Top trends in the lighting industry

The lighting industry has been developing very dynamically in recent years. The driving force for the industry are trends related to technological development, including LED technology and intelligent lighting management systems.

Regulatory factors also play an important role. Improving energy efficiency is one of the main goals of the European Union's energy policy. "Europe 2020" – a strategy adopted to stimulate the development of the EU economy – assumes striving to achieve a 20% increase in the effective use of energy, which requires the implementation of changes in the scope of energy consumption, that is also in lighting.

In the coming years, we can expect further growth of the lighting market, which will primarily relate to energy saving and digitization.

Analysis of changing trends in the lighting industry

When analysing the most important lighting trends, we see a significant increase in the importance of aspects such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Human Centric Lighting (HCL) and Smart Lighting.

Energy efficiency, LED lighting and LiFi technology continue to be popular issues, although not as much as they once were.

Energy-efficient LED lighting

LED technology has revolutionized the lighting industry. Currently, the value of the global LED market accounts for most of the total global lighting market, and according to forecasts, by 2025 LED technology will gain up to 95% share in the lighting market.

The growing popularity of LED lighting results from several factors:

• technological progress allows higher luminous efficiency of LED luminaires,
• LED lighting is a part of the global trend of energy efficiency,
• LED technology, despite initial investments, allows to optimise costs,
• wide access to LED solutions and increased competition result in price drops that encourage purchases,
• the functionality ​​of LED luminaires is also important – e.g. the possibility of personalisation and central control, convenience and additional functions provided by the luminaires.

Smart Lighting and IoT

Internet of Things is a concept according to which objects (e.g. household appliances, lighting products) directly or indirectly collect, process or exchange data via an intelligent electrical installation or a computer network.

The areas of IoT applications are basically unlimited, but in the context of lighting systems it is worth mentioning four main areas:

• smart homes/buildings – available functionalities allow for very precise management of light sources so that the lighting is perfectly suited to the function of the room, and the energy consumption is maximally rationalised,
• smart offices – intelligent systems allow full automation, which in effect leads to a reduction in operating costs, improvement of working conditions and employee productivity,
• smart industries – intelligent solutions rely on the use of sensors and sensors that allow service activities to be optimised and save up to several dozen percents of lighting costs,
• smart cities – smart solutions help to improve the control of city lighting, adjusting them to the time of day, characteristics of the place, presence of people or atmospheric conditions, which generates savings and increases the comfort and safety of users.

Offering smart solutions compliant with the concept of the Internet of Things is slowly ceasing to be a trend, and instead, it is becoming the norm or even an obligation for manufacturers of luminaires.

Human Centric Lighting solutions

Human Centric Lighting is designed to eliminate the negative effects of long exposure to artificial light, i.e. dysregulation of the natural rhythm of life and adverse effect on the overall psychophysical fitness (lower productivity, fatigue, problems with concentration, irritability, insomnia).

HCL solutions – in addition to the automatic central adjustment of lighting to the type of room, time of day, type of work – they also provide the possibility of individual lighting control at individual work stations.

HCL may be applied very extensively, namely:

• office/production space – appropriate lighting can increase productivity and quality of work,
• educational institutions – such spaces are characterized by high variability of use, so they require lighting which adapts to the various functions it performs,
• medical units – in this case, the perspective of patients and employees should be taken into account; HCL lighting solutions can help convalescence, and it is also important to properly illuminate workrooms, including at night.

LiFi – using light for sending data

LiFi (Light Fidelity) is an interesting solution that can be used where traditional WiFi cannot be applied. LiFi uses light waves to provide ultra-fast wireless data transfer technology.

In the coming years, LiFi is not likely to replace traditional transmission technologies globally, but the use of visible light has several very important advantages. Nowadays, it can already complement available solutions, and in the future, it can revolutionize wireless data transmission. It is forecasted that until 2023 the global LiFi market will exceed the value by 50 billion dollars.

LiFi strengths

• LiFi allows communication where radio waves can interfere with the operation of other devices (e.g. in airplanes) and where the radio signal does not reach (e.g. underground).
• Data transfer via LiFi is safer because access to the network is only possible within the light source.
• LiFi provides more bandwidth, which is of great importance at times of increasingly busy and congested WiFi networks.

Restrictions on LiFi use

• The signal is received only if it is within the range of the light source.
• LiFi does not work in daylight (natural) because it disperses light beams emitted by LED lighting.

Incorporating trends and innovations in the growth strategy

Trends visible in the lighting industry have a significant impact on both B2B and B2C segments. Many companies may benefit from the implementation of modern lighting solutions, such as Smart Lighting, HCL and LiFi. That is why more and more producers and distributors in the lighting industry are considering investing in technological innovation.

However, if a company wants to introduce new products to its portfolio or enter new markets, it should conduct a market research first, in order to:

• estimate the market potential,
• learn the unique features of the market,
• identify the expectations of customer segments.

Only data collected in the correct way can be the basis for developing a successful development strategy and conducting effective sales and marketing activities.

We monitor the trends in the lighting industry to support clients who need to take strategic decisions regarding the growth of their businesses.

We know what a great challenge it is to run a business in such a dynamically changing and innovative environment. That is why we support clients through business consulting, market research, marketing research and implementation of innovations.