ASSIL meeting: lighting conquers Europe

ASSIL, the Italian Association of Lighting Manufacturers, recently held its annual conference on the top floor of the Pirelli skyscraper in Milan, Italy. The meeting, titled “Alla velocità della luce: Nuovi traguardi per il mondo dell’illuminazione” [At the Speed of Light: the New Goals of the Lighting World], discussed the future scenarios of the industry.

The close connection with the new digital technologies makes artificial lighting a fundamental element in the transition to an economy that is based on sustainability and quality of life. The possibility to integrate lighting into the new intelligent lighting systems puts lighting at the centre of the construction of smart cities and smart buildings, providing manufacturers with new opportunities.

Aristide Stucchi, President of ASSIL during the 2012-2016 period, explained: “The so-called LEDification process has made the achievement of important energy-efficient goals possible, undoubtedly representing a driver of growth for the lighting industry in Europe and in Italy. Scientific discoveries connected with the biological effects of lighting and the rapid evolution of electronics have also facilitated the transition to a more dynamic concept of lighting, capable of ensuring the best lighting levels in any situation. We are witnessing a LED revolution 2.0, which opens up new scenarios based on the Internet of Things and Human-Centric Lighting”.

The good prospects for the Italian lighting industry are confirmed by the most recent ISTAT findings. In the first quarter of 2016, the industrial trend in Italian lighting design reported a growth of 10.8% compared to the same quarter in 2015. This trend is definitely higher than the average of the industry (+ 2.1%).

Disano illuminazione, the Gold Sponsor of the ASSIL conference, confirms this positive trend. The company’s marketing department has seen a growing interest in the technological improvement of the products, which, in addition to energy savings, offer increasing possibilities for smart lighting control.

In his interesting opening keynote speech, Jan Denneman, President of Lighting Europe, the board of European lighting manufacturers, indicated the roadmap for the lighting industry over the next ten years.

Final goal: increase the value of lighting in European society. It is an ambitious goal that goes far beyond mere economic figures and that is based on the new role given to lighting for the improvement of our lives.

Artificial lighting is one of the great progresses made in the history of humanity: it has allowed people to study, work and live at any time of the day and at any latitude. Over the last decades, technology allowed obtaining these advantages with lower power consumption. Over the next ten years, smart lighting systems will make artificial lighting closer to natural lighting, generating great health benefits for our bodies.

It will increase the quality of light and, as a consequence, the quality of the life in the places where we study, work, and live. It will add value to our cities and buildings.

The roadmap of Lighting Europe starts with LEDification, i.e. the replacement of old lighting systems to move on to smart lighting controllers and then Human-Centric Lighting, which places people first. It is a path that moves from a greater efficiency to a more sustainable lighting designed for people’s wellbeing.

The scenario is completed with the circular economy, which provides the possibility to recycle material from lighting luminaires.

There is definitely more lighting in the future of Europe!