In the LaaS business model, a company no longer owns its lighting, but is merely the user. ‘We have developed a financial case for this concept and now offer it to our customers’, explains Iwan Barrez. ‘Our aim is to take all the worries away from our customers completely. They receive a full-service lighting package with KBC as the one-stop shop for everything from a lighting plan for the actual infrastructure to the management of innovative lighting solutions. We use Signify for the technological aspects, while we take care of the financial side of things. That also includes things like applying for grants from network operators because we are investing in environmentally friendly lighting.’

‘In those cases, you’re no longer talking about a one-for-one replacement, but you are also increasing the functionality’, replies Eeckhout. ‘Companies which opt for a LaaS solution can not only offer more comfort and convenience to their employees, but also to their facility management services; if there’s a problem, we will resolve it.
In addition, they no longer need to invest in lighting and can use the funds saved for their core business.’

Switching to LaaS and taking out a ten-year contract does not mean that no further modifications can be made. ‘On the contrary, we use modular products’, says Eeckhout. ‘We can change the components easily. In industrial settings we can even swap the fittings with one click. We look for a customised solution for every business, without the need for radical changes to the existing infrastructure, using wiring or a wireless grid.’

‘We can also add an IoT layer. Companies can use the data to monitor their consumption closely, and at the same time we receive information on problems that we can deal with proactively. There’s no longer any need to wait several days or weeks before a flickering lamp is replaced.’
‘If you make lighting smarter by enriching it with sensors that capture data, you can generate information: how many people are present in your building and whereabouts are they? That means you can not only adjust the lighting, but also the temperature or the number of times the cleaning team is needed.
Another example is noise. Staff today often wear a headset in order to eliminate extraneous noises. Our senses can measure decibels and indicate where you can work undisturbed.’

Of course, it’s still mainly all about lighting. According to Eeckhout, it’s no longer about making light, but about creating light. ‘We call that Smart Lighting’, he says. ‘And the LED lighting sector is developing at an tremendous pace, especially compared with incandescent light bulbs and fluorescent lamps, which barely evolved at all in decades. As a lighting company, we invest in IT companies so that we can add data. The user can decide what kind of lighting they want at their workplace using an app on their smartphone.’

Another example is Human Centric Lighting. ‘We simulate the natural path of daylight across the workfloor, a ‘daylight intensity curve’. That makes sense, because people are then connected to the daylight. That improves daytime performance and helps people sleep better at night. People work best around midday, when the light is strongest; the intensity gradually reduces later in the day. We have already successfully installed a number of these systems in care institutions and schools. Students work in a more concentrated way under stronger white light. And when they come in on a sunny day and are jumping up and down on the school benches, the teacher can dim the light to calm them.’
 

So won’t all employers choose strong white light, then, so that their employees work hard continuously? ‘The light intensity follows a curve, and that’s deliberate. People function differently in the morning from in the evening. Also, you can’t try to boost performance continuously’, replies Barrez.
‘Sustainability is also about thinking of the well-being of your employees. You can’t try to squeeze everything out of your staff, because that leads to burn-out and other problems. A good night’s sleep is also important, and that’s improved by gradually dimming the lighting as the afternoon progresses. You can do all of that with one light fitting. You adapt the lighting, not the room.