High brightness LEDs (HB-LEDs) had a global consumption of $4.9bn in 2009. Forecasts market research firm ElectroniCast Consultants project this number to triple by 2015.
“The use of solid-state lighting (SSL) is increasing, accelerated by government-based research, initiatives, regulations and incentives from one region to the next,” Montgomery continues. “The use of LED-based general lighting is initiated from local, state/provincial-based retrofitting projects – then to commercial/business – and eventually to the consumer-level.”
This examination of the changing market shows expansion in types of HB-LEDs used in selected applications. “The LED industry is on the threshold of a new expansion phase — a phase that will be characterized by growth rates in the high double digits during the next three years,” says Dr Jagdish Rebello, director & principal analyst. “This growth will be driven by the increased adoption of high-brightness (HB) and high-flux [high-power or ultra-high-brightness (UHB)] LEDs into a new range of next-generation lighting applications,” he adds. LED revenues were $6.7bn in 2008, and will grow by 10.9% in 2009 to $7.4bn (in stark contrast to the overall semiconductor market, which is expected to contract by 12.4% because of the slowdown in the global economy). By 2013, the LED market will reach $14.3bn, nearly double from 2009.
Beyond general illumination, this growth is being driven by the rising penetration of LEDs as the lighting source of choice for many existing lighting applications, including automotive, traffic and street lighting, the backlighting of small LCD displays and keypads in mobile handsets, personal navigation devices, digital picture frames and cameras. The market is also being boosted by the emergence of new applications, such as backlighting of large-sized LCDs in TVs, notebooks and computer monitors and personal illumination.
LEDs are already being used in various indoor and outdoor decorative illumination applications and are just starting to target the market for general lighting in homes and enterprises, the firm continues. In addition to the performance advantages offered by solid-state lighting, legislation around the world is increasingly seeking to ban the use of incandescent light in favor of more energy-efficient light sources, pushing LEDs rapidly into mainstream general illumination. For more information, please visit here.