3 August 2015

LEDs reach 19% penetration of transportation lamp market revenue

Light-emitting diode (LED) lamps in transportation lighting will rise to $0.2bn in 2015, reaching 19% of the total $1bn transportation lamp market, forecasts market research firm IHS Inc according to a Research Note from Jamie Fox, principal analyst for Lighting and LEDs.

LEDs, which are increasing their market penetration, generally have high initial installation cost but lower maintenance and energy costs. The other main technology is high-intensity discharge (HID).

The key factors used to make decisions about transportation lighting installations are security, quality of light, upfront costs, running costs, and ease of maintenance. LEDs do well in most of these categories, says IHS, but one notable exception is initial installation cost, which is higher than other technologies. In transportation lighting projects installed in 2014, service and maintenance accounted for 21% of project cost, compared with 58% for equipment, 17% for installation, and 4% for design and engineering. 

Increasing use of LED lighting is only part of the story, as the lighting industry is also a shifting toward smart lighting, which is just beginning to penetrate the transportation sector (especially in urban street lighting), notes the market reseach firm. The reasons for the shift to smart lighting are two-fold. First, it is common to dim or turn off lighting, depending on the time of day or ambient light levels. Second, centralized control of multiple street and transport lights is becoming more common. "Eventually you are going to have every single light fitting monitored, you will know how it is working and when it is not working; everything will be centralized," according to one rail operator.

Tags: LED market Lighting market

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