“Stop taking light for granted”, says connected lighting brand WiZ

It’s the International Day of Light on May 16^th and one of its aims is to improve education, our understanding of light and how we can improve the quality of life through energy efficiency and wellbeing. Light often gets taken for granted or is only seen as gadget but it has a big impact on us in terms of health, moods and productivity. For example, many of us wonder why we get headaches whilst in the office working but are not aware that it is probably due to sitting in the wrong white light. It’s not just brightness of light but tonality as well that is a contributing factor.

Kate Baker, UK Market Manager at WiZ, the makers of innovative connected lighting with over 64,000 shades of white and 16 million colours, comments: “We all take light for granted because it’s everywhere and technology has made it accessible for everyone. But the understanding of how we interact with light is missing – we often don’t work at our desks in the right light and our sleep is affected from the type of light emitted from our smart phones. When we talk about light, the conversation needs to move to one about tonality and how we use and perceive it.

“Smart lighting is a flexible solution to help people choose the perfect light for any space and any purpose at the flick of a switch, a swipe of their app or by speaking a few words, whilst being energy efficient at the same time. Light has an important role to play not only in terms of our own wellbeing but the wellbeing of the planet as well.”

WiZ conducted research into our understanding of colours and their effect on people (UK adults, 2017):

• Blue is Brits’ second happiest colour (13%), but also voted the top colour for provoking anxiety (22%)
• Yellow makes a quarter of us feel happy (23%)
• Surprisingly, some shades of green are in the top 3 colours which make us anxious – traditionally seen as a calming, natural colour
• More than a quarter of the population (26%) weren’t aware that different shades of white light could impact your emotions and wellbeing
• A fifth (19%) weren’t even aware there are different shades of white
• 81% don’t plan different shades of lighting for different moods

Top 10 colours that make us happiest:

1. Yellow   23%
2. Blue       13%
3. Pink       10%
4. Red        9%
5. Green   8%
6. Purple   8%
7. Orange 5%
8. White    4%
9. Black      1%
10. Other    0.2%

This week, Prolight + Sound Guangzhou 2018 will welcome 1,300 exhibitors from 25 countries and regions, a 4% increase on its previous edition.

The four-day show features many leading international and domestic brands on over 130,000 sqm of exhibition space across 13 halls and the Y-Channel in Area A of China Import and Export Fair Complex in Guangzhou. With a record-breaking number of 73,986 visitors in 2017, suppliers and buyers have plenty of business and networking opportunities to look forward to from 10 – 13 May.

Addressing the recent growth of unified communications and technological convergence, Prolight + Sound Guangzhou 2018 will lean more towards total solutions in the areas of audio, lighting, communication, conferencing and KTV. To recognise the upward trend of system integration in China, the show has established the Communication and conference hall, as well as the Media systems and solutions hall, both of which will captivate visitors with a wealth of cross-sector solutions.

Ms Judy Cheung, Deputy General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (Shanghai) Co Ltd, expressed her sentiment and vision of the show, “We are excited to present Prolight + Sound Guangzhou this year with an advanced level of internationality, in terms of both exhibitor segments and content. As we introduce technological convergence to cater for the needs of international visitors and global markets, it is worthwhile to note that Guangzhou is an ideal site given its position as a mega sourcing base in China and across Asia.”

Backing up the show will be renowned international and domestic brands from Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Korea, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, the UK and the USA.

These brands include Absen, AD, Adamson, Aga Audio, Artsound, Audio-technica, BIK, Bosch, Bose, Concord, Creator, CY, d&b audioteknik, Daiichikosho, DAS Audio, DMT, Eagle, EZ Pro, Fidek, Funktion-One, Gonsin, Haimei, Harman International, HiVi, IAG, Infiled, ITC, Kling & Feitag, Kobble, Kvant, Liyun, Longjoin, Maingo, Mipro, Night Sun, Partyhouse, QSC, RCF, Real Sound, SE Audioteknik, Sennheiser, SGM, Shure, Soundking, Stagetec, Star-net, Taiden, Thunder Stone, TW Audio, Viasho, Yamaha, Yes Tech, and many more.

Visitor delegations and global industry professionals set sail to the show

Prolight + Sound Guangzhou 2018 will be the focal point of the industry with the support of a number of prominent trade associations, including the Asia Pacific Division of Audio Engineering Society (AES), the China Association of Recording Engineers, the Event Safety Alliance (ESA), Guangdong Association of Performing Arts, the Taiwan Association of Theatre Technology (TATT), the Egyptian Scenographers & Theatre Technicians Centre (ESTTC), the Russian Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (RAAPA), and the German Entertainment Technology Association (VPLT). Their expert speakers will come to the show and give tailored sessions on latest technical advancements.

