Whether you’re building a new business from scratch or are integrating energy efficient bulbs into your current lighting design, upgrading your lighting presents a great opportunity to incorporate other smart devices that might benefit your business.
Some companies are reluctant to embrace this new technology because they’re not sure how to use it or how it will fit into their current systems, but smart devices offer a lot of advantages. Smart lighting is the most obvious smart technology that can help reduce energy bills, and it’s one of the easiest to install, but it’s not the only smart device that can improve your business’s efficiency. There are several smart devices that can help lower your utilities expenses and streamline your daily maintenance processes:
Smart lighting
Smart lighting creates the opportunity to customize, adjust, and schedule your lighting down to the finest detail. Whether that means setting up your lighting to only switch on during set work hours, or adjusting it to dim in the front of your restaurant at certain times of the day to create ambience, smart lighting provides even greater flexibility when it comes to illuminating your space, as well as more opportunities to lower energy costs and save money.
Type of space | Recommendations |
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| Office |
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| Restaurant or pub |
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| Retail |
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| Warehouse |
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Smart lighting you might be interested in
Smart thermostat
Smart thermostats can help you save energy by allowing you to easily adjust indoor temperatures from a distance using an app on your mobile phone. You can also automatically schedule or program it to be the optimal temperature depending on:
- Time of day
- Time of year
- Outdoor conditions
- Typical workday hours
Type of space | Recommendations |
|---|---|
| Office |
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| Restaurant or pub |
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| Retail |
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| Warehouse |
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Smart outlets, plugs, and strips
Smart outlets, plugs, and strips can help cut your energy costs significantly because they can easily be turned off remotely using an app when not in use, or scheduled to turn off automatically outside of work hours. This essentially turns almost any electrical device into a “smart” device, including table and floor lamps, which can help you significantly reduce your business’s overall energy requirements.
Type of space | Recommendations |
|---|---|
| Office |
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| Restaurant or pub |
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| Retail |
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| Warehouse |
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Supply-level detectors
Connected devices, such as printers or photocopiers, can recognize when they are low on supplies and automatically set up a reorder of anything you might need before confirming it with you, saving you time and effort.
Type of space | Recommendations |
|---|---|
| Office |
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| Retail, restaurant or pub |
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| Warehouse |
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Smart Locks
Keyless entry has been an option for a while now, allowing employees to enter and exit the building using key codes and swipe cards without a supervisor present to let them in or out. Smart locks have built on this premise and offer more features and greater functionality. Depending on the type of lock you get, smart locks can:
- Give you the option to unlock doors remotely, without having to share a code
- Provide limited- or one-time-use codes for deliveries, or maintenance or construction workers
- Easily monitor who is entering or exiting your place of business
- Unlock the door hands-free if you find your hands full on your way in or out of the office
- Be set to auto lock and unlock when you, a manager, keyholder, or member of the cleaning staff arrives and departs
Type of space | Recommendations |
|---|---|
| Office |
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| Restaurant or pub |
|
| Retail |
|
| Warehouse |
|
Security considerations
While smart technology can increase your energy efficiency and help your business run more smoothly, it’s important to remember that with all internet-connected devices, you need to make digital security a top priority and take preventative measures to limit your exposure to outside threats and bad actors. Help keep your company safe by:
- Installing antivirus software to scan and protect against viruses, malware, ransomware, keyloggers, and other computer threats.
- Regularly installing all software updates and patches. We’re all guilty of hitting “Remind Me Later” one too many times when it comes to software updates, but it is more important now than ever to ensure your technology has the latest protections. If you don’t want to take the time to install and apply updates during business hours, you can set it to automatically check for and install updates outside of your regular work schedule.
- Training your employees. According to Information Age, a little less than half of workers across Europe admit they aren’t equipped with the knowledge required to operate the technology introduced into their workplace. This lack of training slows things down in the office and creates opportunities for hackers to take advantage of their limited knowledge through phishing and social engineering techniques. Providing employees with proper training and up-to-date information will help them make better, safer choices and show them how to react in the event that they do encounter a suspicious email or click on the wrong thing.
Conclusion
In addition to lighting, smart technology has a lot to offer businesses. Smart thermostats, outlets, locks, and supply level detectors make it possible to schedule, streamline tasks, and stay organized and on top of things with a fraction of the effort.
Read More
Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about installing or upgrading to energy efficient lighting.
