Philips Lighting sees 'connected smart light' as new trend

Philips Lighting expects that 5-7 years down the line, a majority of LED in India will be upgraded to "connected smart lights", which will set off a new growth wave.
The market leader today strengthened its portfolio of LED wireless lighting by launching Philips Hue White Ambiance.
"Today, connected lighting is a new trend. It's just catching on, but over the next 5-7 years, we expect that a majority of lights will become intelligent and smart," Philips Lighting India Vice-Chairman and MD Harshavardhan Chitale told PTI.
Chitale feels that prices of the connected lighting are high, but once volume picks up, prices will come down and become affordable.

He said: "It would start (sales) with the urban market in the beginning where adoption of LED light is almost complete."
Chitale added: "Those who have gone for LED lights would go for smart and intelligent lighting, which is connected lighting. We see that trend not just in public and office lighting, but also in home lighting."

The new Philips Hue White Ambiance range will enable users to select the right light level and colour for each of their daily tasks and routines.
"After receiving a brilliant response from our consumers, we are delighted to expand our Philips Hue range in India with the new Philips Hue White Ambiance," he said.

It allows users to create and control home lighting using their smartphones or tablets and works seamlessly across both iOS and Android mobile platforms.
A big chunk of Philips Lighting's total sales comes from the LED segment and the company is expecting this ratio to go up even further.
It has won a major contract from Energy Efficiency Services to supply five crore LED bulbs and increased its production capacity six times in the last one year.