HONG KONG: Smart lighting is seeing strong growth with the residential segment of the market presenting tremendous business opportunities, according to speakers at the Asian Lighting Forum. The 6 April forum was a highlight of the HKTDC Hong Kong International Lighting Fair (Spring Edition) which runs 6-9 April. At a session entitled “The Primary Knowhow of Smart Lighting”, Wang Shen, Senior Analyst, Lighting & LEDs Group of IHS Markit, one of the world’s largest market intelligence companies, said smart lighting markets across Asia, the United States and Europe are all witnessing exponential growth. Mr Wang highlighted the potential of smart residential lighting, saying it comprises 45 per cent of overall smart lighting revenue and the figure had been growing.
Vincent Chow, Senior Marketing Manager, Philips Lighting Hong Kong Ltd, also believed there are huge business opportunities for smart lighting systems in home applications. For example, the camera of a smart lighting device can help parents or pet owners monitor their children or pets at home. Speaking of smart lighting as part of a “smart home”, he referred to artificial intelligence depicted in the Hollywood film “Iron Man” as an example of smart lighting functioning as a “smart robot”. He stressed that smart lighting is not just about linking lighting systems with the Internet, but also creating lighting for more personalised uses, improving the quality of life and building smart cities.
For example, Mr Chow said, some parents may want to leave the bathroom light on during the night in case their children, who are not tall enough to reach the switches, need to use it. However, with smart lighting, the children may keep a smart phone by their side and simply press a key to turn the light on or off. Another example he cited was personalised smart lighting for elderly people with impaired hearing, who could set their doorbells and mobile phones to emit a flashing light when there is a visitor or caller, while different colours of light can be used to indicate different visitors or callers. Mr Chow added that the “smart home” is not only a concept, but something that is being developed and applied by enterprises such as Apple, Google and Amazon. Meanwhile, Mr Wang from IHS Markit also expected other smart lighting market segments, such as government, the manufacturing industry, offices and medical equipment, will show greater potential for growth in future.