Buyer delegations this year will include nine domestic and two overseas groups, including the Entertainment Equipment and Digital Communications Technology Association (EEDCTA), the Korea Broadcasting Equipment Industry Association (KOBEIA), HC360 and more.

More master classes and practical seminars to strengthen industry knowledge and business ties

The concurrent fringe programme has been thoughtfully designed to maximise the breadth and depth of subject matters related to the world of entertainment technology. This year’s PLSG Annual Training Course will comprise two parts – ‘A Blueprint to Success in Music Festival Production’ and ‘Dante Certification Level 3 Training @ Guangzhou’. In wake of the growing number of outdoor music festivals in China in recent years, the course will cover many technical skills and precautionary measures required to produce large-scale outdoor events, whilst Audinate will conduct the first-ever Dante Certification Level 3 Training in China for system designers, engineers and industry players to learn about advanced Dante networking concepts and techniques.

Meanwhile, the First Live Sound Mixing Contest Finals will crown the new generation’s mixing masters. Influential producers for leading Chinese entertainment shows will be the competition’s panel of judges. Elsewhere, the Outdoor Line Array will orchestrate 34 international and oriental pro audio brands, showcasing the qualities of their astounding audio systems.

The programme shall also entice segmented visitors with other events, including the Eighth Audio Technology Forum 2018, Lighting Technology for Television Forum 2018, the seminar themed ‘Application of Audio Technology in Artificial Intelligence’, Advanced Production Forum and the Stage Design and Stage Engineering Alliance Annual Forum 2018. The full event schedule can be downloaded here.

Prolight + Sound Guangzhou will be held on 10th – 13th May at the China Import and Export Fair Complex in Guangzhou, as a leading platform for the audio visual, professional light and sound industries in China.

For more details and information about the show, please visit www.prolightsound-guangzhou.com 

Other shows under the Prolight + Sound brand include:

Prolight + Sound NAMM Russia

13 – 15 September 2018, Moscow

Prolight + Sound Middle East

23 – 25 September 2018, Dubai

Prolight + Sound Shanghai

10 – 13 October 2018, Shanghai

Prolight + Sound

2 – 5 April 2019, Frankfurt

Recolight, the leading UK WEEE compliance scheme for the lighting industry, is pleased to announce the appointment of a new Chair.

Martin de Jager, International Board Member of Philips Lighting has been a director of Recolight Ltd for the last two years.  Martin has been in the lighting industry for over 30 years and has wide-ranging WEEE expertise.  He takes on the role of Chair from April 2018 and replaces Andreas Adam, Senior Director at LEDvance who has been board Chair for the last two years.  Andreas will remain on the Recolight board.

Other directors of Recolight are Steven Reed, Deal Manager of Current, powered by GE who joined the board in 2015, and Bridget Anderson, Financial Controller of Feilo Sylvania who joined in 2014.

Announcing the news, Recolight Chief Executive, Nigel Harvey said: “Recolight are delighted that Martin de Jager has taken on the role of Chair.  His wide-ranging knowledge of both WEEE and lighting is invaluable to us.  The board are also very grateful for professionalism and dedication that Andreas Adam brought to the role.  His experience of WEEE in a number of countries helps to support the continued growth of Recolight, and the standards on which our reputation is founded.”

Darren Riva, Northern European Zumtobel Group Services Director

Why upgrade your lighting? Certainly, the energy and cost-savings to be gained from today’s LED luminaires are compelling. But these figures do not tell the whole story.

Poor lighting can have a negative impact on employee wellbeing and productivity. Our internal body clocks are governed by circadian rhythms, and studies point to a significant link between lighting quality and how these rhythms control sleep, stimulation and relaxation.

Working in a poorly lit environment can lead to lethargy and lack of concentration, not to mention the potential health and safety risks. Our own research^[1] revealed that working in an environment where lighting colour and intensity is adaptable resulted in lower heart rates, calmer brain activity and less physical tension.

Leading businesses are partnering with lighting specialists in order to create safer and more productive environments to optimise employee performance.

Daylight is the original light source, connecting with people through an elementary relationship and shaping human behaviour since the dawn of time. Today, people in industrialised countries spend around 80 percent of the day inside, reducing exposure to the essential dynamics of natural light. Office lighting still tends to deliver a largely static brightness, even in communication and creative areas.

With nature as its template, lighting technology has recently made major strides, expanding the raft of possibilities offered by artificial lighting design. Traditional limitations are being rejected to favour lighting that can be controlled and adapted during the day to factors such as time, purpose of task, number of individuals present and more.

