Global Smart Lighting Markets Growing Rapidly

8 April 2017 – Smart lighting is seeing strong growth with the residential segment of the market presenting tremendous business opportunities, according to speakers at the Asian Lighting Forum. The 6 April forum was a highlight of the HKTDC Hong Kong International Lighting Fair (Spring Edition) which runs 6-9 April.

At a session entitled “The Primary Knowhow of Smart Lighting”, Wang Shen, Senior Analyst, Lighting & LEDs Group of IHS Markit, one of the world’s largest market intelligence companies, said smart lighting markets across Asia, the United States and Europe are all witnessing exponential growth.

Mr Wang highlighted the potential of smart residential lighting, saying it comprises 45 per cent of overall smart lighting revenue and the figure had been growing.

Personalised home smart lighting
Vincent Chow, Senior Marketing Manager, Philips Lighting Hong Kong Ltd, also believed there are huge business opportunities for smart lighting systems in home applications.

For example, the camera of a smart lighting device can help parents or pet owners monitor their children or pets at home.

Speaking of smart lighting as part of a “smart home”, he referred to artificial intelligence depicted in the Hollywood film “Iron Man” as an example of smart lighting functioning as a “smart robot”.

He stressed that smart lighting is not just about linking lighting systems with the Internet, but also creating lighting for more personalised uses, improving the quality of life and building smart cities.

For example, Mr Chow said, some parents may want to leave the bathroom light on during the night in case their children, who are not tall enough to reach the switches, need to use it. However, with smart lighting, the children may keep a smart phone by their side and simply press a key to turn the light on or off.

Another example he cited was personalised smart lighting for elderly people with impaired hearing, who could set their doorbells and mobile phones to emit a flashing light when there is a visitor or caller, while different colours of light can be used to indicate different visitors or callers.

Mr Chow added that the “smart home” is not only a concept, but something that is being developed and applied by enterprises such as Apple, Google and Amazon.

Meanwhile, Mr Wang from IHS Markit also expected other smart lighting market segments, such as government, the manufacturing industry, offices and medical equipment, will show greater potential for growth in future.

People-centric smart lighting 
Lawrence Chan, Director and Head of Marketing and Strategy, Asia Pacific Region, OSRAM Lighting Solutions Asia Pacific, also shared his insights at the session. He said lighting can help improve the quality of life.

Mr Chan described how lights tuned to a specific spectrum, brightness and colour can regulate sleep cycles and enhance staff productivity and a sense of belonging to a company.

Regulations for network security
Magic Tong, Assistant Technical Manager – Lighting, DEKRA reminded industry professionals that while smart lighting relies on connection with the Internet, it is also highly susceptible to security vulnerabilities such as invasion by hackers who might steal personal information. However, he pointed out that network security regulations which might combat such problems have been introduced in Europe and the United States.

Asia the bright spot for LED market
Mr Wang from IHS Markit noted that the LED lighting market has grown steadily, with annual shipments rising 20 per cent between 2015 and 2023. He connected the rise to urban expansion which has led to an increasing number of buildings and street lights being put in place around the world.

However, he remarked that the market has become more saturated in recent years, leading to declining revenue growth for LED lighting markets in the EU and the US. Asia, on the other hand, recorded exponential growth, making it a “region of very positive growth,” he said.

Control, energy efficiency and Internet functions are the future trends in the LED lighting market, said Mr Wang, adding that those who can combine those functions will become market pioneers.

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