Transit Architecture Time for a Drastic Change

similarly on 6500 k during summers
.The system can also show the
exact real time energy saving and
consumption.
Do you work with architects and
interior designers?
Yes, we do. This community is
highly intellectual and we have to
be very specific of their needs while
working with them. We have a huge
range of products to cater to their
needs .It is both the functionality
as well as aesthetics which are very
important in a product and our
R&D team and our manufacturing
facility goes a long way in coming
up to the expectations of the architects.
Customisation is where we create a big
differentiation for our customers vis a vis
our competitors.
Design plays an important role
in lighting. How you address this
particluar issue?
We at Havells are in continuous
endeavour to keep developing and
improving our product portfolio. Not only
from the technology and performance
point of view but also from Product
design perspective. Over the years we have
developed a resilient & passionate team in
our innovation Centre called “Centre of
Research & Innovation”. Our CRI team
consists of about 70+ product engineers &
designers who work very closely with the
marketing team and get constant feedback
either directly or indirectly from the sales
team. This process ensures capturing of
trend movements and keeps us ahead of,
or abreast with, the technology curve.
The designs we develop are also shared
with few eminent specifiers & customers
for soliciting their inputs. Functionality
and aesthetics are the key aspects and
their inputs are taken which helps us in
conceptualizing the final product. We
invest around 7% of our total turnover to
R&D.
What are the most significant changes
you have seen in the LED lighting
industry in the recent past?
LED Lighting industry has gone through
tremendous evolution and has witnessed
amplified growth in the last few years.
One of the reason can be attributed to
the fact that LEDs are direct replacement
of conventional light sources, hence the
adoption process has been smooth and
fast.
Another reason of rapid growth is
because of the Government drive
in implementation of LED lighting
across the nation, And also creating
infrastructure & opportunities to bring
down the cost immensely. Government’s
Make in India initiative has helped the
Indian LED Lighting Industry grow by
leaps and bounds.
Today, the Lumen per watt is on an
upward trend and price per watt is on
downward trend. Though the price
points have now stabilized to an extent
but at the same time the technology is
still improving. LED products efficacy
has reached 100 lumens per watt and in
some cases beyond. Availability of LEDs
has also improved considerably and
they have become more technologically
superior.
Companies are focusing on making
better and better thermal design not only
to improve the product aesthetics, but to
also ensure the true performance of the
lighting product. Making LED lighting a
reliable lighting solution.
Metros are the first adopters of LED
bulbs and with the immense government
support & schemes; LED lighting is
being adopted at the village level as well.
What are the latest trends in the
lighting industry?
LED lighting industry has evolved
rapidly in the past few years and is in
continuous evolving state. Lighting
earlier was being used only for
illumination purpose, now with LEDs as
light source, it offers immense flexibilities
for product designers to develop
solutions that provide task based lighting
solutions, mood based lighting
solutions, create ambient lighting
effects, lighting also used for data
communication purpose and energy
savings.
With evolving lifestyle; dynamic
or dramatic usage of lighting is
now being used to reflect lifestyles
and status. Today there are many
options available to the consumers.
From mood lighting, to dimming,
to creating dramatic lighting affects
to highlight artifacts and interiors
is the latest trend in the consumers.
On the front of mass usage of LED
lighting in various indoor or outdoor
projects; some the latest trends in LED
lighting industry:
1. Connected Lighting Technology –
a disruptive technology for huge
office areas where Smart Light
fixtures are connected over Ethernet
cables leading to achieve space
optimization, HVAC integration,
security mapping, energy
conversation through day light
harvesting and occupancy control.
2. Dimmers & Motion sensors – these
days buildings are being designed
with the usage of dimmers &
sensors. These solutions are used for
common area lighting and certain
specific areas. Areas that are not in
use are lit up only to basic minimum
to keep the area visible & safe; there
is also option of switching off the
light for such cases. This leads to
massive energy saving
3. Usage of Coloured LEDs –mix of
Red, Green & Blue LEDs create
lights in different visible colour
spectrum, a process widely used
across the world to illuminate
buildings at night and create iconic
landmarks. Helps in adding glamour
and beauty to the structures.
Adoption of LED lighting is not
restricted to metros only but it has
percolated to Tier II and Tier III cities
as well. Today, even Panchayats are
putting in huge sums for converting
conventional stuff to LEDs thereby
saving huge sums of money and lot of
energy. The consumption of LED is
currently spiking in outdoor segment and
it is poised to increase in indoor segment
also very soon
prasenjit.chakraborty@saffronsynergies.in
Architecture Update February 2018 29