Lighting & Control

Are there any particular trends when it comes to hotel lighting?

Chris Tiernan: Obviously, the main subject now, and for the future, is LEDs. Coupled with the advantage of lamp life and the ability to introduce colour, this is a progression that is a real leap when you consider how long traditional light sources like the tungsten filament lamp and the fluorescent tube have existed. Even though other light sources have been developed, there is nothing really to compete with this next phase. This will lead gently into the positive energy reductions but also tinged with some risk on how the hospitality sector should understand the new technologies and how design itself needs to adapt to provide benefits not just in energy, but the overall desire to achieve a comfortable lit environment.

Mark Tallent: The main trend in the current climate is to conserve energy and lower costs without sacrificing comfort and convenience.

Keith Bradshaw: Restrained luxury is a new trend, simple bold features rather than fussy details.

Gianluca Vecchi: Andromeda is requested to invent new visions of lighting design that make places unique so the trend we are seeing is to create supreme beauty.
 

What is the driving force behind a considerate lighting scheme?

Peter Roos: The interior designer or interior architect is usually responsible for the lighting design in hotels, but more and more, professional lighting designers are involved. From the industry point of view we notice that emotion and design are the first considerations, but always reflected under functional aspects. With new and innovative LED systems like Zumtobel’s RESCLITE, emergency lighting can be treated completely separate from the general lighting, solving the common conflict between safety regulations and emotional lighting design.

CT: Quite often the drivers in a ‘considerate’ scheme can contradict each other. In other words reduced energy might be achieved using brighter lamps but fewer of them. The adverse affect may be an increase in glare and discomfort. Reputable manufacturers providing lighting solutions will have their sustainability credentials proudly illustrated on their websites to include sourcing of raw materials, manufacturing processes and the cost of disposing of such products at the end of their life. This does not mean that they qualify for efficient and comfortable solutions. The real balance here is to create efficient visual comfort. This best sums up the emphasis on achieving the required lit environment – designed as the priority, whilst adopting the latest in lamp and control gear technology.

MT: When entering a hotel room people want to feel instantly at home, this can now be achieved by the setting of lighting scenes. The traditional method of having multiple switches and dimmers to control every light in the room can be confusing and result in too many unsightly interfaces on the walls. When using an automated solution, appropriately placed stylish keypads can control multiple lighting scenes to set the mood at the push of a button. For the first time people do not need to get out of bed to turn off every light in the room.

KB: A successful lighting scheme takes into account image, user comfort, maintainability, cost, task lighting, energy, safety.


What are the main factors considered when selecting a lighting scheme?

MT: The design has to look good and impress the guest but it also needs to be easy to use, safe in the event of an emergency, and it has to conserve energy.

KB: Visual impact, and capital expenditure versus operational expenditure.


What challenges does a lighting consultant face?

CT: The biggest challenge designers face is not to compromise their desire to achieve the perfect balance whilst working to budgets and cost plans. Their integrity is based on the reason they have been commissioned in the first place, usually at an early stage, because of their expertise and because hoteliers want to achieve a high standard. Although perhaps fee paid, there is always a risk that cost planners, or even the client, may drive the design down on somewhat false pretences. A few savings here and there may actually ruin a complete concept and our industry must strive to support and further the cause of professional lighting design. Fortunately, the hotel sector is somewhat more advanced than other sectors, which is a very positive base to work from.

KB: Our biggest challenge is creating an impact from lit features and compositions in spaces that repeat such as corridors and lobbies.


How important is comprehensive lighting control in a hotel guestroom?

PR: Intelligent lighting control is one of the most important trends in lighting hotel rooms. Systems like Zumtobel’s ZBOX offer an intuitive design combined with energy saving scenes and comfortable dimming features.

CT: Energy can and should be managed by further controls which can be less complicated than in the past. Time zoning as well as daylight, and even calendar effects using a simple computer interface are all available. Functionality and human interaction are key here. Many of us will know how difficult it is to work out which light switches do what job in a hotel room so it is important to find a simple and effective solution. There are subtle rules here about how to treat personal spaces from bathrooms to bedrooms and scenes must be able to be selected and recalled with ease.


Design versus function: what is more important and how do you find a balance?

KB: It’s not so much a question of balance, it’s more a question of achieving total unity. The ‘balance’ comes from well-integrated and carefully considered lighting details where feature and functional light are one and the same.

CT: Comfort really derives from seeing the performance of a lit space and not just a sea of burning light sources. Light interprets spaces and helps us perceive and experience them. Making good architecture even better through the right lighting is what we should see as our cultural contribution to a project. Irrespective of whether the architectural concept emphasises functionality or presentation; the goal should be to find a solution that does justice to the specific use and architectural features of each project.

MT: Finding a balance between design and functionality is imperative in an automated hotel room. The room needs to have the ‘wow’ factor of a professionally designed room but at the same time allow the guest to do practical tasks. The transition from mood lighting to task lighting needs to be as intuitive as possible. A guest cannot walk away from their stay at a hotel feeling the controls were over complicated to use, this will reflect badly on there overall impression of their visit. For example a keypad in the bathroom needs to have specific labels on each button, ‘shave’, ‘shower’, ‘bathe’, ‘on’, ‘off’. Keep it simple, keep it right!


With sustainability remaining a key concern in the hotel industry, how can a hotel reduce its energy usage and be ‘green’?

PR: Along with air conditioning, the lighting offers huge potential energy savings. Using efficient luminaires together with intelligent lighting control systems savings of between twenty and fifty per cent are possible.

CT: The ‘green credentials’ are actually only made easy if the hotel industry accepts that they become fully educated in the realms of lights and light sources. Because their priority is to run hotels, they should always, in my opinion, engage the lighting professionals for their expertise. Being ‘green’ will be to ensure products come from sustainable and reputable sources as a priority, that luminaires perform in terms of both comfort and functionality and not just punch out huge amounts of light, and that design for people and spaces remains the driver, not just energy alone.

MT: There are a few main points to consider. Firstly by reducing the voltage by just 5V and steadily dimming up to the desired level you can potentially double the life span of every fixture in the hotel. You can also use motion sensors and ambient light sensors to decide whether the room needs to operate at its full potential. Another key application is in the bathroom. Often a guest will leave these lights on when no longer needed, this can now be automatically turned down to a warm inviting glow after a period of no motion. All of these things can be controlled and monitored from a central location using software such as Crestron roomview which tells us the state of every room and the carbon footprint left by every suite.