Active Light in the industry is as unique and dynamic as the employees, the processes and the layout of different production halls. Human Centric Lighting puts the focus of the lighting design firmly on the individual. Biological, emotional and visual needs are fully supported by a blend of active light and additional workplace-oriented lighting for work during the day and the night. This approach also facilitates accurate working and improved quality. Best solutions for industrial lighting with activity-based lighting use innovative sensor technology to automatically adapt to the specific industrial situation.
Elements of Industrial Lighting
There are four key elements of industrial lighting as discussed below:
Adaptability: In these days of increasing digitalisation, more and more work processes run completely automatically. Due to the digitalisation of industries, where man and machine communicate directly with one another using intelligent digital systems, is within reach. As an active part, the light will work as a connecting element; for instance, to collect data or to aid navigation.
Productivity: The job market is influenced by high education standards and qualifications, as well as by demographic changes. Companies have to respond to these changes and adapt their lighting to suit increasingly complex work processes, diverse visual tasks and the individual needs of employees.
Reliability: Thanks to the wide range of environmental conditions in industrial facilities and production areas, lighting systems need to be both reliable and application-specific. The industrial projects demand reliable and resistant products that are optimised to meet individual application requirements and customer needs rather than some uniform solutions.
Efficiency: Resources are becoming more and more scarce. The direct outcome of this phenomenon is steadily raising the overall energy costs. This calls for a rethink – particularly in environments in which luminaires are almost constantly in use. The combination of LED luminaires and lighting control systems provides an energy- efficient solution that cuts both energy and maintenance costs.
Adaptability: Lighting Connects
Production processes in industrial companies are now changing at increasingly shorter intervals. The same industrial working space regularly has to satisfy different visual requirements and utilisation mechanisms. The lighting system inside should have a high degree of flexibility so that it can be quickly adapted to various layout changes as per the requirements.
Adaptability can be further enhanced by using sensors. Motion sensor and sensitive lighting zones can be changed with a simple click of the button. Time-consuming repositioning of sensors is, therefore, a thing of the past. Digitisation of the industries has the potential to optimise industrial processes in terms of adaptability and productivity even further in the future. In this context, lighting can play a significant role. For example, the level of illuminance automatically adapts to the task at hand and therefore always provides the perfect lighting conditions. Furthermore, connecting communication and machines and systems and products can further increase productivity in the form of reduced production times, data analysis or lower error rates.
Productivity: Lighting is Human Centric
The demands on workers will noticeably increase in the future. Routine functions will become more and more automated, while increasingly complex tasks that demand manual intervention will require appropriately trained employees. Beyond that, there is the issue of democratic change. Shifting age patterns in the workforce bring about new workplace requirements. Good light quality is the basic requirement for the well-being of employees, helping to make sure that they are motivated and can concentrate sufficiently to deal with such highly complex tasks.
This increases performance and markedly lowers error rates. In addition to its visual and emotional effect, light at the workplace is also important in terms of biology. Light with shortwave, blue spectral components has an activating effect, whereas warm-white light has a relaxing influence. Biologically effective lighting can provide long-term support in terms of employee health, particularly in production areas without natural daylight or for night-shift operations.
Reliability: Lighting is resistant
Industrial and manufacturing enterprises are extremely diverse and characterised by very different environmental conditions. No single solution can meet the demands of every industrial application. Identifying the prevailing environmental influences therefore plays a significant role when selecting the right lighting.
The technical components of a luminaire should be protected against overheating in the case of very high temperatures. During intensive cleaning processes and in chemically polluted ambient atmospheres, special attention must be paid to the right choice of material in order to provide resistance against the substances present in the application. Application-specific standards and guidelines often contain lighting related requirements that have to be fulfilled. Checklists can provide an overview and record the existing general conditions in an industrial project as comprehensively as possible.
Efficiency: Light is more than efficient
Energy requirements in industries and related areas are especially high due to long operating and production times; sometimes 24X7. This has a negative impact on the carbon footprint and often leads to higher energy costs. Selecting the right lighting and controls system therefore contributes significantly to an optimised use of energy resources.
Advanced electronic control gear with a dimming function can cut power consumption by up to 25%. The smart use of motion and other sensors offers the possibility to further decrease the need for artificial light by 20 to 40%. Smartly controlled time management lighting systems ensure that the lighting is only switched on when it is really needed in any particular area. Daylight sensors will change the intensity of luminaires depending on the amount of daylight available, thereby guaranteeing a constant level of lighting and saving energy and cost.
Conclusion
Industries are made up of many diverse areas, from heavy industry to clean-room applications. Industrial lighting has to satisfy a number of requirements and obey with the appropriate standards depending on the type of industry.
- Large halls and long operating hours require energy efficient lighting solutions with minimal maintenance costs for instance in Logistics.
- Lighting must be capable of providing optimal support in complicated assembly and body work for instance in automobile industry.
- Hygiene standards place high demands on the quality of the lighting for instance in Food processing industries.
- Clean rooms in particular require special construction features and materials for instance in Pharmaceutical and Chemical industries.
- High degrees of protection are essential in atmospheres with increased dust and/or fibre accumulation for instance in wood, paper and textile industries.
- Intelligent lighting management and LED luminaires improve safety and boost energy efficiency for instance in parking area or building in industries.
Well balanced levels of illumination are essential in establishing safe and productive working conditions. Production and other industrial units should take into account lighting in the industrial work place very seriously. Optimizing the industrial lighting requires consideration of environmental, economic and type of work task considerations. The benefits of proper and efficient lighting include greater productivity and accuracy, improved security and safety, and improved working environment for workers.
AUTHOR DETAILS
Ar. Ashish Batra
General Manager (Architecture and Planning)
Total Synergy Consulting Private Limited (TSCPL)
Greater Kailash (GK), New Delhi.
