COVID-19 is one of the biggest health concerns the world has witnessed in decades. The (still) incurable disease has claimed millions of lives and resulted in a huge economic slowdown all over the world. Nevertheless, our world is a strong place and it is recovering each day.

The pandemic has changed the way people used to work and offices used to operate. It has boosted the culture of remote working, commonly known as “Work from Home”. However, many commercial sectors still require physical presence of the employees. Thus, they are taking all necessary precautionary measures in order to safeguard the health and wellness of their employees during these tough times.

Moreover, changing scenarios in the commercial sectors have also laid an influence on the lighting domain. The world is experiencing new lighting trends and the role of lighting has become somewhat bigger than merely providing right illumination.

Here are some latest lighting trends witnessed in the new normal since the COVID-19 pandemic:

• Rising popularity of UV lights

The COVID-19 pandemic has made us realise the importance of safe and germ-free workspaces and the environment. This has increased the popularity of germicidal lights or UV lights in a lot of commercial spaces, be it hospitals, modern workspaces, or educational institutions. UV lights are highly effective in disinfecting and sterilizing the workspaces quickly. They can damage the RNA and DNA of viruses, bacteria and other microbes to curb virus transmission. For instance, ULTRARAY™, a range of UV lights by Wipro Lighting is capable of killing bacteria and viruses from the air as well as the surfaces.

• Smart and connected lighting

Light switches and controls are some of the highly touched points that can become the source of virus transmission. Thus, many commercial spaces are now switching to smart lighting solutions due to their remote operating capabilities. After all, if lights can be operated from your mobile phone, you don’t need to touch the switches. Moreover, the demand for smart lighting controls such as occupancy sensors and dimmers is likely to experience a notable rise in the coming future.

• Growing importance of lighting ergonomics at home

Staying back and working from home has become the new normal. Thus, the importance of lighting ergonomics has greatly increased in residential spaces. Lighting tends to influence our productivity and energy levels. Therefore, the need of installing appropriate lighting solutions that complement our energy and alertness levels has drastically increased.

The new normal after the COVID-19 pandemic is an example that the world keeps moving on, despite all the challenges and troubles. People adjust to the situation and get back to work eventually. For instance, majority of the commercial services are resuming gradually and workspaces are again opening their doors for their employees. While things are not the same as before, they will soon be.