November 25, 2008

LED Suppliers Expect Biz to Double to $8.61 By 2011

LED suppliers are targeting commercial and industrial power users because there is a shorter time frame for return on investment.  However, LED suppliers are not yet targeting the residential market, partly because LED bulbs cost much more than fluorescents, Arkansas Democrat Gazette reports.

University of Arkansas installed LED streetlight fixtures, which are expected to reduce the university’s energy consumption by 75 percent compared with wattage used by the current sodium vapor light, UA’s executive assistant for sustainability, Nick Brown, told the paper.

The LED streetlight technology cost $1,200 per LED light fixture, compared with $400 for a sodium vapor light fixture, but the university says it expects to get a return on the investment through the technology’s lower maintenance costs and longer lifespan.

LEDs have been touted as lasting up to 50,000 hours compared with 5,000 hours for incandescent bulbs and 8,000 hours for fluorescent bulbs.

The U.S. LED industry is currently estimated to be around $4.6 billion. But according to data from Canaccord Adams, LED technology sales are expected to nearly double to $8. 61 billion in the next three years for “high brightness LEDs.”

In January, the City of Austin joined the LED City program to deploy and promote energy-efficient LED lighting.

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