Digitalisation of light progressing at a rapid pace
Focus on intelligent building and energy management
“Explore Technology for Life – the best energy is energy that isn’t consumed” – is the motto of Light + Building 2014, the world’s biggest trade fair for lighting and building-services technology. “Energy consumption can be reduced dramatically through the use of innovative, market-ready technologies. In combination with intelligently networked building management, these technologies are the key to a sustainable electricity supply. And all of this can be seen at Light + Building in Frankfurt”, says Wolfgang Marzin, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Messe Frankfurt.
In line with the highly dynamic nature of the sector, the response to Light + Building 2014 could hardly be better. To cope with the great increase in demand for LED solutions on both the exhibitor and visitor sides, the LED product segment and luminaires and lamps will occupy Hall 6.2 for the first time. 95 percent of exhibition space has already been booked and all market leaders have registered to take part. At the world’s leading trade fair for the sector in Frankfurt am Main from 30 March to 4 April 2014, around 2,300 companies will present their latest products and innovations for the fields of lighting, electrical engineering, house and building automation and software for the building industry. In keeping with demand and developments in the market, Messe Frankfurt continues to optimise Light+Building and expand the range of products and services in the field of energy generation with regenerative energies in and on buildings, as well as energy storage.
An important aspect of Light + Building 2014 is its focus on the highly underutilised range of opportunities for saving energy. In the discussion about the new energy paradigm, insufficient attention is often paid to the use of energy-efficient technologies despite the fact that the industry offers innovations and solutions that can cut the energy consumption of a building and simultaneously increase the level of comfort through intelligent building-services technology. Thus, these innovative solutions are not only ecologically worthwhile but are also attractive in economic terms.
Light + Building focuses on the vital subject of future-oriented building and energy management – an elementary aspect of energy-management reorientation – within the framework of intelligent sustainability management. A special show entitled ‘Smart Powered Building – Your Building in the Smart Grid’ presents technologies for intelligent energy management in buildings. Real installations in live operation show how networked buildings generate, store, distribute and utilize decentralised energy. Market-ready solutions from the fields of house and building automation vividly demonstrate the potential for introducing decentralised energy generation on the basis of comprehensive building and energy management. The special show is organised by Messe Frankfurt in cooperation with the German Association of the Electrical and Electronics Industry (Zentralverband Elektrotechnik- und Elektronikindustrie e.V. – ZVEI). ‘Smart Powered Building – Your Building in the Smart Grid’ concentrates on the importance of intelligently linked buildings and, therefore, on the interaction of individual components in the smart grid – with the emphasis on commercial buildings.
The E-House of the Central Association of the German Electrical and Information Technology Trades (Zentralverband der Deutschen Elektro- und Informationstechnischen Handwerke – ZVEH) takes up this train of thought and shows what form intelligent energy management can take in private dwellings. The ‘Energy-saving power station’ shows extremely realistically how the new energy paradigm works in practice and how energy efficiency can nowadays go hand-in-hand with increased comfort and safety. Moreover, thanks to their own energy generation, it is possible to reduce consumer dependence on power-supply companies.
Resource conservation and energy efficiency are also driving forces in the lighting market whereby the focus is on the conversion of traditional lighting sources to energy-efficient solutions. Due to the rapid process of technical change in the lighting-source sector and the dynamic nature of the market, the number of suppliers with LED products has risen significantly.
The comprehensive spectrum of lighting products to be seen at Light+Building is dominated by new sources of light based on LED and OLED technologies. At the world’s biggest platform for the lighting market, manufacturers present their innovations in the fields of technical luminaires and lamps, as well as outdoor lighting for public areas, whereby these products are distinguished by a broad area of applications and take advantage of the opportunities offered by the intelligent digitalisation of light. Besides technical, design-oriented luminaires, Light+Building also presents decorative lighting in all styles and price segments for the home and commercial buildings. The product spectrum to be seen in the lighting section is rounded off by components.
Another important subject in the lighting section of Light + Building 2014 is ‘people and light’, e.g., the effect of light on people and the impact of light on their health, performance and well-being. Thus, over the course of the day, it is possible to adapt the luminous colour of artificial light to that of natural light and, therefore, the body’s biorhythm.
A key role in the installation and operation of intelligent and networked buildings is played by the fields of electrical engineering, house and building automation and software for the building industry. At Light+Building 2014, manufacturers will present new energy-efficient building-system solutions and electrical installations, as well as software for the entire life-cycle of a building. Other product segments include electrical installation and network technology, design-oriented electrical installations and building-system technology, photovoltaic, facility management and contracting.
With its emphasis on cross-sectional technologies oriented towards holistic solutions, electrical engineering plays a key role in the field of building-services technology. In line with this, Light+Building is the only fair to present electrical-engineering solutions in the context of other disciplines, such as lighting and house and building automation. Thanks to this unique combination, the industry can make an integrated presentation that makes a decisive contribution to exploiting the energy-saving potential of buildings to the full.
A cultural highlight during Light + Building is the concurrent Luminale. The lighting biennale in Frankfurt forms the evening programme for Light+Building visitors. The combination of trade fair and urban illuminations transforms Frankfurt and the Rhine-Main region into a unique and spectacular lighting event.
Light + Building 2012 closed its doors after setting a sensational new record: over 195,000 visitors came to see the products and services presented by around 2,300 exhibitors on 240,000 square metres of exhibition space. Trade visitors to Light+Building include architects, engineers, planners, interior architects, designers, artisans, the retail trade and industry.
Light + Building 2014: further information
Hours of opening:
30 March to 3 April 2014: 09.00 to 18.00 hrs
4 April 2014: 09.00 to 17.00 hrs
Venue:
Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre
