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General Lighting LED

Good News for the Environment: Americans Have Embraced LED

Osram Sylvania has released their seventh annual socket survey and I, Dr. Bulb, believe the results are encouraging. It seems that the speedy development of LED technology has helped raise it to the top of the lighting market. Osram’s report shows that 78% of Americans surveyed have made the switch from incandescent to LED.

LED lighting has, since its inception, made a slow but steady climb to the top of the lighting market. At first, the high cost of production made LEDs more expensive than most people could afford. Despite the long term savings, many were not willing to make the initial investment. For a time it was the compact fluorescent (CFL) bulb which held dominance over the energy efficient lighting market. However, for both the LED and the CFL, the bright blue-white light was an off-putting factor that sent many traditionalists running for the incandescent bulbs.

Now, advancements in LED technology have reduced the initial price point with more efficient materials that are easier to produce and better CRI that is friendlier to the human eye. As the “human centric lighting” movement gathers speed, LED products are currently in production that are able to change their color temperature to suit the consumer’s needs. LEDs have gained ground in other aspects of technology as well. Recent developments in Visual Light Communication (VLC) have made incredible smart lighting technologies possible.

The Osram Socket Survey indicates that 62% of Americans are aware of innovations in smart lighting, though only 10% have actually purchased smart bulbs for their homes. Although the latter number is small right now, Osram’s findings indicate the the smart lighting trend will continue to grow: 83% of Americans surveyed believe smart lighting is a great start to home automation with 72% believing that smart lighting will soon replace all traditional lighting technologies.
The outlook for the future of energy efficiency is, pardon the pun, very well lit. The majority of the consumers surveyed who use LED bulbs belong to the Millennial generation, demonstrating in clear numerical facts that the ‘kids these days’ are doing their part to help the environment. The continued trend in LED adoption and development of home automation via smart lighting innovations could be a turning point in the way the US uses energy.