The Occupant Health and Well-Being Trend Continues in 2019

In 2018, the commercial lighting market continued to focus on increased connectivity, providing improved energy and cost savings, and serving as the infrastructure for Internet of Things (IoT) applications in commercial buildings. There is a need for quantifying and standardizing the measurement of human-centric lighting that has not yet clearly emerged; however, the industry has experienced a growing interest in the occupant experience and lighting is a key component. Aspects of occupant experience include occupant health and productivity.

Trends Continuing in 2019

These key trends from 2018 are expected to see upward momentum in the commercial building marketing 2019. Moving beyond HVAC, lighting will play a critical role in improving occupant comfort and productivity. A recent article in Forbes highlights a research study by the UK company Staples, which conducted a survey of 7,000 office workers from 10 European countries about the effects of lighting on their productivity, health, and happiness. The survey results showed that 80% of respondents find having good lighting in their work space is important, 40% of participants deal with uncomfortable lighting every day, and 32% believe that better lighting would make them happier.

LEDs and IoT

The rise of IoT has led to new lighting solutions that focus on personalized light control to provide individuals with the correct light levels for various tasks and an increased prioritization of adjusting electrical lighting based on availability of natural daylight levels. The increase of connected lighting systems and ability to provide IoT lighting solutions is available due to the proliferation of LEDs. While initially energy and cost savings (and building codes and standards) helped drive LED adoption, the advanced solutions now available to help building owners and managers address pain points are also helping to drive continued LED adoption. Building owners and managers looking to incorporate connected lighting controls to provide advanced solutions such as space utilization, indoor positioning, conference room management, or improved employee productivity can utilize the cost savings through an LED upgrade to help with the additional cost of IoT lighting solutions.

Solution Offerings Will Grow to Meet Interest

Lighting manufacturers, technology firms, and startups have worked to offer solutions to meet the growing interest, connectivity, and focus on the occupant experience. It looks like 2019 will be a year of continued growth for solution offerings and interest. This interest is coming from building owners and managers, as well as from occupants themselves as they continue to understand the benefits a personalized lighting solution can offer.