses selected that will stop light output being wasted and cause less unwanted ecological problems.

Industrial lighting

The use of lighting in industrial locations does not have to be purely about illumination. There are other tasks that it will also fulfil. It may be used to disinfect surfaces using certain UV wavelengths. In addition, it can form the basis of infrared light curtains, to protect staff from harm when they are in close proximity to items of heavy equipment such as robot arms.

Having high quality of light and a good colour rendering are both very important factors in industrial lighting implementations. Without them, quality inspection, categorisation and sorting applications will not be completely effective - leading to the results obtained being poor and production yields consequently suffering. Light sources specified should exhibit a strong colour rendering index (CRI) in order that colours are correctly shown and potential errors (such as mis-categorisation) can thus be avoided.

It is paramount that lighting technology specified for industrial usage has a high degree of robustness. As well as being able to withstand mechanical stresses, it will also need to exhibit resistance to corrosive substances, such as sulphur, that may be present.

Human centric lighting (HCL)

Today society is much more aware of the effect that light has on people’s wellbeing. By implementing lighting that is much better aligned with our circadian rhythms, it is possible to boost human concentration levels and increase performance. The introduction of HCL has allowed wavelength alterations to be made to illumination systems, with warmer light being emitted at the start of the day to mitigate melatonin production, then moving to cooler light output over the course of the day. Advances in lighting technology mean that the presence of blue wavelength components can now be added while keeping a warm light effect overall. HCL solutions can be supplied in the form of installable luminaires in homes or offices, for example, or as wearables such as glasses and visors.