Smart lighting can also be used to capture business intelligence. Intelligent systems sense when space is occupied, providing invaluable data on building usage, footfall, and under-occupied space.

Lighting should not be a static, ‘once and done’ solution. Numerous factors affect requirements for light on any given day: the weather, the time of day, the type of business being conducted. Flexible, intelligent lighting provides businesses with their desired tailored solutions. Illuminated thinking saves energy, cuts costs, and provides employees with environments that drive productivity and promote wellbeing. Businesses across every sector are switching on to the possibilities.

Image courtesy of Zumtobel Group Services.

1 http://lighting.zumtobelgroup.com/bioadaptive-lighting

Dynamo LED Displays recently completed the installation of the biggest LED tower in the Middle East along with 10 smaller LED columns and 1 large outdoor P20 display.

The LED tower which is the largest LED display in Oman was made up of a total of 263 square meters of p4mm LED with over 16.5 million individual pixels. Each side of the tower is 13.06m high by 4.608m wide and also included an LED floor surround measuring 5.6m long by 1.2m wide.

A further 10 smaller LED columns have also been installed that measure 4.608m tall with each side 1.024m wide.

Custom made interactive content is integrated with IOS and Android apps as well as 2 docking stations either side of the main tower which allow visitors to interact with both the LED displays and many other aspects of the shopping mall.

Once downloaded the app allows the shopping centre to send notifications of special events, adverts for stores located at the shopping centre and even discount vouchers.

The apps can also be used as a map so people can enter the location of a shop they are trying to find and the sensors we installed around the mall will direct them to wherever they need to go via the map on the app.

App also been integrated with screens so that people can upload selfies and Tweet, tag Facebook friends and upload photos to Instagram.

We have also Integrated the apps and docking stations with the LED displays so that children (or even adults) can play interactive or augmented reality games on them using either camera technology or using the mobile device as a controller.

Emergency messages can be sent to all screens and smartphones such as fire evacuation and missing child alerts.

LED-based solutions have been installed in Princess Elizabeth Hospital, with lighting designed for staff, patients and visitors.

Part of Healthcare Group Guernsey, Princess Elizabeth Hospital is a mainstay of healthcare provision in the Channel Islands. The hospital keeps a close watch on new technological developments that could bring benefits to its patients and staff, and it was in this spirit that it recently initiated a lighting upgrade in the canteen, laboratories, car park, staff workshops, and selected plant rooms.

Legacy issues

There were a number of issues with the legacy fluorescent lighting that needed to be addressed with the new system. The old system had begun to generate increasing costs in terms of replacements and maintenance, while the absence of occupancy sensors also meant that there was an element of unnecessary lighting in some areas not in constant use. In order for the hospital to benefit fully the new lighting system not only needed to be LED but also needed to be responsive.

Improved lighting & reduced maintenance

“Above all we wanted to improve the lighting levels and reduce maintenance in our canteen, workshops and plant rooms,” confirms hospital technical representative Justin Gallienne. “So we began the search for a specialist lighting supplier which was capable of providing the latest, most efficient LED-based systems, and the expertise to ensure the new lighting was supplied for the project with the minimum of fuss.”

After careful research Gallienne’s team determined that Redditch-based Tamlite Lighting – which has an extensive history of facilitating projects in the UK healthcare sector – was best placed to supply the new lighting. “We knew that they had the knowledge and experience to be able to specify an infrastructure that would also meet the expectations of doctors, nurses and patients, given that it is well-established that better lighting can aid patients’ recovery,” says Gallienne.

Rapid turnaround

The ability of Tamlite to provide an aesthetically-pleasing solution – “we really liked the look of” – and to comply with a demanding deadline also worked in the company’s favour. “This project had a short timeline and Tamlite was in a position to provide a fast turnaround from request of design to timeframe for delivery,” says Gallienne.

Equipment was supplied to schedule, and the installation took place without incident.  Communal spaces such as the hospital and entrance and walkways were fitted with an array of solutions, such as the ORION and LUNAR, which provide a comfortable space for visitors and patients. Occupancy sensors were fitted to help ensure that lighting is only provided where it is required.

The laboratory areas were fitted with MODLED solutions, designed to increase productivity and comfort during long working hours. The car park was supplied with PHOENIX lanterns, to provide enough illuminance to keep people safe outdoors, without causing glare to drivers. 2020 I5 and ULTRA downlights were installed in walkways and corridors, giving comfortable yet high output lighting, ideal for both patients and staff.

