European homes represent 40% of all energy consumption in Europe, a statistic that clearly demonstrates the importance of transforming homes into smart homes to optimally use the resources we consume, which are not limitless.
This aim of developing smart cities with the integration of efficient and sustainable lighting is also combined with the need to seek out lighting that is better suited to human activity and well-being. This would also fulfill one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals: sustainable cities and communities.
These big challenges are what move Televes to continue developing technological solutions that cover current needs and help create a more responsible world in terms of energy consumption.
To this end, LED technology is the lighting technology that is providing a great deal of benefits to the well-being of humans and the planet.
According to data collected by the research centers at top universities, including Harvard, there are more and more factors related to energy consumption and lighting that directly impact society and the development of cities.
First, the concentration of the population in big cities is steadily rising, and by 2050, 60% of the population is expected to live in large urban areas, with the resulting effect on resource management and how public services are organized.
Second, according to several studies conducted by Harvard Medical School, the population of large urban areas spends 90% of its time indoors, meaning that they are only exposed to artificial light, which affects their health, well-being, and mood.
This means that it is more and more important for artificial light to behave like circadian lighting, i.e., the light that we are exposed to must adapt to natural human cycles and biorhythms.
This landscape has led experts in the development of technological solutions to contemplate how to improve the lives of city dwellers with the help of smart and dimmable lighting. LED lighting is currently the best technology to address these challenges and provide benefits across the socioeconomic spectrum.
LED lighting saves money and energy due to its highly efficient consumption, long lifetime, and savings compared to other traditional lighting types.
LEDs are adjustable lighting systems, allowing the intensity of the light to adapt to the needs of the moment, and they also have a more efficient thermal management system for the heat they emit, without affecting the environment or the well-being of the city’s residents.
Innovations in LED technology allow them to behave like smart lights in intensity and the way they power on and off. Automatic adjustment allows the light to adapt to the time of day and activity without increasing consumption or affecting the lifetime of the systems.
This smart light is also able to provide data that, once properly processed, will help maintain the installation and even allow for preventive maintenance to be scheduled.
When lights are made smart, the main issue to be resolved is connectivity. How do we connect a network of thousands of points distributed throughout a municipality? The system must be reliable, but also sustainable.
There are a number of solutions: PLC, Lora, Zigbee, Bluetooth Mesh, 2G/3G, and now NB-IoT. We don't believe that any one of these solutions will beat out all the others. They all have advantages and disadvantages, so a professional should be the one to analyze the specific case and propose the best solution for each scenario. That is why our lights can be connected to any remote management system through the NEMA interface.
They also create environments with artificial lighting that better emulates natural light and has positive impact on the well-being of the people who spend their time in industrial buildings or warehouses, exposing them to adaptable lighting, with no heat or infrared emissions or electromagnetic interference. That is not to mention the quality of the color and spectrum offered by LED lights.
These advantages make professional LED lighting the best option for updating public lighting systems or investing in professional lighting solutions that improve productivity, energy efficiency, and peoples’ work environments.
Televes continues to develop new, greener lighting systems, based on the benefits offered by LED lighting and also continues to research new solutions for open spaces, roads, and indoor spaces dedicated to professional activity and recreation. This is all done while designing lighting systems for the people who inhabit those spaces.
For now, the benefits of LED lighting for human well-being and the improved sustainability it offers have caused many Spanish cities and private companies to decide to invest in this technology and take a step in the direction of smart cities and having automated systems to better manage resources.
There is no better way to start building the cities of the future than with the help of technology that bolsters energy savings and sustainability while also supporting peoples’ well-being.