With a compound annual growth rate of 22%, the LED luminaire market will reach $8.3 billion in 2014.

Growth rates among different applications will vary, but the total global market for LED luminaires is expected to grow to $8.3 billion by 2014, according to a new report from Strategies Unlimited.

The report, entitled “LED Luminaires, Market Analysis & Forecast,” includes nine LED lighting application segments, and analyzes the period from 2008 to 2014.

According to the Mountain View, CA-based research firm, a number of factors have created conditions for the adoption of white-light LED applications, which otherwise would have faced the low-volume, high-cost conundrum.

These factors include rapid improvements in performance and price of commercially-available high-brightness LED packages; heightened awareness about energy efficiency; phasing out of incandescent bulbs; and fiscal stimulus undertaken by various countries around the world,

Quality issues that affected the market penetration of previous energy-efficient lighting technologies continue to affect this market. However, the resolve to reduce energy consumption is likely to propel LED technology to be widely commercialized and adopted by the market.

For many applications, the quality of LEDs has improved to a point that performance is no longer an issue. Instead, the main issue is now the price of designing LEDs into luminaires.

Strategies Unlimited says that China is the largest market for, as well as the largest supplier of, LED luminaires. Other points discussed in the report include:

• Being the most efficient light-source technology for battery-powered applications requiring a directional beam of light, consumer-portable applications were the largest segment of the LED luminaire market in 2010.

• Color and color-changing applications in architectural and entertainment segments together had revenues of more than $1 billion in 2010.

• Although starting from a small base, residential lighting is expected to be the fastest-growing segment of the market, with a CAGR of 44% through 2014.

• Global revenues for LED luminaires in commercial/industrial applications are expected to exceed $1 billion in 2011.

• Outdoor-area lighting applications, which benefitted from fiscal stimulus and the need for energy conservation, are expected to grow at a CAGR of 38% through 2014.

• Solar-powered lanterns will be a low-margin, high-volume application, assisted by non-government organizations (NGOs) and governments trying to save fuel subsidies.

• LED exit signs have become a mature market in the US, and are in the initial stage of market penetration for white-light egress-signage lighting outside the US.

“LED Luminaires, Market Analysis & Forecast” is the latest report from Strategies Unlimited covering the LED and lighting markets. Previous market-research reports include HB-LEDs (June 2010), HB-LEDs in Lighting (March 2010), LED Replacement Lamps (June 2009), and LED Lighting Fixtures (January 2009).

About the Author 

Tim Whitaker is the Editor of LEDs Magazine.