Company News • 31.03.2014

Zumtobel at light+building 2014

Individual and adaptable lighting solutions in times of change

Source: Zumtobel Lighting GmbH

The world is constantly changing. Accordingly, the requirements made on people's living and working environments are also changing at ever increasing speed. New technologies open up new design options in this respect.

On the occasion of light+building 2014 (hall 2.0 / stand B30+B31), under the motto "Your light in a world of change", Zumtobel is going to present flexible and individual lighting solutions focusing on people's needs, offering real added value to customers and partners. LED technology is going to play a major role: in an area of 780 sqm, Zumtobel is going to exclusively present LED lighting solutions.

Through perfect interaction of all components, from the design via all electronic elements through to controls, the new luminaires exploit the possibilities offered by today's LED technology to the full. In this context, the claim to offer lighting quality for people in harmony with the environment acquires a new meaning: Zumtobel presents intelligent lighting solutions that have reached an even higher and more individual degree of personalisation. In the process, the Austrian luminaire manufacturer focuses on the requirements of customers and the needs of users within the scope of various applications. Zumtobel sees itself as a partner supporting companies in working the switches for the future. Light is turned into a success factor whenever the point is to improve energy efficiency, to reduce CO2 emissions and operating costs, to set the stage for brand universes and art collections, or to create working and living environments that have a positive impact on people's well-being. The knowledge about light and its effect on people has always been the foundation of the Zumtobel brand and of its lighting solutions.

Among other things, two new studies designed for the Retail and Office applications are going to represent points of focus at this year's light+building. The results of both studies constitute an important basis for the development of new innovative lighting solutions.

Zumtobel Limbic® Lighting: target group-adequate lighting concepts for Shop & Retail applications
Research in the field of neuroscience has shown that 90% of purchasing decisions made at the POS take place in our unconscious mind. In a laboratory study, Zumtobel, together with Gruppe Nymphenburg, managed to empirically capture the subconscious reactions to a variety of lighting scenarios. The lighting preferences of seven different groups of customers were analysed using a neuropsychological target group model. For the first time ever, the results put brands in a position to use optimised lighting concepts for their respective target groups. Accordingly, »Zumtobel Limbic® Lighting not only presents goods to optimal effect, but the light is also adjusted to match the customers' preferences. In this way, their sense of well-being is enhanced and will consequently also increase the time they spend in a shop.

With the aim to allow for even more differentiated lighting at the POS, Zumtobel has extended its product range in the Retail sphere, based on these research findings. Modular spotlight systems such as INTRO, including innovative liteCarve® reflector technology, reduce complexity, at the same time offering an optimally customisable lighting solution for the different areas, from shop windows via shelves and recesses through to special displays. By means of innovative TrueGamutRendering fashion (TGRfashion) LED technology, white but also deep shades of colour are given entirely new brilliance and quality, offering customers unprecedented authenticity of product presentation.

User study on lighting quality in offices

By conducting the largest user study in the company's history, Zumtobel, in collaboration with Fraunhofer IAO, has obtained valuable insights into the lighting quality perceived in offices. The interim analysis of the long-term study »http://www.zumtobel.web-erhebung.de/english/ already shows that focusing on the user affords new findings that will necessarily lead to a rethinking of lighting design and lighting management in office environments. The need for solutions based on the individual needs of the users is only insufficiently satisfied today.

Almost 82 per cent of survey participants prefer a combined lighting solution including direct and indirect components. In fact, however, only 38 per cent have such a lighting solution at their workplace.

The study provides similarly significant results in terms of the assessment of the lighting quality of different light sources: LEDs are most favourably rated by a majority of survey participants. Actually, however, only 10 per cent of study participants state that LED luminaires are in place in their offices.

As regards the preferences for colour temperatures in the office, these are distributed heterogeneously between 3000 K and 7000 K. However, the users' preference for the range between 4000 K an 5000 K is by far the most marked.

Close on 57 per cent of all employees are not able to adjust their office lighting to their individual needs or variable work settings, or only to a limited extent.

Overall, more than 60 per cent of survey participants prefer illuminance levels of 800 lux or higher. Based on this finding, illuminance levels should be designed to exceed the standard of 500 lux in future.

Restricted user access and a lack of options for the adjustment of colour temperature and illuminance cause significantly poorer assessments of lighting quality and well-being by the users. On the basis of these research findings, Zumtobel has adjusted and extended its product range for office applications.

Today already, the SEQUENCE LED luminaire featuring advancedOptics technology and the LIGHT FIELDS luminaire range featuring Tunable White technology are demonstrating how the manifold requirements of employees can be met by adaptable, pinpoint task area lighting.

Within the scope of such customisable lighting, lighting control plays a key role. In order to break new ground in this respect, Zumtobel has cooperated with partners like IBM and interface experts. The result is the innovative LITECOM lighting management system that represents a milestone in the future of building management. LITECOM not only features easy installation and intuitive handling via apps; it also is an open system, additionally creating a high degree of customisability and flexibility.