Innogy, the European energy provider, has installed a smart lighting system from Philips Lighting that aims to boost energy levels and workplace comfort, as well as visibility.
Executives at Philips Lighting say that the implementation of LED lighting at energy provider Innogy is “tuned to support the circadian rhythms of Innogy’s office staff”.
Innogy, which serves 23 million customers in Europe, completed a renovation project of its Czech Republic headquarters in Limuzska, Prague in November 2017. The site consists of three buildings housing 550 employees. As part of the revamp, the company wanted an open plan office and a new system of lighting.
The company decided to install a networked lighting system that consisted of approximately 2,000 Philips LED luminaires, including 860 Philips PowerBalance tunable white ceiling fixtures and 96 Philips LuxSpace tuneable white downlights, programmed to provide different light settings at various times of the day.
“At the beginning of the day the office lights mimic natural daylight, providing a useful energy boost. The light levels decrease until after lunch when we give another boost to help staff over the post-lunch energy dip,” said Tomas Michna, senior manager for facility and services at innogy Czech Republic.
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Successful office makeover
Michna suggested that the company’s aim to create an “outstanding environment” for employees had been successful.
“Nearly 80 percent of employees surveyed described the new lighting as better or much better than the previous fluorescent tube lighting, while 60 percent agreed that it contributed to a place in which they wanted to work,” he said.
Employees at innogy can also override the light settings at any time, tailoring the light to their needs, using a Philips Antumbra Dynalite control. Meanwhile, the installation included approximately 150 sensors that detect human presence and automatically switch off in empty rooms, saving the company electricity. The combination of LED lighting and controls has helped innogy to reduce electricity usage by around 50 percent compared to the previous fluorescent lighting that was in place.
The concept of smart lighting has been around for several years. Back in 2015, the UK county of Gloucestershire said it would deploy 55,000 LED streetlights to cover 1,000 square miles of the area. They would be wirelessly connected and managed via Telensa’s PLANet Central Management System.
According to Harshvardhan Chitale, vice chairman and managing director of Philips Lighting India, IoT-driven smart lights will “be the default” in the next five to 10 years.
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