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June 24, 2021

IoT-based Smart Lighting Applications Holds The Light into the Future



Lighting is the most pervasive and ubiquitous product as it has more in points than anything else in any environment. In the past, connecting light devices had been an analog affair, and although smart solutions existed, fixture prices were costly. The value of IoT is unlocking the potential of industrial LED lighting in a transformative and disruptive way by providing products like software as a service.



The role of IoT in lighting

The IoT or Internet of things is a system of interconnected objects and people that can transfer data over a network. These connections allow the collection and sharing of data to help influence and impact processes that improve the quality of the environment.

Lighting plays an important role in the IoT ecosystem, and that is where smart lighting comes into play; enhancing luminaires with smart drivers, embedded sensors, and internal antennas become a mesh of satellites that can receive and transmit data coupled with a network backbone. These lights provide building owners with real-time data that helps improve efficiencies in both people and systems, reduces costs, and affects forecasting for optimal utilization of spaces and services.

While the Internet of Things (IoT) equips a multitude of domains and millions of devices with connectivity every day, some of the applications of this technology include:

1. Monitoring produce

IoT in agriculture can provide several solutions, including precision farming, smart irrigation, and smart greenhouse. The first two cases are similar as in both; sensors detect various parameters at each level of the soil, for example, moisture content, temperature, and weather conditions. One can tell the correct depth to sow the crops or the right time to water them. However, one of the most intriguing solutions of IoT in agriculture is the smart greenhouse.

Using embedded devices, you can monitor the crops and practically control the climate inside the greenhouse. The system works because the sensors sense various parameters and areas of issue and relay the information through a connection gateway that sends the information to the cloud, which then sends commands via the same gateway to the sensors. Once these signals are acknowledged, they pass on to the switchgear, activating the lighting, pumps and turbines inside the greenhouse.

2. Asset tracking

The whole point of this process is to keep track of your things, whether that is large pieces of equipment, computers that you are using within your own business, and repair parts—when you need to know when and where things are. An effective asset tracking system can track goods anywhere in the world. This advantage is useful for businesses with different warehouses on the globe and only need to go onto a central software hub and find out where all your stuff is.

3. Space utilization

Ensuring optimal space usage is a key factor when balancing conflicting employee needs. Smart lighting enables the maximization of space that will promote efficiency by creating a seamless workflow. The three core benefits of space utilization are that it reduces costs because it quantifies underused spaces, thus avoiding waste. Space utilization can simplify space planning by using smart lighting to see how people interact and manage the space portfolio to maximize utilization. The third benefit is that a business can better validate needs by evaluating space usage to understand what employees need in a workspace.

4. Parking

Many people experience challenges when looking for the right parking spot. With IoT, everything can be quick and simple. Using an application on your phone that uses IoT to portray information in real-time, you can detect an empty spot to park your vehicle. The system works using a sensor that detects a parked car and measures the distance to the nearest obstacle. When you access the cloud using a web application, a signal is sent to confirm the sensor state.

Companies work with corporate, retail, and other sectors to implement smart lighting IOT strategies for asset tracking, improved energy management, and more robust wireless networking. This technology provides clients with an unprecedented amount of data to help inform them and shape future decisions to stay ahead of the game. For facilities interested in utilizing smart technology, it does not have to be an all-or-nothing solution. An experienced design team can plan and incorporate beneficial, smart features within the owner's budget.



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