The Benefits of Responsive, Modular Light Fixtures

One of the biggest challenges facing businesses today is making their spaces more eco-friendly.Traditional office design hasn't always focused attention on environmental impact or the health and well-being of employees.But advances in today's lighting have combined environmental awareness with employee needs to create a lighting system that can increase productivity and workplace wellbeing.

Responsive, modular light fixtures are taking the lighting world by storm for one simple reason: these systems provide high-quality lighting that actually saves money.They also help increase employee productivity and come in a wide array of attractive options.

Modular light fixtures rely on LED lights, making them incredibly efficient on their own.Combined with the energy savings that comes from turning off lights when they aren't being used, these systems are a major must-have for any office.Whether you're an interior designer or architect tasked with updating or designing an office, incorporating responsive, modular fixtures into a space will wow your client, both with how they look and how they function.

What Is a Responsive, Modular Light Fixture?

Lighting makes up20% of electricity consumptionin a commercial building.If you're relying on traditional incandescent or fluorescent fixtures to light a workspace, that 20% may be costing your clients a pretty penny.High-efficiency light fixtures like responsive LED luminaires can help reduce those costs.

What is responsive LED lighting? Responsive, modular light fixtures — also referred to as flexible lighting fixtures — are designed to incorporate lighting into the architectural design of an office space or building.In this type of lighting, form meets function and adds in a lot of cutting-edge technology to create a system of lights that can be programmed and regularly adjusted to fit the needs of the people or business using them.

What does it mean when a light fixture is flexible?LED flexible fixtures to make a great addition to any office space because they can be designed to work with the way each individual does business and space where they work.And, they come in many attractive options to compliment any workspace.

WAC's responsive, modular light fixtures are designed around LED luminaires.LEDs are rapidly replacing traditional incandescent and fluorescent fixtures in the workplace.There are many reasons to use modular lighting, including:

1.Increased Longevity

High-quality LEDs canlast 25 times longer than traditional lights.In other words, if you keep an LED light on all day, every day, it would last for three years.The design of a responsive, modular fixture allows it to dim or turn off lights when they aren't in use, meaning that LED fixtures have an even longer lifespan because they aren't being used 24/7.

2.High Quality

LED lighting provides a better quality of illumination because they emit light only in one direction, while traditional incandescent bulbs emit light in all directions, making LEDs a great option for recessed or task lighting in the workplace.And, because they don't emit heat the way a traditional light does, you don't have to worry about heating up the office or a boardroom with these lights while reducing HVAC expenses.You can incorporate these high-quality, high-tech lights into an attractive office design that will make your employees more productive and impress clients every single time.

3.Lower Energy Costs

A responsive, modular light fixture is more than just a fancy feature.These fixtures contain high-quality lighting that also conserves energy.LEDs emit almost no heat, so they take less energy to produce the same amount of light, which means they cost less to operate than traditional lights.When you use LEDs in a responsive, modular feature, your energy costs decrease further because this intelligent lighting reduces the amount of energy spent lighting space that doesn't need light, such as empty conference rooms or offices with a lot of natural light.Depending on the fixtures you install and how you use them, LED fixtures can save you anywhere from20% to 60% in energy costs.

4.Less Environmental Impact

For businesses looking to improve their environmental footprint and eco-friendly practices, responsive, modular lighting is an important step in the process.LED lighting has asmaller environmental footprint than traditional lights.They also don't contain mercury, another step toward protecting and improving the environment.Over time, conversion to LED lights has the potential to reduce electricity consumption in the U.S.by as much as 50% and bypass as much as 1,800 million metric tons of carbon emissions.

Benefits of Choosing a Responsive LED Light

Incorporating a responsive, modular light fixture into a commercial design is a great way to develop a more eco-friendly workplace, but there's more to it than that.By incorporating responsive lights into office design, you can expect to experience several benefits of LED lighting, including:

1.Cost Reduction

LED fixtures last longer than their traditional counterparts, so they won't need to be replaced nearly as often.And, they're easy to maintain, which means you won't spend a lot of money on maintenance.

But the biggest cost savings comes in reduced energy costs.Consider this scenario — on Friday evening, how many employees leave for the weekend and forget to turn off lights?What about lights in the bathrooms, conference rooms, break areas and other common spaces that stay on all the time?How much is the business spending on energy costs to light these spaces?

When you install a responsive, modular system, you can program the system to respond to the needs and habits of an individual business because a modular system allows you to program different parts of the lighting system to respond to different needs.For example, light fixtures in the reception area can be programmed to turn off at 5 p.m.every evening, but the lights in each employee's office can be designed to contain a motion sensor that turns them off once the person leaves their office, regardless of what time it is.Fixtures are uniquely addressable to be controlled individually or grouped as desired.

2.Design Flexibility

Another benefit of modular, responsive LED fixtures is that they come in a wide variety of designs and options that can be incorporated into any interior space.space.Whether it's industrial chic, modern, museum-quality, or cutting edge, a modular system can change with the times and the trends.Recessed lighting such as downlights, suspended lights including, pendants, and surface mounted lights such as direct, indirect and spot lights — the sky is the limit.Whether an office space is more modern or more traditional in design, lights can be selected to compliment any existing decor.Not just for an office, modular lighting can be custom configured for retail, restaurant, offices and residences without custom lead times.

