New Philips wireless connected lighting system could deliver ‘huge’ energy savings

The InterAct Office system collects granular data from sensors embedded in lighting fixtures to provide energy managers with control and insight into the energy used in their building portfolio.

Data on valuable information such as light level, occupancy and energy consumed is presented on a dashboard which can be accessed from anywhere at any time.

The wireless gateways mean that owners don’t have to rip-and-replace existing cabling. With the ability to leverage existing lighting infrastructure, InterAct Office overcomes common barriers such as high costs and retrofitting complications.

As such, Philips Lighting says the technology will enable more businesses to reap the environmental and environmental benefits of LED lighting.

“InterAct Office has the ability to generate huge energy savings, and – rather than an upfront cost – gives customers the ease of a simple monthly payment which is actually funded by the savings the product generates,” Philips Lighting UK and Ireland chief executive João Pola said.

“Furthermore, it gives building managers the opportunity to embed a futureproof smart lighting system, providing insights on energy usage, space occupancy, operational maintenance, and much more without splurging out on a steep initial investment.”

Connected lighting

Lighting consumes around 15% of the global electricity supply, while public and commercial buildings account for 60% of global lighting based electricity. In light of these figures, Philips Lighting claims that its technology can contribute to meeting UK targets to half emissions in the built environment by 2025.

Connected lighting systems can act as the “backbone” of the smart buildings transition to promote resource and energy efficiency, the senior director of sustainability at Philips recently told edie.

Anton Brummelhuis suggested that, through the Internet of Things (IoT), connected lighting would interact with other systems, such as ventilation, to increase or reduce performance by monitoring the number of people in the room. The use of real-time monitoring through the lighting allows other systems to react to reduce energy use at times of low demand.

The Duch firm partnered with the Dubai Municipality to launch the “world’s most sustainable LED lamp“, which has been developed for residential and professional use across the city by 2017.

The company could soon incorporate these bulbs with IoT technology. Philips partnered with Vodafone to launch an IoT network with an integrated LED street light management system, which could see cities across the world slash energy use by 70%.

George Ogleby