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LED lights overwhelmingly dominated Lightfair.
By M. Nisa Khan, Ph.D.
Recently, numerous acquaintances have contacted me regarding LED lighting articles they’ve read in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. After having read of this new technology, these friends became excited and, knowing I had firsthand knowledge, telephoned to discuss LED uses and concepts.
After having received the first few calls, I knew something, a sea change perhaps, was looming. My friends had sensed -- no, signaled -- an LED upsurge.
I had similar feelings after visiting this year’s Lightfair tradeshow in NYC. It’s among the world’s largest, annual, architectural and commercial lighting tradeshows, and, in May, it celebrated its 20th anniversary with recordbreaking attendance: more than 23,000 people and 475 exhibitors. From the Lightfair Institute’s opening-day, innovation-award ceremony (where LED-based luminaires garnered the most awards) to the 170,000-sq.-ft. exhibit floor, LED lights, for the first time, overwhelmingly dominated the show.
At Lightfair, David DiLaura, an authoritative and renowned lighting designer, shared valuable insights in his “20 Years of Light and Lighting” address. He said a divergent group of scientists -- ones with no prior lighting affiliations -- brought LEDs to market. At that time, DiLaura said, this group lacked lighting knowledge, but, he added, this will soon change.
He also said lighting professionals must accept LEDs because the technology has shown notable lighting capabilities. So much so that General Electric recently announced its discontinuance of its previously touted, high-efficiency, incandescent (HEI) lamps, because it now believes LEDs will be the future lighting choice.
This is extraordinary news -- but what does it mean? Also, when will common-use LEDs be available to consumers -- and will they buy?
Incandescent and CFL comparisons
LED lamps have numerous commercial applications, but the recent attraction, particularly to white-light LEDs, has intensified because of LEDs’ improvements concerning everyday lighting. Essentially, LEDs now promise higher efficiency and longer lifespans in our homes and businesses. The visionaries say LEDs will blow out the Edison-type, screw-base lightbulbs, as they did the gas lamps, more than a century ago. This same squad says LEDs will also take out the now-popular and energy-efficient compact-fluorescent lights (CFLs).
However, this vision can’t take hold until LEDs match the basic traits of incandescent: omnidirectional light and consistent, warm-white color.
Challenges and prospects