Market for LED Bulbs To Boom in the Next Decade, Study Says

The market for light-emitting diodes (LEDs) should grow dramatically over the next decade, passing compact flourescent lightbulbs as the biggest emerging lighting product, according to a new report. LEDs — a light source made from semiconductors — will account for 46 percent of the $4.6 million commercial and industrial lighting market by 2020, says the report by Colorado-based Pike Research. LEDs currently make up about 2 percent of the market. A shift toward LEDs among commercial customers and municipalities, rather than homeowners, will drive this transformation, the report says, since businesses will be more likely to invest money upfront if they benefit from long-term cost-efficiencies. LED lights burn for 50,000 hours, and are twice as energy efficient as fluorescent bulbs and up to six times more efficient than incandescent bulbs. “As energy efficiency becomes increasingly important… governments and organizations have looked to lighting as the ‘low hanging fruit,’” the report says. The biggest obstacle for LEDs is cost: Bulbs currently cost $50 to $100, compared to $2 to $10 for flourescents. But long-term efficiency will make the investment worthwhile, the study says.