A recent survey conducted by the
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine reports that
despite residential and commercial industries widely adopting
energy-efficient light emitting diodes (LEDs), the drop in LED prices
is driving away manufacturers because of decreased profitability,
dramatically dislocating and restructuring the solid-state lighting
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marketplace.
Since the last Academies report in 2013 that assessed the state of
solid-state lighting -- which uses diodes, a semiconductor technology,
as an alternative light source to incandescent bulbs -- the annual
residential installation of LED bulbs has increased six-fold between
2012 and 2014, from 13 million to 78 million.
The report also cites the emergence of new applications for
solid-state lighting that have the potential to create new markets and
commercial opportunities for the industry, as well as add value to
aspects related to quality of life.
For example, product and lighting designers are exploring options that
collect and process data from the illuminated environment and offer
additional features to consumers.
Developing new products with multiple features that offer functions
beyond illumination could promise higher margins for manufacturers,
said the committee that conducted the study and wrote the new report.
The report warns that the successful proliferation of such
applications would not focus on the reduction of energy consumption
alone, but the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) should think of ways to
continue to improve their efficiency, given their inevitable growth.
The committee recommended developing strategies for supporting broader
research that enables more efficient use of light across all
applications, with attention to both the lighting design process and
the design of lighting products.
With the possible emergence of new applications for solid state
lighting, both consumers and industry need to be more fully educated
about the transformative and broader implications of solid state
lighting, the report highlights.
To achieve this, DOE should partner with industry, states, and utility
companies to develop and implement a public outreach program to deploy
solid-state lighting.