With technological advancements vastly improving within the lighting sector, lighting manufacturer Spazio has begun to integrate solar, automation and LED technologies into its light fittings.

Spazio marketing manager Moynene Bredenkamp says that solar lighting technology has seen massive improvements over the last few years, which has made it a popular choice as an exterior domestic application in South Africa.

She notes that, aside from obviously offering the advantage of being mostly unaffected by the protracted energy crisis and resulting lengthy periods of loadshedding, solar lighting has several advantages that make it a “perfect solution” for domestic installations.

She cites the technological improvements that have resulted in solar fittings producing higher lumen outputs than before, which has allowed them to compete with traditional lighting solutions.

Bredenkamp adds that charge times have also decreased, while an increase in operating times has enabled the solar lights to stay illuminated for longer periods overnight.

She points out that another crucial benefit of solar light fittings, that is occasionally overlooked, is that these fittings do not require any wiring. This means that they can be installed on any exterior surface exposed to a lot of sunlight without the “worry” of cables.

Given these improvements, Spazio launched its new solar lighting products, the Sunmite and Sunmite Mini, at the end of 2023. These compact solar wall fittings are suitable for wall or foot lighting in domestic installations with 1 000 lm and 350 lm output, respectively.

Additionally, Spazio introduced its Sunwave floodlight earlier this year. It is available in three different sizes with a high-powered solar panel that is separate from the light fitting, making it ideal for areas requiring more light.

Automation Advancements

Keeping up with the advancements in automation, Spazio has introduced its smart dimmers and RGB, CTC COB tape.

The smart dimmers can be connected to home automation apps such as Tuya, Google assistant, Phillips Hue and more, allowing users to change the lighting output in spaces “with the touch of a button”, says Bredenkamp.

“We appreciate the fact that each industrial and commercial lighting project is unique, and we try to adapt to this reality by offering products that give the client the freedom to set up their lighting in a particular space based on their individual requirements.”

Additionally, with the introduction of Spazio’s range of smart dimmers, customers will also have the freedom to remotely change the lighting parameters and/or requirements using their phones, regardless of their location.

She notes that this results in customers being able to adjust lighting within a specific space, depending on the time of day or season.

Meanwhile, Spazio’s RGB, CTC COB tape is LED tape that can connect to a remote control or device-based app, allowing customers to change the colour, dimming levels and other characteristics of the tape.

LED Integration

“We have been introducing an increasing number of light fittings with integrated LED light sources, but we are also aware that, for certain applications, clients want the freedom to be able to replace the light source,” explains Bredenkamp.

She adds that, for those customers, the E14, E27, Gu10 or G9 lamps would be ideal.

Additionally, Spazio supplies all these lamps in LED, energy-efficient versions exclusively and encourages its customers to only install LED light sources with its light fittings.

Bredenkamp highlights, “the conversion of our entire range of lighting offerings to either integrate LEDs or include compatibility with LED lamps has been a major step in improving the sustainability of our lighting products”.

Spazio is also continually trying to find ways to streamline its processes and operations in line with the global trend toward sustainability, taking steps towards acquiring eco-friendly and recyclable packaging for its products.

Bredenkamp concludes, “we believe that this is only the beginning, and we will surely see more innovative smart products introduced into the market in the near future”.