The lighting industry is transitioning through business altering changes and will become more robust than its barely noticeable compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6% over the last five years would suggest, according to SBI Energy’s new industry study LED and Energy Efficient Lighting Worldwide Markets: Indoor, Outdoor, Residential, Commercial. Substantial changes are in the air for this market due to the influx of new applications for light emitting diodes (LEDs) and other solid state lighting (SSL) sources. These transformations are already shaking some established companies and making room for new ones.
“Business headlines are bursting with news about the end of the incandescent light bulb and the birth of a new era in lighting. The ‘Age of Edison’ is over and the ‘Solid State Lighting Age’ has just begun. The repercussions manifest themselves from the raw materials, through the type of manufacturing facility, and sub-assembly plants,” says Jean Diener, SBI Energy analyst and author of the report. “The switch from incandescent to solid state lighting has been so abrupt that both CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps) and LEDs may be in short supply over the next two years.”
Within the SSL segment, LEDs are impacting applications throughout each of the major lighting market segments and companies are reorganizing or forming to meet these challenges. These segments as described in the report include General Illumination, Indoor Lighting consisting of residential, office, retail, commercial, and industrial uses; General Illumination, Outdoor Lighting comprised of lighting for sports arenas, roadways, yards, parking lots, and other public places; Illuminated Signage used for traffic control lights on highways and runways, signs for information and advertising, and highway directional signs;
Vehicular Lighting for headlights, tail lights, and interior lighting; Display Technologies for flashlights, diving lights, bicycle lights, and other portable devices; and lastly Specialty/Other applications for select surgical devices, ultraviolet (UV) lamps for tanning, and infrared (IR) lamps for space heaters.
In 2009, approximately two-thirds—$49 billion—of the world lighting market by value consisted of General Illumination, which makes sense considering that on average half the day is dark and a good portion of the lighted part of day people spend indoors. The other lighting segments comprised the market’s remaining $23 billion.
SBI Energy forecasts tremendous growth potential for the Illuminated Signage and Electronic Displays segments. Illuminated Signage has great promise particularly in the area of digital billboards and other large scale digital displays. The declining price of LEDs, increasing number of suppliers, the low cost of maintenance and content updating makes these signs an attractive marketing tool. Meanwhile, Electronic Displays especially as part of LED-backlit LCD televisions are expected to experience exciting growth as prices for these televisions continue to drop in correlation with price drops for LEDs and because televisions are a relatively affordable “feel-good” purchase for consumers that represent luxury and self-indulgence after a fairly bitter recession.
Less enthusiasm is held for the Vehicular Lighting segment. “LEDs will certainly expand in market penetration but until electric cars are more common it is difficult to see mass conversion to new light sources that are expensive, still require significant research to be incorporated in headlamps, and on the green scorecard, do very little to cut fuel consumption. High end cars will be equipped with more and more LED lighting but adoption by the family priced cars will take another three to five years,” says Diener.
LED and Energy Efficient Lighting Worldwide Markets: Indoor, Outdoor, Residential, Commercial reviews industry technologies and their applications in general illumination, illuminated signage, electronic displays and vehicular lighting applications. The report contains comprehensive data on the U.S. and international market for lighting elements of all types.
Historic data goes back to 2005, while projections are made though 2014. Data is presented on value and volume of shipments and estimates made of future market size for established and developing technologies. A key chapter discusses the many influences on the market and their interaction. The study profiles major marketers and companies to watch as this shakeout continues.
