Circular Lighting Becomes a Business Model
The conversation around circularity is shifting from just sustainability to a direct business strategy. Philips is pitching circular lighting as a service-based model that offers clients immediate savings through refurbishment and modular upgrades, rather than just an environmental benefit. This reframes product design around disassembly, component reuse, and service contracts.
Signify, formerly Philips Lighting, is targeting 32% of its revenue from circular products and services by 2025. Their "Light-as-a-Service" model at Schiphol Airport delivered a 50% reduction in electricity consumption by shifting the financial model from a one-time purchase to a performance-based contract where Schiphol pays only for the light it uses. This incentivizes Signify to produce durable, modular luminaires with a 75% longer lifespan that can be easily serviced and ultimately remanufactured. This service-based strategy aligns with a broader industry shift towards integrating lighting within the Internet of Things (IoT). Modern systems leverage DALI-2 (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) as a standardized protocol, enabling bi-directional communication for precise control and data reporting. When combined with IoT gateways, DALI systems can connect to building management systems, allowing for remote monitoring of energy consumption and predictive maintenance via cloud-based dashboards. Human-centric lighting principles are now a key driver of system specification, with standards like the WELL Building Standard V2 setting specific targets for circadian lighting design. The goal is to provide specific levels of Equivalent Melanopic Lux (EML), a metric that measures light's effect on our internal body clock, to enhance alertness and well-being. For example, WELL v2 may require at least 150-240 EML for a minimum of four hours per day to support natural circadian rhythms. Achieving these EML targets requires sophisticated control over light intensity and color temperature. AI-driven systems now use sensors to analyze real-time occupancy and daylight availability, automatically adjusting tunable white LEDs to optimize the spectral output. This not only supports human chronobiology but also can reduce energy consumption by up to 45% compared to standard LED operation. Design leadership in this space involves moving beyond luminaire specification to a holistic systems approach that considers the entire product lifecycle. As seen in publications like *Dezeen* and *Architectural Record*, the focus is on "design for disassembly," utilizing materials like recycled aluminum and bio-based plastics. The strategic challenge for design leaders, as discussed in forums like *arc magazine*, is to champion these cradle-to-cradle principles, influencing product roadmaps to prioritize serviceability and material reuse over planned obsolescence.
