LED manufacturers see a bright future
by Frank Norton
Every technology trend requires early adopters, the trendsetters who embrace new gadgets before they are ready for prime time. In the race to find a better light bulb, there’s Alan Falk.
He recently began installing lighting built from tiny chips, light-emitting diodes or LEDs. They use less power than traditional bulbs, don’t have the harmful mercury found in fluorescent lights and can last for 20 years. They are still too expensive to use in every light fixture in his house, but Falk has put two reading lamps in the bedroom, flood lamps over the deck and directional lamps on his Prius and cargo trailer, all LEDs.
Recent advances in LEDs’ brightness, ambience and durability got Falk interested in buying and promoting the technology. "I was a proselytizer for hybrid cars, and now I’m doing it for LEDs," said Falk, a retired engineer in Raleigh. LED lights have been used in cell phones and car dashboards and for industrial settings for years. As costs decline and technology improves, LEDs are catching on in a broader market.
The city of Raleigh, N.C., began installing them in parking garages this year. North Carolina State University is testing them for campus housing. Retailers are selling flashlights and strings of Christmas LEDs. The next step is home and office lighting. Part of that push will be driven by General Electric, Philips and other traditional light bulb makers. Philips announced last month that it will buy LED lighting-fixture company Genlyte for $2.7 billion.
Based on technology advances, industry analysts think prices will fall enough to attract a much wider range of consumers next year. That should coincide with the appearance of general-purpose LED lights on store shelves. Right now, distributors are selling the products mostly to electricians and contractors.
Falk bought his on eBay. But until prices fall, few consumers will pay a premium to switch their homes and offices to LEDs. Even Falk, a trendsetter since he bought Mazda’s first rotary-engine model in 1973, stopped short of a full-home conversion. He said LEDs have to drop in price before savings from their low-power consumption justify the expense of replacing dozens of bulbs.