The entire project went ahead as planned with minimal disruption to normal operations, and avoidance of any special shut-down periods. The improvement in the lighting quality has been commented upon by both staff and patients, and there is a general feeling that it is now much more consistent throughout the areas involved. That has obvious benefits not just for patient well-being and navigation around the site, but also for day-to-day tasks undertaken by doctors, nurses and other hospital staff.

Further upgrades

The impact of the installation has been such that further upgrades are in prospect both at Princess Elizabeth Hospital and other Healthcare Group Guernsey sites. “We intend to carry on with our transition from fluorescent to LED lighting throughout our sites,” confirms Gallienne.

Colin Lawson is Head of Sales, Marketing & Product Development at Tamlite, and comments: “We have worked on many healthcare-related projects over the last few years, as hospitals and other centres continue to be alerted to the benefits of switching from traditional fluorescent lighting to LED. In some cases, the energy savings can be as much as 65% in the first year after the transition, and ROI periods of just 2-3 years are by no means uncommon. Then there is the potentially huge boost to the overall quality of illumination for patients and staff.

Princess Elizabeth Hospital definitely falls into this category of project, and we are delighted to hear about the improvements brought by our current range of LED lighting to multiple areas of the site. We look forward to working with the technical team on further installations at the hospital, and at other sites within the same healthcare group.”

PLDC in Singapore marks a new milestone in PLDC history. The convention will take place at the Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre from 25 – 27 October, 2018. The two-day conference programme will feature two tracks per day and comprise international speakers and current topics of interest from the lighting design world. The four main topics will be Professional Practice Issues, IoDT – Internet of Design Things, Experiential Environments and Hospitality Lighting.

The motto of the 7th PLDC is “a smart move”. This refers to the content of the overall programme and points to the dramatic changes in the lighting design landscape, the impact of digital technologies, and the processes the design community will have to undergo to adjust to changing conditions.

A further focus will be on professionally guided excursions to iconic buildings and new projects in Singapore, practical design workshops, pre-convention meetings and moderated discussions on key issues. Excursions are planned to the famous Gardens by the Bay, for example.

Click here to see the full programme.

Registration online

The registration for PLDC 2018 is now online with early registration rates. Reduced rates are available up to and including 25. May, 2018. After that date, the entrance fee will rise. Members of Partner Associations, attendees of Partner Events and Partner Cities’ members of staff are eligible for the partner rate.

Click here to register now.

Partner hotel confirmed

The Marina Bay Sands Hotel is one of the most striking buildings on the Singapore skyline. Located in the heart of Singapore’s Central Business District, it

will be the Main Partner Hotel for PLDC 2018.

Read more about Marina Bay Sands here.

www.pld-c.com

18 lighting WEEE compliance schemes meet for EucoLight annual conference

The third EucoLight Conference at Sassenheim, the Netherlands, gathered 70 delegates from the community of producers’ responsibility organisations for lighting.  Latest developments in collection and treatment of end-of-life lighting products were discussed, as the transition towards a circular economy in the sector gathers pace.

Delegates were presented with insights on market trends and expected evolution of lighting waste flows and on LED technology by industry experts.

Technical challenges for more circularity in lighting business

The collection of used lighting products is subject to targets imposed by the legislation.  However, collection rates can be improved through efficiency of operations, change in consumer behaviour and policy mechanisms, as was demonstrated during the conference.

LED lamps currently represent less than 2%^[1] of the waste stream, with their long life, the industry has time to prepare for this new type of waste. To this end delegates learnt about the technical composition and options for future of LEDs and LED recycling techniques.

A level playing field for lighting

An important aspect for EucoLight members in achieving a circular economy in lighting, is ensuring a level playing field.  Delegates strongly supported some of the new extended producer responsibility requirements in the EU waste package, and also called for more action against online freeriders. Nigel Harvey, CEO of Recolight and a director of EucoLight commented “We are pleased to be working with EucoLight to address non-compliance associated with online sales.  We think that the adoption in the UK, of the amendments to the Waste Directive will help achieve this.”

Ecuolight Recycling Awards

The third edition of the EucoLight Light Recycling awards took place during the conference. This year the winners included a project focused on the collection of luminaires from LithtRec/Wecycle in The Netherlands, an awareness raising campaign regarding the UK lamp collection target while also promoting free recycling for end users from Recolight, a communication campaign celebrating  10 years of Recolamp in Romania, and the foundation of the Lauterer Wettbewerb association in Germany dedicated to detecting and combatting free-riding cases presented by Lightcycle.

