Selecting a smart lighting system can be daunting partly because you need to have a basic understanding of networking. How will the luminaires, sensors and controls connect and reliably communicate with each other on your smart lighting network?

The term ‘Internet of Things’ is a growing topic of conversation. What exactly is the Internet of Things (IoT) and what does smart lighting have to do with it?

At Light and Building 2018, LEDinside also saw a great number of companies displaying other Smart Home/Building technologies. They delivered a message that they have confidence to transform our living areas into smart environments.

We have seen at the trade show major lighting brands announce their determination to transition away from LED lighting companies to software-oriented IoT Solution providers. Companies in the lighting industry admitted their profits have been affected by severe price wars in the market and have tried to develop new business opportunities. However, in comparison, LEDVANCE chooses to not only keep but even expand its focus on general lighting as a globally active, full-scale LED lighting company.

Students attending Dubai’s Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University (HBMSU) need never flick a light switch or search for a tutorial or classroom again. Philips Lighting has equipped the university with state-of the-art connected LED lighting controlled by its Interact Office system. The technology enables faculty staff to control and personalize light settings using a smartphone app, while students can be guided to rooms using lighting-based indoor positioning technology. Such innovations bring to life Philips Lighting’s strategy to deliver new capabilities as value expands from lighting products to software and services.

Light and Building 2018, one of the largest trade shows in Europe, gathers over 2,700 exhibitors and their advanced lighting and building automation technologies in Frankfurt. Those technologies reflect the highly dynamic nature of the sector and the rising demand for smart life and efficient energy management around the world. In particular, one of the most exciting things must be to learn what major companies announce and showcase at the fair. Here, LEDinside sees a trend that big lighting companies are now transforming themselves from lamp suppliers to IoT solution and service providers.

Light + Building 2018, the largest trade fair for lighting and building services technology in Europe, officially begins on March 18. For the next six days, 18-23 March, exhibitors at the show will showcase their state-of-the-art products and technologies, whether they are for lighting, communication, building automation, or automotive applications.

Philips Lighting finally made an announcement about the name change. It intends to change its name from Philips Lighting to Signify. The choice of the new company name originates from the fact that light becomes an intelligent language, which connects and conveys meaning.

Light + Building opens its doors in Frankfurt am Main from Sunday, 18 March, to Friday, 23 March 2018. Over 2,700 exhibitors from 55 countries are showing their latest products and innovations for the lighting, electrical engineering, home and building automation and safety and security sectors on more than 260,000 square metres spread in25 exhibition halls.

Osram enters a partnership with Nedap, developer and supplier of smart technological solutions, endorsing the DEXAL Technology (Data Exchange for Advanced Lighting). 

Silvair announces partnerships with Fulham, McWong International, Murata, Danlers, ERP Power and DG Light to bring to the market a wide range of components and products designed for setting up smart lighting infrastructures in commercial spaces.

Silvair, a pioneer in lighting control technology based on Bluetooth mesh, announces its partnership with Sylvania - a full-spectrum provider of professional and architectural lighting solutions. The collaboration will focus on introducing one of the world’s first Bluetooth mesh certified lighting control systems for professional applications.

The rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) is definitely pushing our technology to a new level. Now, we can combine LED lighting with sensing and data analyzing capabilities. All these bring the LED industry opportunities to connect with future technologies.</div> div#featurs-list-ver {  width: 906px;  margin: 0 auto; } div.features-top-banner {  background-image: url('//www.ledinside.com/sites/www.ledinside.com/theme/images/under-banner-shadow.jpg');   background-position: bottom;   background-repeat: no-repeat;  height: 215px; } td.features-lead-icon {  width: 150px;  height: 100px;  text-align: center;  background-color: #FDB0C5; } td.features-lead-text {  background-color: #CF456B;  color: #FFFFFF;  text-align: left; } td.features-lead-text ...</p>

Osram announced its Wireless Site Lighting Control (WSLC) Module, extending the ENCELIUM EXTEND Networked Light Management System capability to a building’s surroundings or site such as parking lots, pathways and private roadways. 

