Imagine a world where light switches don’t exist. Your factory floor is illuminated only when and where it needs to be. Your administration offices feature light fixtures that have more intelligence, providing services, such as public address, WiFi, and security, and they’re incredibly energy-efficient. This is the future of lighting. And you can make it happen today.

Already in the marketplace, there are light bulbs and lighting fixtures which produce some of these effects. High-efficiency LED bulbs are already available for most industrial and commercial needs, and they aren’t even custom-designed. You can find LED bulbs designed to fit most existing receptacles, and while the price is currently slightly prohibitive, it will go down. LED bulbs that replace the old tube fluorescents are already available, and in the near future will have additional features.

Light fixtures that detect motion are also already available, but this is a flawed technology in that it only activates lighting when there is motion in a room. Future lighting fixtures will contain heat and motion sensors, turning on lights when a warm body is in the room, even if that person isn’t moving enough to trigger the motion sensor, enabling good lighting for office workers, and reducing the turn-off time once everyone has left for the day.

Lightbulbs containing WiFi repeaters or security cameras are also already available, although these are consider niche products, your business could definitely benefit from converting to the secure wireless connections offered by these ‘near-future’ systems, especially once they’re integrated into a single bulb or fixture. Costing slightly more to implement, the cost savings add up over the increased lifespan of newer bulbs. And newer bulbs are living longer and longer with every iteration.

Consider the future of lighting your workspace now, and invest in better illumination for the future.