Outdoor Lighting
Meeting consumer demands B
A key focus for customers - especially at this time of year - outdoor lighting is a profitable category for wholesalers seeking to maximise revenues.
ut with soaring energy prices and sustainability targets to meet, today’s projects must go beyond simply providing illumination. Chris Anderson, technical manager at Ansell Lighting explains more.
Outdoor lighting is an important consideration for any property. Whether commercial or domestic, it plays an important role in enhancing safety and security as well as improving visual appeal.
But with energy prices remaining at an all-time high and a common commitment to reducing carbon emissions, today’s installations require much more planning and attention than product choice and application.
Energy efficiency is, unsurprisingly, a prime consideration for today’s lighting designers and installers. With building users facing prohibitively high bills, more and more of the installers we speak with are being told energy efficiency is the number one objective in their projects. No surprise when you consider that up to 40% of a building’s energy use can be spent on lighting. There are many energy efficient products and accessories available that wholesalers can stock to help meet this increased demand. LED lamps and PIR sensors are two great options but for a truly effective installation, smart lighting systems are hard to beat.
Capable of reducing lighting energy use by
up to two thirds, a well-designed and operated smart lighting system can harness significant savings thanks to its ability to optimise and automate lighting use. Enabling factors such as duration of operation, output levels and colour temperature to be automated, (all of which impact energy use), smart lighting systems ensure power is only used where and when it is needed.
From wall lights to bollards, in-lights to street lighting, every type of outdoor fitting required is available with embedded smart technology meaning that designs do not have to be modified for benefits to be felt. Installers can be confident that products can be swapped on a like for like basis and energy savings will be made. One important caveat of installing smart lighting outdoors though is to check the WIFI coverage first. If there is not sufficient coverage then a WIFI extender can be used.
Aside from safety and security, one of the most appealing factors of outdoor lighting are the many different visual design effects that can be achieved with clever product placement and tuning. Something that can be heightened further with smart lighting.
Up-lighting for example gives a very dramatic lighting effect and is ideal for highlighting features such as buildings and fountains or for making trees and foliage stand out. It can be achieved very easily with smart technology embedded spike fittings which can also be automated to change colour, brightness or intensity to add further interest. Similarly, down- lighting, using fittings such as wall lights can be programmed to light areas including doorways and patios from above, creating a moonlit effect.
20 | electrical wholesalerMay 2023
In larger spaces where high levels of illumination are required, floodlighting is a great option to use to light the space and is a must when security is a key requirement.
For design-led environments, luminaires can also be used innovatively to create texture and interesting effects such as wall washing, grazing, cross-lighting, mirroring and silhouetting, all of which can be enhanced with changing colour and intensity settings.
Alongside energy efficiency, light pollution is a huge issue lighting designers and installers are faced with when specifying new projects. Caused by excessive artificial external illumination, it is directly contributing to climate change, harming global ecosystems, wildlife and human health. To help minimise the issue, many
manufacturers, including ourselves, are following stringent guidelines to ensure that our luminaires are dark-sky friendly. To recognise the efforts being made, the Dark Sky Association (IDA) has developed the Fixture Seal of Approval programme, a product accreditation scheme which acknowledges responsible product design and manufacturing. Wholesalers should look out for this accreditation when selecting product ranges to stock as the objective, third- party certification recognises dark sky friendly products, helping to ensure they stand out in the marketplace.
Today’s lighting installers face increasingly complex demands when it comes to modern installations but manufacturers are responding to their needs with new innovations. Stocking the latest technologies and providing technical expertise to customers will undoubtedly support wholesale growth in this area.
ewnews.co.uk
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