Wipro Lighting, a part of Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting Group was started in 1992 to manufacture and market lighting products. Today Wipro Lighting is one of the leading names when it comes to thought and reliability in the country’s LED lighting industry. Wipro Lighting has a wide range of LED product offerings and profitable presence across application areas including modern workspaces, industries, retail, healthcare, pharmaceutical firms, roads & highways and landscapes.
A couple of years back, Wipro Lighting launched a couple of intelligent lighting solutions for which it had collaborated with leading global technology companies like Cisco and pureLi-Fi, Scotland. It has collaborated with Cisco for Power over Ethernet (PoE) based lighting solutions and is also offering Human Centric Lighting solutions for new age workspaces. It has tied up with pureLi-Fi, Scotland to deliver high speed & secure data transmission through LED luminaires.
The company firmly believes that these collaborations enhance user experience and deliver the desired outcome for customers – be it energy saving or improving workspace productivity and enhanced employee well-being. In order to explore as how the company is fairing in the human centric lighting division, we at LED World came in contact with Anuj Dhir, Vice President & Business Head, Wipro Commercial Lighting Business, Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting. Following are the excerpts:
What is the current state of smart/intelligent lighting in India? Does human centric lighting come under the purview of intelligent lighting?
The Workplace Design in recent times is undergoing a radical change. Organisations are looking at creating spaces which enhance employees’ well-being & productivity. Wellness of employees, user experience, use of technology to deliver enhanced employee productivity and employee retention is picking up pace.
To support these smart and agile workspaces, lighting technology is also changing rapidly with the Indian market seeing advent of smart, connected and human centric lighting solutions come into being. With the Building Standard™ (WELL) providing guidelines to minimise disruption to the body’s circadian system, enhance productivity, support good sleep quality and provide appropriate visual acuity, modulation of spectrum of light – impacting circadian rhythm & wellness of the employees are gaining popularity.
In line with these, Wipro Lighting has developed enhanced focus on inSyncTM – our human centric lighting solution intended to promote a person’s well-being, mood and health. It can improve concentration, safety and efficiency in workplaces or educational environments. By modulating spectrum and/or intensity of light, we provide bio-dynamic light based on human circadian rhythm for increased employee concentration, cognitive performance, alertness and in general well-being.
inSync™ is offered over technology platforms like Power over Ethernet (PoE), DALI and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)-based solutions.
Where does Wipro stand when it comes to offering human centric lighting?
As a leader in lighting solutions, Wipro Lighting has always made sure to provide the customers with the best standards in lighting innovation. Design & innovation have become a way of life at Wipro and cutting edge work is happening on new products and new technologies.
Internet of Lighting (IoL)TM is our step in the direction of offering our customers best-in-class solutions in lighting & beyond. It is Wipro Lighting’s platform on which lighting and technology confluence. Wipro Lighting being pioneers in human centric lighting, offers its inSync™ range of products under the identity of IoL™.
inSync™ range of products are designed for wellbeing at workspaces and its design principle considers three kinds of impacts that light can have on employees – visual, emotional and biological aiming to build spaces that promote wellbeing & productivity. Technology must be an enabler, hence our inSync™ solution is made available over three different technology platforms – Power over Ethernet (PoE), DALI and Bluetooth technologies.
With inSync™, we supply multiple level solutions which comply to WELL for visual & circadian lighting design, glare control, enhanced daylight access, visual balance, electric light quality and personalised lighting control for the occupants. These solutions can be applied in modern workspaces, conference rooms, collaborative spaces, receptions and so on.
inSync™ supports a wide range of products ranging from standard modular grid luminaires, linears, suspended and collaborative range.
How do you see the prospects for human centric lighting in India?
Over the past few years, India has become a service oriented industry. There has been proliferation of IT and ITeS companies which employ young workforce in large numbers. It is discovered that 90% of the body’s illnesses come from the environment. Since these employees spend a large portion of their day indoors, organisations are looking at challenging parameters for creating spaces which enhance employee well-being, productivity & user experience with the help of technology. Thus, organisations have realised that it is crucial to maintain indoor workspace conditions that minimise disruption to the body’s circadian system, enhance productivity, support good sleep quality and provide appropriate visual acuity.
Also, in India, WELL is gradually emerging and increasing number of discerned clients are now getting conscious about wellness at workplace. Subsequently, there is an enhanced focus on human centric lighting intended to promote a person’s well-being, mood and health. It can improve concentration, safety and efficiency in workplaces or educational environments. Modulation of the spectrum of light, impacting circadian rhythm and achieving wellness of the employees is gaining popularity. Wipro Lighting has developed enhanced focus on inSyncTM – its human centric lighting solution – intended to promote a person’s well-being, mood and health.
Which all benefits does it bring along, once implemented?
Human centric lighting can improve concentration, safety and efficiency in workplaces or educational environments. By changing spectrum of light and/or intensity of light, we provide bio-dynamic light based on human circadian rhythm for increased employees’ concentration, cognitive performance, alertness and in general well-being, thus enhancing employees’ productivity.
Wipro’s inSync™ – human centric lighting solution can be used in offices, industries, schools, healthcare buildings, retail spaces, hospitality buildings and residential structures bringing about a positive change in the indoor environment, thereby improving performance and scores.
What is the scope of human centric lighting in outdoor applications?
Minimised glare is a strong aspect in outdoor application of human centric lighting. Wipro Lighting has a range of products which address this aspect.
Which all steps is Wipro taking to promote the concept? How has been the response so far?
We have a dedicated team working on organizing customer engagement programmes & promotional campaigns to create general awareness about smart, connected and human centric lighting in the country. Our expert team talks about the trends, and suggests suitable solutions depending upon the customer’s requirement. In conjunction with this effort to make human centric lighting widely popular, Wipro Lighting rolled out Masterclass™, an educative series and a knowledge-sharing platform across metros. The first edition covered concepts on bio-dynamic lighting, employee wellness, cognitive performance and alertness, explained by renowned international researcher in the domain.
Time-to-time, we conduct lightshows across metros and in 2-tier cities to demonstrate our new happening in lighting industry and our acquired capabilities to execute new technologies. We are actively promoting the inSync™ concept across all our social media platforms.
Customer response to our dedicated efforts has been overwhelming with the specifier fraternity and facility heads in corporates showing keen interest in this new technology. Our efforts in this domain have been recognised with Wipro Lighting winning the India Connected Lighting Company 2018 award by Frost & Sullivan, the global strategic and market research consulting firm.
For better understanding of the concept to the readers, please share a recent project.
One of the leading IT companies has recently installed Wipro’s inSync™ solution at their prestigious new facility. Major challenge in this project was offering human centric lighting solutions in their unique lighting framework. The project has workforce which operates 24×7 and work happens in all three shifts. The main aim was to provide lighting scenarios which balance their circadian rhythms and improve sleeping cycles. They deployed the following:
Specifically selected luminaires with low glare rating having specific spectral distribution of light with scheduled colour temperature tunability.
The colour temperature of luminaire modulates to ensure the circadian rhythm is maintained in order to boost productivity levels.
All changes are done on the basis of the working hours of the shift to provide specific Equivalent Melanopic Lux (EML) at eye level.
Day light harvesting: Daylight sensors that maximise natural light are used for employees to get the natural environment, which is ideal for mind & body.