Power management company Eaton announced the launch of Halo Home, a Bluetooth mesh, smart lighting system that allows homeowners to automate and control one light or a host of lighting products throughout the home using a smart mobile device. A home can have more than 100 lighting products, and homeowners are turning to connected lighting products for better functionality, security and safety, as well as lifestyle enrichment and wellness.

The rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) is definitely pushing our technology to a new level. Now, we can combine LED lighting with sensing and data analyzing capabilities. All these bring the LED industry opportunities to connect with future technologies.

LED lighting industry has been developing towards smart lighting in recent years in order to avoid involving in price wars. In the era of IoT, lighting is no longer individual product, but a systematical solution. Manufacturers are trying to enhance the added value of lighting equipment by integrating functions like Internet of Things and ambient sensing. International manufacturers such as Philips, Osram, and Opple Lighting, a Chinese maker, have all invested heavily in smart lighting R&D to lay the foundation for future market.

Wireless infrastructure provider American Tower and Philips Lighting announced that the City of Huntington Beach, CA will provide high capacity mobile connectivity, high quality LED lighting and smart city enablement with the newly developed Smart Fusion Poles. 

Smart lighting has been developed for years, but products and applications are not really used widely. In 2017, however, smart lighting has entered rapid development. According to the latest data of LEDinside, the global smart lighting market reached close to US$4.6 billion in 2017 with an annual growth rate of 95%. The market size is expected to reach US$13.4 billion in 2020.

It’s not a coincidence that multinational lighting conglomerates like Philips Lighting and LEDVANCE have lately been undergoing transformations, including product mix adjustment, more investments in smart lighting, cutting jobs and quitting production related to traditional lighting.

The rise of the Internet of Things has led LED lighting to networked high-value digital lighting. Smart systems can collect information of users and environment, etc., make data analysis, and then adjust devices. Personalized and human-centric smart lighting has become the focus of future industrial development.

LED lighting has come a long way from its initial days. Today it is combined with digital lighting controls to create smart lighting solutions that dramatically save on energy consumption and the related operating costs. But in addition to these savings, organizations deploying smart lighting solutions are achieving impressive results in other ways. Let’s take a look at a few examples.

Some people believe that wireless cannot go the distance for large commercial lighting applications. That is not true. Even with the widespread usage of wireless networks, it is still amazing that there are so many myths about them. That is not a surprise since not everybody has strong IT knowledge. After all, IT can be quite complicated.

By focusing on connected lighting solutions and the most comprehensive service offer in the lighting industry, the Zumtobel Group strengthens its position as a service-oriented company and strong partner for its customers. 

Philips Lighting have installed the first Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) connected lighting system in the Nordics, using Cisco network technology. 

Philips Lighting just announced the company's fourth quarter and full year results 2017. "In line with our objectives, Philips Lighting returned to comparable sales growth in 2017 driven by the growth of LED and connected lighting Systems & Services, which demonstrates the successful execution of our strategy," said CEO Eric Rondolat.

Eric Rondolat, CEO of Philips Lighting, talked briefly about the lighting market in the US during an interview with CNBC.

International Lighting-Design company Klaasen Lighting Design (KLD), which has offices in Singapore, Perth, Shanghai and Jakarta, has entered into a partnership agreement with US based data platform provider Gooee.

OPTIS, an established software vendor for scientific simulation of light, human vision and physically correct visualization, announces it will debut its SPEOS solution dedicated to the lighting industry, SPEOS Lighting for SOLIDWORKS, at SOLIDWORKS World 2018.

Acuity Brands announced the availability of mobile apps to help make start-up and programming of lighting control networks and sensors from Acuity Brands easier and quicker. Now electrical contractors and other validated users can have the capability to set up and manage indoor lighting controls via their iPhone and Android mobile devices.