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General Lighting LED

New Reports Show LED Sales are Gaining on CFLs

Lighting trends have gone through a major transformation over the last decade or so. For many years, the design of the lamps remained about the same, with only a few minor adjustments over time but nothing new in terms of lighting capability, design, or energy efficiency. LEDs reached the market with the intention of giving traditional lamps competition in both the business and home markets—for example, the compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) that are currently dominating the market. Where those LED lamps fell short was the increased price point.

While the quality of light of the LED lamps was comparable, the cost was not. In the long-run, LED lamps can provide significant savings due to the energy efficient design, however those looking at the short-term costs were initially deterred from transitioning to the LED lamps. Now, with LED lamps and luminaires becoming more affordable, it looks as though the popularity of LED lamps are growing fast as a means for lighting a home, a parking lot, and just about everything else in between.

A recent annual benchmark survey commissioned by Osram Sylvania measures the public attitudes and awareness of energy efficient trends in the lighting market. This survey showed that 53% of the 1,000 people polled use CFLs in their home or business. However, 41% of the people surveyed are now using LED lamps. This trend shows that LED lamps could push the more traditional CFLs off the market in the same way incandescent lamps were pushed out by CFLs in 2014. The CFLs are not gone yet though, as 37% of those asked said they would buy the same CFL lamps again.

The loyalty of LED users is growing as well, with 35% stating that they would continue to use those lamps. The survey further uncovered that those who have switched to LED lamps are less likely to switch back as people start to weigh not only their long-term out-of-pocket costs but the life-span and energy efficiency aspects as well.

The main popularity behind the LED lights is the quality of the light produced and the fact that LED lights are brighter and do not generate the same amount of heat. The cost of LEDs vs. CFLs still tilts in the CFL’s favor. There are some general purpose LED light bulbs that sell for around nine dollars each and even less at some major discount retailers. Still, those single pack LED lamps do costs more than the three pack of CFLs priced at about ten dollars, however the markets are showing that the LED bulbs are starting to go down in price and push the lighting trends towards LEDs.