Lighting controls market poised for strong growth

With increased penetration of LED lighting and significant advances in technology, the demand for lighting controls is soaring.

The total building automation and controls market is expected to reach $55.48 billion by 2020 at a CAGR of 9.04% from 2014 to 2020, according to US-headquartered research firm MarketsandMarkets. The market in 2013 was valued at $29.78 billion.

Multifunction devices

“A major development in lighting control seems to be the realisation by many players in the lighting industry, and in the information technology industry, that luminaires will evolve from single-function devices (providing light) to multifunction devices connected to data networks,” said Marc Ledbetter, manager of advanced lighting at the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Ledbetter is one of the key speakers at the SPARC International Lighting Event 2015.

“Not only will the data network connections support improved lighting control, but many believe luminaires will become new sensor/data collection platforms for supporting building energy management, building security, data transmission for mobile devices, and other services. This evolution is likely to take place for both indoor and outdoor luminaires,” added Ledbetter, who has around 30 years’ experience in the field of energy and the environment, primarily on policies, programs and technologies to improve energy efficiency.

Australia implemented the phase-out of inefficient incandescent lighting in 2007. The move is expected to generate savings of around AU$380 million a year by 2020 to the Australian economy and more than $50 per year for each household that changes all incandescent light globes to CFLs.

Efficient street lights

Street and road lighting in Australia is very efficient compared to other countries; however, the government is working with industry and the relevant Australian Standards Committee to reduce the amount of energy used by street lights, according to the Department of Industry and Science.

Ledbetter also predicted a strong surge in the sales of outdoor LED lighting. “Cities and highway agencies seem to have bought into the idea that LED roadway lighting can offer significant energy and maintenance savings,” he said.

A number of Australian councils have already achieved significant cost savings and reduced emissions by installing energy-efficient street lighting. For example, the City of Sydney has already saved almost $370,000 and reduced energy use more than 46% since March 2012, with the rollout of more than 5100 energy-efficient LED (light-emitting diode) street and park lights. Changing all of the streetlights in Australia will mean changing 2,303,896 lights, according to consulting firm Ironbark.

Performance-based approach

“Lighting is presumed to improve road safety performance and so we’ve stopped our exploration of it,” said Dr John Milton, director of enterprise risk and safety management for the Washington State Department of Transportation in the United States. Milton recently presented at the Road Lighting 2015: Smart City Investment conference in New Zealand.

Standards-based application of lighting design is slowing the evolution of lighting to optimise road safety, and in the interests of road safety that needs to change, said Milton. “In Washington State we are shifting from standards-driven application to a performance-based decision-making process.”

Much of our road lighting technology, said Milton, is now 40 years old and so is our understanding of lighting and “road crash potential”. New adaptive lighting technologies will enable us to optimise road lighting cost-effectively to create conditions that result in the fewest crashes, but we need to understand how to do that.

Growth drivers

Among the big growth drivers for lighting are the many new functions and value streams possible from LED lighting, according to Ledbetter. “Promises of superior lighting quality, reduced maintenance, spectrally tuneable light sources, new form factors and controls integration into data networks reaching into the internet will provide substantial new value to users and lead them to make bigger investments in lighting products,” said Ledbetter.

If the lighting and controls industry can work together to greatly improve interoperability among lighting system components and data networks, we will see a new era for lighting controls, allowing much wider use of controls than we have seen to date, noted Ledbetter.

Colour-tuneable lighting

There is “an increasing interest in colour-tuneable LED products, not only for aesthetic purposes, and for imitation of the red-shifting seen with incandescent product when dimmed, but also for health, wellbeing and productivity purposes,” said Ledbetter.

While the LED lighting technology is evolving rapidly, the market is still quite young. “There is no doubt that governments will continue to regulate lighting to achieve deeper energy savings for the purposes of addressing climate change. LEDs and OLEDs will allow much deeper energy savings to be achieved than have been possible with previous technologies. OLEDs currently lag LEDs with regard to energy performance, but they appear to be poised for strong growth within the next few years, and technology developers are steadily improving their energy performance. One major US luminaire manufacturer recently started selling OLED luminaires via a national hardware retailer,” Ledbetter noted.

