Smart lighting to make Hyderabad bright

Hyderabad: If there is one word that defines the present world, it is the word 'smart'. It has become a prefix for everything — from phones to cities. As such, lighting too cannot remain dumb and needs to get smarter, believes a top executive of a major global lighting solutions firm.

“People are now starting to understand the impact lighting has on homes. (They) are shifting from dumb lighting to intelligent lighting,” said Sumit Joshi, vice chairman and MD, Signify Innovations India, formerly Philips Lighting India Ltd. Currently, lighting is a part of home decor and connected devices.

Though the adoption of smart lighting first happened in metros, Joshi said he is showing interest in smart lighting picking up in some tier-1 cities also.

“When new technology comes in, it starts percolating from what we call early adopters. There are two kinds of early adopters — IT professionals and other progressive customers. Now we are in the second stage. We have crossed the stage of early adopters but haven't yet reached mass adoption,” he explained.

In order to make people understand smart lighting, the company has been setting up smart hubs in major cities.

“We have 225 smart hubs across India, and by the end of the year, we will get to 300,” he said. Of 225 smart hubs across the country, Joshi said five are in Hyderabad, and the company intends to have 10-12 such hubs in 6-7 months.

Giving an example of router sales, Joshi said it had been seen that the sale of connected devices increases after people shift to routers, which are required to use smart devices. “The adoption of smart lighting has just started. Once it picks up the pace, it will see a vertical growth,” Joshi said.