Energy-efficient solutions are the way forward in the lighting industry, finds Frost & Sullivan

Date Announced: 31 Mar 2011 Mountain View, CA - Lighting technology developers have received a huge boost with the rising ecology trend and regulations introduced by governments throughout the world to ban inefficient light sources such as incandescent lamps. Many countries are encouraging the adoption of energy-saving solutions such as compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and light emitting diodes (LEDs) and are appealing to citizens to use more environment-friendly lighting technologies.By 2012, energy-inefficient light bulbs are likely to be withdrawn from the markets in many countries, which will open new opportunities for CFL, halogen and LED solutions.New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Emerging Lighting Technologies, finds that future trends in the lighting area would be stimulated by four main factors: the need for better technical parameters, wider adoption of lighting controls systems, biodynamic lightings systems, and energy efficiency.If you are interested in more information on this study, please send an e-mail to Britni Myers, Corporate Communications, at [email protected], with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company e-mail address, company website, city, state and country."Moreover, encouraged by the continuous interest in electric vehicles (EVs) as well as improvements in lithium-ion battery technology, EVs' infrastructure is likely to improve with higher numbers of charging stations and more solutions for the recycling of batteries," said Technical Insights research manager Vishnu Sivadevan. "EV will stimulate the integration of energy efficient and compact lighting technologies such as LEDs, thus creating a large market for LED light bulbs."However, to increase the uptake of cutting-edge technologies, developers will have to concentrate on technology improvements to decrease the cost and make the solution more competitive than other energy-efficient lighting technologies such as CFL or halogen.In the LED area, demand currently outstrips supplies, which places additional pressure on pricing. To deal with this situation, facilities can either expand their capacities or raise prices. The latter solution, in turn, could possibly lead to suppliers keeping prices artificially high.Technology developers have not yet explored all the design options to make their lighting technology more efficient and suitable for specific end-user requirements. They also have limited knowledge about various control system solutions that could work together with the lighting.Apart from the cost and awareness issues, other significant challenges in the development of new technologies are lighting efficacy, thermal management, color rendering index (CRI), dimming possibility, uniformity of colors (mainly in case of architectural and commercial applications), and color stability. Other hindrances include limited range of lighting system components and a lack of knowledge about lighting technologies.To accelerate adoption rates, lighting developers must resolve technology issues, starting from the chip to additional lighting components such as luminaries, dimmers, lenses and drivers. Meanwhile, major companies are looking to plug the gap in demand and supply by building new facilities in low-cost regions such as China. The lamp providers also need to educate customers on all the ways to make lighting more efficient and make them aware of the impact of proper lighting system on the employees' efficiency (circadian rhythm). Better knowledge on the circadian rhythm creates a need for a particular type of the light source with higher CRI.As pro-ecological solutions become increasingly relevant, lighting technology companies are developing lighting control systems for various application areas including buildings, streets and many others. Such a trend could influence the wider adoption of the LED sources with higher energy efficiency and features such as instant switching on, off or dim-ability."Another trend observed in the lighting industry are bio-dynamic lighting systems," said Sivadevan. "Such systems not only need suitable light sources, but also more advanced control systems to achieve the dynamic modifications in lighting."Emerging Lighting Technologies, a part of the Technical Insights subscription, provides an insight into the development trends in the lighting technologies and other lighting system components. It also analyzes adoption factors and technology development strengths and gaps in the lighting industry. Further, this research service includes detailed technology analysis and industry trends evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.Technical Insights is an international technology analysis business that produces a variety of technical news alerts, newsletters and research services.About Frost & SullivanFrost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best-in-class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best-practice models to drive the generation, evaluation, and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages 50 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from more than 40 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit http://www.frost.com.

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