OLED is yet to prove a functional technology for general illumination, said Adele Locke, national president, Illuminating Engineering Society of Australia and New Zealand (IESANZ). “It can be used to great effect for decorative and dynamic lighting installations and is certainly revolutionising the television market; however, it is not a strong consideration for the lighting market in Australia and New Zealand at this stage.”

Installers’ role

Ledbetter believes designers and installers can play a key role in standards and codes development by participating in the committees that develop these products. “It’s important that new codes and standards reflect the needs and concerns of designers and installers. It’s always difficult for people from these professions to find the time to serve on the relevant committees given the costs and time involved, but their voices are needed to improve product outcomes,” said Ledbetter.

Inês Azevedo, Associate Professor of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University and co-director at the Centre for Climate and Energy Decision-Making (CEDM), agreed that designers and installers play an important role in successful adoption of new technologies and in standards and codes. “One of the issues that I see as being particularly interesting pertains to the need of voltage standards for DC circuits to be used in residential and commercial buildings. Using LED coupled with DC circuits, in particular for buildings powered by solar photovoltaics, could result in substantial energy savings. In commercial buildings where solar panels are already installed, we have found that a transition to DC may be actually cost-effective. However, we lack a voltage standard.” Lighting expert Azevedo is also presenting at the SPARC International Lighting Event 2015.

Keeping up to date

Contractors and installers are key influencers, so it is important they keep up with the latest lighting technologies, applications, standards and regulations. “The key contribution that designers, manufacturers and installers can provide is ‘in the field’ knowledge and experience which, when shared, enables everyone involved in lighting to work towards higher quality results on projects. One of the best ways to ensure your voice is heard is to become involved in your local IESANZ Chapter.”

Lighting manufacturers, universities and industry bodies such as IESANZ, NECA and MEA offer lighting courses. “I anticipate greater opportunities for highly technically minded lighting professionals as the equipment used for lighting becomes more complex and diversified,” said Locke.

“With so many innovations every year, and such a quick development cycle for new products, those who have a deep understanding of the technology of lighting will be well placed to evaluate the new products available on the market, providing support to the construction industry,” noted Locke.

The price challenge

With technological advancements, the prices of LED products will continue to drop. Price competition in this sector is fierce, said Ledbetter, noting that industry growth will not only be challenged by continuing trouble in the global economy but also by thin profit margins due to intense competition among LED product manufacturers.

“Pushing on price is a challenge in any industry - service or product based. Lighting has notoriously suffered from price squeeze, sometimes, sadly, resulting in sub-par installations. As the push for quality and performance takes centre stage, the old mindset of cheaper is best and any light will do, the job will still be a challenge to the advancement of good light. Also, the drive for energy efficiency - which is still critical and important - can distract from the benefits of using the right light, in the right place at the right time,” noted Locke.

“More broadly speaking, it is vital that specifications written by qualified lighting professionals be upheld and not treated as interchangeable with any ‘similar but different’ cheaper options. Lighting professionals rely on their own deep technical understanding of light and luminaires as well as accurate approved data from suppliers to qualify their selections for projects. This knowledge should not be disregarded in the final stages of a project where budget and time constraints can push on quality. We should not compromise on quality, safety and performance merely for the sake of price. If quality is upheld as the key driving principle throughout every project, then we can be confident that Australian Standards are upheld,” Locke said.

Light it right

Locke’s only tip for installers is, “Contact a qualified lighting professional, whether that be an IESANZ MIES (Member) or IESANZ RLP (Registered Lighting Practitioner) or IALD member or Electrical Engineer. Luminaires and lighting controls are advancing at a dramatic pace - the last 12 months showed exponential growth in performance, quality and control available, and a lighting professional who works with the technologies every day is the best source of both information and collaboration.

“Lighting and controls are used everywhere - from offices to roads to industrial facilities. Each environment has different needs, boundaries and performance requirements. There is no one right answer - every location and project is different, so finding the right lighting professional for your project is the best way to identify the right lighting and control systems,” Locke concluded.

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