Another design benefit to these systems is that they can be programmed to emit varying levels of brightness.If you have an office that receives a lot of natural light, the fixtures in that space can be programmed to turn on at reduced brightness when the sun is the brightest.As the natural light wanes, the lights can become increasingly bright.Besides giving employees the benefits of natural light above artificial, highlighting the natural light of a workspace can provide a more pleasing aesthetic.Luminaires can be custom configured, adjusted and controlled on-site.

3.Improved Productivity

LED lighting has been proven to have apositive impact on workplace productivity.When LED lights are installed, employees are more efficient and happier with their work.In turn, this leads to an increased sense of well-being and overall satisfaction in the workplace.Providing a workspace where employees are happy and feel like they're contributing in a positive way is an important part of long-term employee retention.

Besides employee retention, research has shown that theright light can also improve sleep habits and alertness.By providing employees with healthy light — both natural and LED — employers enable their employees to get quality sleep at night, meaning they are more rested — and likely to be more productive — during the workday.Some modular lighting and control systems may improve employees' and homeowners' circadian rhythm.

Applications and Types of Responsive Light Fixtures

Wondering how to implement LED light fixtures into your facility?Responsive lighting applications are available for offices, academic and hospitality settings, and even high-end residential properties.WACSTRUT responsive lighting systemlighting and control system combines the best of the latest advanced technology and creativity to bring you customizable options that will reduce energy consumption and increase productivity repeated throughout.Soe

1.Recessed

Recessed lightingintentionally positions a fixture — or series of fixtures — inside of a ceiling to allow the light to project in a specific outward direction.The housing of a recessed light, which includes electrical connections and wires, is hidden inside of the ceiling or wall, while the trim portion of the fixture frames the light and is the visible part of the fixture.You can select from several different types of trim, depending on the design of the space.Common trim styles include a reflector, baffle, shower, gimbal and eyeball. Trimless styles are also available for a clean architectural look.

Recessed lights are typically used for general lighting.The fixtures can also be used for task because recessed lighting is typically flush with the ceiling, it's a great option for rooms with low ceilings or narrow spaces that don't have a lot of room for a hanging fixture.Recessed lighting is a smart choice when designing a modern, sleek office because it hides in the ceiling and doesn't interfere with the structure and decor of the room.

When designing a room with recessed lighting, remember that you'll likely need to install several the proper number of recessed lights to provide adequate light optimized illumination.When possible, these should be used with other types of lighting to ensure the best possible lighting in each area of the room.

2.Surface Mounted

Surface lightingis exactly what its name suggests — a light fixture installed to lay flush with the surface of the ceiling.Typically, you'd find surface mounted lighting in a room where there isn't a lot of space between the structural ceiling and the ceiling that drops into the room.They can also be used in a room with an exposed concrete ceiling.If you're designing a space with a more traditional look, surface-mounted fixtures can provide a visual focal point to tie the room together.

Surface mounts offer a wide array of design and installation options that can be incorporated into many different interior designs, including ceiling-mounted lights, track-mounted lights and wall-mounted lights.Ceiling-mounted lights can be installed flush — against the ceiling — or semi-flush — with a small gap between the ceiling and the light.When used in office decor, surface-mounted lights of all kinds can provide ambient light for an entire room.Track lights and wall-mounted lights, on the other hand, tend to provide more task-oriented lighting and should be used with this function in mind. Wall washers highlight photographs in the reception area.Strong direct lighting can be used to accent objects while indirect lighting can be reduced on sunny days.

3.Suspended Luminaires

Asuspended luminaireis one that hangs from the ceiling by a chain, cords, aircraft cable and rods.Examples of suspended lighting include fans, pendant lights and panel lights.Suspended lights are a smart option for spaces with high ceilings because they direct light downward.Panel lights and other larger suspended lights can be used to provide ambient lighting to a room, while smaller pendant lights typically provide more task-oriented lighting.

Because suspended lights hang above a room, it's important to select ones that properly shield the bulbs being used.The right type of shade depends on what the room will be used for, as well as whether the light will be used to provide task lighting or ambient light.

Suspended lights can make a great visual feature above a conference room table or inside a boardroom.But, as with all suspended lights, be sure to position them well above eye level to avoid shining bright lights into someone's eyes during a meeting or event.

Another type of suspended lighting is uplight.Uplights direct light toward the ceiling and upper portions of the walls in a room, allowing the light to reflect off of the walls and create a soft, comfortable atmosphere.Combined with a decorative downlighting suspended fixture, such as a pendant, this series of lights can create a comfortable atmosphere in an office space.

Suspended fixtures can be adjusted to accommodate various ceiling heights and changing furniture décor to optimize your lighting design.Connected modular lighting allows you to create custom schedules – keeping it simple with a 7-day weekly calendar, or get as granular as you want with a 365-day calendar that automatically accounts for daylight savings time changes.In addition, you can change individual luminaires or groups of fixtures by adjusting brightness, beam angle, and aiming direction remotely.Illumination output can vary based on the number of occupants in the space.

Beyond connectivity, luminaire finishes, optics and sizes can be customized to meet your lighting needs.

Get Responsive, Modular Lighting From WAC

As a design-and-build manufacturer, we at WAC Lighting have built our business aroundproviding focused, professional attention to the lighting needsof our clients.Our goal is to build long-term relationships with each architect, lighting designer and distributor by working with them to provide high-quality solutions to their lighting needs.For more than 35 years, WAC has invested in research and test laboratories, electronics development and manufacturing facilities to ensure that we can deliver cutting-edge lighting technology to commercial and residential projects of all kinds.Let us help light up your next project.Contact WAC Lightingfor all of your LED light fixture needs.