A report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine says that although residential and commercial industries are widely adopting energy-efficient LEDs, the drop in LED prices is driving away manufacturers because of decreased profitability, dramatically dislocating and restructuring the solid-state lighting marketplace. Since the last Academies report, 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 author. 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 should think of ways to continue to improve their efficiency, given their inevitable growth. The report suggests that 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. To achieve this, the Academies suggests the Department of Energy partner with industry, states and utility companies to develop and implement a public outreach program to deploy solid-state lighting.
