Good, high-quality lighting is an important factor for any business, as it directly impacts on productivity and the wellbeing of employees, BEKA Schréder operations manager Daniel Kasper said during the company’s recent Lightability Seminar, in Pretoria.

He emphasised the importance of understanding good lighting principles, from both a specification and comfort points of view.

For example, he indicated that a city should be lit up with the correct light source or luminaire for the correct application and light level, as this was not only aesthetically appealing but also safe for citizens.

Further, he pointed out that high-quality artificial lighting in hospitals could quicken patients’ recovery; high-quality lighting in retail shops could increase sales by making products or produce look more appealing in terms of good colour rendering; and, in an office environment, controllable (variable) colour temperature, or ‘Tunable White’, could help improve the productivity of workers.

Therefore, perpetual progress in lighting technology is being pursued. One such endeavour is controlling artificial lighting that mirrors the progression of the day’s light, as this is will enhance productivity and wellbeing.

Kasper indicated that, while lighting technology was not yet at a stage where it could replicate daylight, much progress was being made in this regard, with light-emitting diode (LED) lighting especially advancing in this area.

With regard to the colour quality of artificial lighting, Kasper said that, in cities, there was a mix of colours. He noted that there was a misconception that a mix of colours was not desirable, but this worked well for cities, with different colours having different properties for different applications and visual tasks within the cities.

For example, LED lighting engenders better perception, giving off a cool light, ideally used to light up roads for drivers to see obstacles clearly.

However, higher Kelvin colour temperature LED lighting could induce a perception of discomfort for residents. Kasper noted that there often were complaints of the light being too “blue”, making warmer, more comfortable colour temperature more suitable in residential areas.

Kasper indicated that the future of streetlighting could see lights that change colour temperature. Currently, streetlights had a fixed colour temperature.

Therefore, the envisioned future luminaires would change colour, depending on where they were installed and according to the application.

While this concept had not yet advanced to streetlighting applications, Kasper said it had been used in indoor applications and now in sport venue lighting.

Kasper noted that playing with colours, therefore, was not merely for visibility but could also be used to affect emotions.

Another technology that Kasper expected to be involved was laser diode technology. While he noted that this technology had been around for a while, it was becoming ever cheaper and more advanced.

Kasper highlighted that a big advantage of this technology was that it provided a powerful light, but from a very small light source. For this reason, it had already been implemented for several years in smaller, more controlled light sources, such as hand-held laser pointers of varying intensity.

This will likely not be used in streetlights, as it is expensive and does not offer enough benefits in this application to justify the costs. Potential future applications could, however, be seen in sport venue lighting.

Another future trend Kasper expected was LEDs becoming increasingly smaller.

He noted that this would make them more controllable in terms of beam spread.

One application of this technology was already being used – the use of LED headlights in the automotive industry. A small LED light could be controlled more easily, and then a number were clustered together. As each LED was individually controlled, the angle of the headlight could be changed, thereby providing better vision for the driver.