Election of the Board – New EucoLight Chairman

The EucoLight General Assembly elected a new board of Directors.  Hervé Grimaud from ESR/Récylum will take the role as Chairman,Nigel Harvey of Recolight, Vice-Chairman, Stephan Riemann, from Lightcycle, Treasurer, Tomáš Rychetský from Ekolamp Czech Republic, Secretary, and Ourania Georgoutsakou of LightingEurope from Belgium, member of the Board.

^[1] EucoLight Member research carried out with recyclers across the 18 Member States

A.C. Entertainment Technologies Ltd (AC-ET) went back to its roots to support the town of Aylesbury and its legendary Friars music club with their David Bowie statue in the local Market Square, created as a permanent tribute to the location of his legendary 1970s live performances at the club.

Designed by Andrew Sinclair for Friars Aylesbury Community Projects, to celebrate David Bowie’s music and local legacy in a permanent way, ‘Earthly Messenger’ features Bowie as Ziggy Stardust and other characters from his career. A Bowie track is played at random on the hour every hour above the statue.

Unveiled on 25th March 2018 to a large crowd and online audience, the statue also received extensive local, national and international media interest. It was followed by a special fundraising concert featuring Friars Aylesbury local heroes Marillion, Howard Jones, John Otway and the Dung Beatles.

David Stopps, music promoter for the Friars Aylesbury club – which today hosts events at The Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury – directed the sculpture project with his wife, Sue.

The club has a very special connection with David Bowie, having hosted the worldwide debut live performances of his seminal ‘Hunky Dory’ and ‘The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars’ albums at its former Borough Assembly Hall location in Market Square, Aylesbury during 1971 and 1972. As well as playing Friars five times, Bowie formed the Spiders from Mars in the club’s dressing room and referenced Aylesbury Market Square in the first line of ‘Five Years’ from the Ziggy album – ‘Pushing through the Market Square, so many mothers sighing…’.

Friars Aylesbury is also acknowledged as having played a role in the successful careers of such iconic British artists as Genesis, The Jam, The Clash, The Ramones and U2 to name just a few – as well as being a large contributor to the success of the original A.C. business in the 1970s. Known then as the Alpha Centauri Light Show / AC Lights, it provided the resident psychedelic light show for DJ support acts to the live music artists – including on the night of David Bowie’s performance on 29th January 1972.

Friars Aylesbury and David Stopps gave A.C. the opportunity to network with the bands who performed there and their managers, leading to work with these bands on their subsequent tours.

40 years later, David Stopps contacted David Leggett, co-founder of A.C. and now Executive Chairman of A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) as the company is known today, to see if it could donate and install a lighting system to permanently illuminate Earthly Messenger – the world’s first statue of David Bowie.

David and AC-ET were keen to be involved in the project, to give something back to the Friars club and to the town of Aylesbury as acknowledgement of how important they were to A.C. in its early years.

AC-ET’s project installations sister company, A.C. Special Projects Ltd (AC-SP) provided the solution after meeting with David Stopps and Aylesbury Vale District Council. To re-create the authentic look of David Bowie being lit on stage during performances by rock ‘n’ roll style PAR Cans, and to keep the lighting as discreet as possible, AC-SP specified Chroma-Q^® Color One 100X™ compact, IP65 rated, energy efficient LED PARs. The statue is illuminated in a warm white colour temperature specifically chosen to complement its bronze finish. To comply with Historic England’s requirements, the fixtures were carefully installed by AC-SP to blend in with the Grade II listed Market Square arches ceiling’s listed wooden beams.

Says David Stopps: “‘A.C. Lighting’ and Friars Aylesbury have a long and glorious history together going right back to the early seventies. We are extremely grateful to David Leggett and A.C. Special Projects for their enthusiastic support for this mammoth two-year project. The state of the art permanent lighting they have installed has made a huge difference to the presentation of this stunning sculpture. We recommend people come and see Earthly Messenger after dark to get the full impact of the lighting installation, which makes the sculpture shine like a star. 2019 will be the 50th Anniversary of Friars Aylesbury and we look forward to more collaboration with A.C. Lighting to celebrate that milestone.”

AC-ET’s David Leggett commented: “It’s been a pleasure to be involved in this project. When I had the pleasure of working with David Stopps in the 1970s, he had a real talent for spotting up and coming artists, which often broke after playing at the Friars club. Like many artists who performed there, A.C. owes a debt to David, Friars and the town of Aylesbury for the support and opportunities they gave us in our early careers. Their place in the rich musical legacy of David Bowie and so many other iconic artists of the British live music scene is very well deserved. The statue is a wonderful monument to this history, and will no doubt become a pilgrimage to fans of David Bowie from all over the world.”