05 Nov Lighting in the age of artificial intelligence – November 2024 Newsletter

I have been continuing my journey of discovery into the world of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in lighting and lighting design.

A question that I had received was “How would AI be used or be useful in lighting design?”. Quite simply, it is being embraced by the lighting design software developers and will recognise the patterns in those solutions and will complete the repetitive tasks automatically. This will make the lighting design process using the software to be completed in less time and with less effort. It will make it possible for lighting designers to be more productive and therefore more profitable. The question should obviously be asked: “Will AI in Lighting Design make lighting designers redundant?” The answer is very simply and also completely logical, that AI will not replace lighting designers. AI will be used skillfully by competent lighting designers. This highlights the need even more so now for lighting designers to be qualified and have a through technical background and knowledge which can be gained by enrolling for the Advanced Diploma in Illumination Engineering Course offered by BHA School of Lighting.

In practical ways, AI can be used to generate images. Typically, this is possible to use Microsoft Copilot or ChatGPT to produce suitable images to use in concept lighting designs. This adds realism and contributes to a high-quality concept lighting design.

So, what is AI in lighting? I quote the answer found during my research: “It represents a paradigm where lighting systems are not just responsive, but intelligently adaptive to their environment and user needs. AI-driven smart lighting can analyze data such as natural light, room occupancy and personal preferences to dynamically provide the most efficient and comfortable lighting conditions.”

Call me boring when I urge you to be curious. Do your own research into AI in lighting and lighting design. None of us can afford to ignore AI or AI in lighting and lighting design. It is only a matter of time when it will become a standard feature in all software.

None of us want to be left behind technologically. We must keep up with the developments and continue to research all facets of the lighting design profession.

I hope to bring you more exciting news on the developments of AI within the world of lighting next month. We also invite you to join us at our next Enlightened Community webinar where we will be diving deeper into this topic on 21 November. Find more detail below

Philip Hammond, BHA School of Lighting

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The Principal’s Pen

It takes some adjustment to settle in to my work routine again after spending a full month away in Spain. My wife, Tish, and I had an absolutely amazing time spent with our son Matthew, his wife and our 4-month-old grandson in Madrid and with Daniel and his wife in Vigo, Galicia, which is in the Northwest of Spain. Spain is amazing, but being in Galicia for the first time was a new experience, as the geography, terrain and vegetation is so different to the vast areas around Madrid.

We transited through the Istanbul International Airport, which is located on the Europe side of Istanbul. It is huge. In fact, huge is almost an understatement. What an experience to change flights!

Whenever I travel overseas, I always take note of my surroundings and lighting.

I saw some fantastic lighting installations both interior and exterior installations. I also saw some of the worst lighting installations too. Remember, that every lighting installation began as a lighting design. It therefore means that there were some great lighting designs and conversely, some terrible lighting designs.

One of the worst lighting designs that I saw was at the Istanbul International Airport in a high-end retail fashion store. The ceiling was littered with large adjustable spotlights all of which were black, making them highly obvious.

During our time in Madrid, we spent some time on a Saturday afternoon in an area called Goya. It is where most of the top branded retail stores are located. As expected, the lighting designs were very tasteful and functional.

Restaurants, particularly some of the newer restaurants, favour bright natural 4000K lighting. Daniel and his wife frequent a restaurant very close to their apartment. One evening, Daniel asked the owner, Sara, if he could adjust the lighting to the way that he would design it to be. He proceeded to dim some of the lights and to switch others off until he achieved the desired effect to create a warm and inviting atmosphere. The owner, Sara, immediately turned all the lighting back on as it had been to full brightness. They say that you can lead a horse to water, but can’t make it drink!

I was extremely interested to look at the street lighting in Spain, particularly where LED is in use. They use much lower wattages than those used in South Africa, which makes their energy efficiency much better than in SA.  Their traffic volumes are greater than in SA as there are 3 times more motor vehicles on their roads than in SA, with a population 49 million compared to SA’s population of 64 million.  Their roads are excellent and focus on keeping the traffic flowing on the highways.  Their road network is excellent. Service stations are located on side roads well off the highways. Traffic entering the highway feeds in on a long entry lane so that the traffic in the normal lanes continue to flow without interruption when there is joining traffic. At no time did I experience any form of glare from the street lighting which made the experience quite pleasurable compared to the high levels of discomfort glare from the LED street lights in Cape Town.

Finally, we wish all students, both First and Second Year students well, as they prepare for the final examinations for their respective years. It is an exciting time for the students and equally exciting for us especially when they graduate.

With best regards.

Philip Hammond

New Videos on the BHA School of Lighting YouTube Channel

Lighting for heritage buildings & how to make great use of shadows presented by David Gilbey

Lighting intuition for architects presented by Angie Ohman

Welcome to our new BHA School of Lighting Students

Renz Jordanar Hernendez, Dubai, United Arab Emirates – BHASL003C19: Advanced Diploma in Illumination Engineering Course
Thean Schutte, Pretoria, South Africa – BHASL018: Relux Desktop Lighting Design Software Course
Harold Arellano, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – BHASL003C19: Advanced Diploma in Illumination Engineering Course

November Student Birthdays

Happy Birthday to the following past & present students celebrating their birthdays this month of November 2024! We hope you all have an amazing day!

Thean Schutte, Pretoria, South Africa – 2 November
Abinay Jevaraju, Kuwait City, Kuwait – 4 November
Nadira Chandarmani, Ballito, South Africa – 4 November
Johannes Sutherland, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa – 5 November
Sydney Naidoo, Durban, South Africa – 8 November
Enzo Manna, Pretoria, South Africa (Graduate) – 9 November
Nicole Townsend, Benoni, South Africa – 13 November
Clayton Davidson, Durban, South Africa – 17 November
Sarah-Ellen Hanratty, Johannesburg, South Africa – 18 November
Thibault Fay, Johannesburg, South Africa – 21 November
Lilitha Tuswa, Johannesburg, South Africa – 22 November
Mzukisi Maxin Luciano Keli, Port Elizabeth, South Africa – 22 November
Mthulisi Dube, Pretoria, South Africa – 25 November
Renz Jodanar Hernandez, Dubai, United Arab Emirates – 26 November
Sharath Nittur, Bangalore, India – 29 November

BHA School of Lighting Student Examinations

We wish the following students well, as they prepare for their First Year Examinations:

Lilitha Tuswa, Johannesburg South Africa
Priyanka Praful, Bangalore, India
Petrus Cilliers, Johannesburg, South Africa

We wish great success to the following students preparing for their Second Year Final Examinations:

Thibault Fay, Johannesburg, South Africa
Jaroslaw Otremba, Jozefow, Poland
Mthulisi Dube, Pretoria, South Africa

Congratulations to BHA School of Lighting Students

Stacey Braum, Plettenberg Bay, South Africa – on the successful completion of the Foundation Lighting Course

Our congratulations to the following Advanced Diploma in Illumination Engineering course students on passing First Year:

Ismael Alobaidi, Baghdad, Iraq
Chaitanya Dang, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India

Our BIG congratulations on your Graduation to:

Mohammad AlMuhanna, Ad Damman, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – Advanced Diploma in Illumination  Engineering Course

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