‘Light Middle East 2011’, the region’s premier conference and exhibition for lighting design and technology, will focus on energy-efficient and environmentally friendly lighting solutions and design.

The event, which will run from September 12 to 14 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, will highlight the latest trends and developments in the industry and reflects the increasing concern over green issues that are impacting the world of lighting internationally.

Building and home automation systems which drastically bring down high energy bills without affecting overall efficiency are among the increasingly popular developments that have been taking the world by storm recently due to the growing concern about the need to conserve resources and limit waste, said a statement.

According to recent research, the world market for home automation is expected to be worth $2.8 billion by 2015. While North America and Europe lead the world in installing home automation systems, ongoing developments in offices and homes regionally, has also driven demand for these systems in the Middle East, it said.

These and other innovations that promote green energy use are expected to be under the spotlight at Light Middle East 2011.

“Currently, the relatively affluent societies of the Middle East are one of the highest energy consumers in the world, thanks to the extreme climatic conditions that prevail here for most of the year,” said Ahmed Pauwels, chief executive officer of organiser, Epoc Messe Frankfurt.

“Climate control and cooling systems are the heaviest users of energy regionally. However the drive to attain green building standards and environmentally responsible development that has been put in place by government authorities, is expected to spur demand for home and building automation systems,” he added.

Automation systems work by regulating the flow of energy to lighting and heating systems, appliances and other installations according to when they are needed. Lighting and heating systems can be controlled and switched on and off as required either through a remote control or over the internet.

This makes it easy to turn off these systems or appliances when not required and adjust levels to use less energy. The use of these automation systems can bring about considerable savings in the overall energy bills for the consumer, a statement said.

The Schreder Group, who specialises in the conception and manufacturing of outdoor luminaires and floodlights, will be featuring the latest in control systems which allow wireless monitoring and control of public lighting installations at the upcoming edition of Light Middle East.

Thorn of the Zumtobel Group is another exhibitor that will be featuring its range of control systems with a particular emphasis on the ‘touch and feel’ experience of the PEC (Performance, Efficiency, Comfort) Tourit said.

The drive to implement green building standards is ongoing in the countries of the GCC which can be seen in cities such as Abu Dhabi who recently introduced the Estidama Pearl Rating System to assure sustainability is continually addressed within the city.

Governments around the region are spearheading the drive to increase the use of automation and smart technology in their ongoing efforts to conserve energy and promote responsible development, it said. – TradeArabia News Service