An IoT Times article by ASPENCORE Network
Silicon Labs has posted a fascinating new white paper, entitled “Application-Optimized Wireless Modules: A Bright Idea for Smart LED Bulb Designs”. In it, the company reviews best practice tips for adoption of smart connected lighting, and how this particular solution is quickly gaining traction in residential, commercial, and industrial markets.
Additionally, the paper reviews how to enable smart connectivity in cost-effective ways, as well as hardware and software technologies that can be used to help simplify all connected lighting application development processes.
Among the key topics covered:
- Smart LED design challenges
- Implementation challenges
- Easing design and implementation challenges with module solutions
- Choosing the right module solution
From the paper’s opening section:
Light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs are the greatest advancement in lighting since the advent of the first commercially viable incandescent bulb 140 years ago. The benefits of LED lights are myriad and well-documented. They typically use 75 percent less energy than equivalent, modern-day incandescent bulbs and can last more than 50 times longer. Today’s LED bulbs are a vast enhancement over their predecessors. They generate minimal heat, don’t emit ultraviolet or infrared radiation, contain no mercury, are shock-resistant and operate effectively in extreme environments.
The next wave in the lighting revolution is upon us: Smart connected lighting. Adding wireless connectivity and networking capabilities to LED bulbs opens opportunities to do much more than simple on/off functionality. You can adjust brightness, color temperature and timing through simple smartphone apps or voice assistants, and even control lights remotely while traveling. Applications previously unheard of include wireless proximity sensors that trigger smart lights to automatically illuminate hallways and rooms at night as you move through a house or building, bedside lighting that gradually wakes you up in the morning, or hospital lighting that uses color to enhance mood, health and recovery. The convenience and benefits of smart connected lighting are limitless.
Smart lighting is still nascent compared to the scale of traditional lighting, but its adoption rate is steadily increasing in residential, commercial and industrial markets, in part aided through the adoption of green energy incentives and regulation such as California Title 20. Research and Markets forecasts that the global smart lighting market will reach $24 billion (USD) by 2022, a 21 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2018-2023.
As more “things” get connected and consumers embrace smart home technology, the acceptance and demand for smart connected lighting will continue to grow. This is why Acuity Brands, Cree, Eaton, GE Lighting, Philips/Signify, Osram and many other top lighting brands are racing to deliver not only smart LED products but also complete lighting ecosystems that are easy to deploy, are interoperable, secure and upgradable.
Adoption of smart connected lighting is gaining traction in residential, commercial and industrial markets. However, enabling smart connectivity in a cost-effective way creates many design and implementation challenges for lighting OEMs. Download this whitepaper to learn more about the hardware and software technologies that can help simplify your connected lighting application development.
