Even though the efficiency of other lamps, ballasts and luminaires continues to improve, the majority of the product explosion is due to the arrival on these shores of LED products and technologies. Now and for the foreseeable future, new lighting products using LED technology will outnumber all other lighting products by a factor of 10 to one! And even though many significant advances have been realized in the field of lighting controls, ballast technologies and indeed in other lamp sources, they are coming to market at a time when that LED “tidal wave” threatens to overshadow even the best of these other products.

LED s have changed the thinking in every sector of the lighting industry, due in large part to the manner in which they arrived on the scene, so full of promise that no one could ignore their potential. Who could forget the claims of 100,000 hours of life, 60 – 70 lumens/watt efficacy and great CRI (Color Rendering Index) numbers in a range of pleasing color temperatures? What was not to like? Well, here’s what I know: It is still an emerging technology and should be treated as such, just as we did in the past with every other emerging technology. Why? Because it, like those other technologies before it, is fraught with as yet unsolved problems, in addition to the fact that the fixtures themselves are now, and will continue to be, very expensive.

Heat management continues to be an issue. Because of this, manufacturers of LEDs have already started to back away from those earlier claims of extraordinary lamp life. For instance, we recently took possession of a 16w PAR 38 LED product that was only claiming 20,000 hours of rated life, which, though still very good, is a far cry from 100,000 hours. Color also continues to be an issue. LEDs perform most efficiently in the blue portion of the spectrum. Unfortunately, that makes them almost totally unacceptable for interior applications, and filtering the output to a more acceptable “warm” white reduces the efficacy to a very ordinary level, no better than halogen incandescent. Color rendering remains problematic, so much so that the entire LED industry is trying to have the CRI system replaced with one that makes them look more favorable: the Color Quality Scale.

We firmly believe though that given time, these problems will be solved, one by one, over the long haul. Because there is so much at stake, engineers are working 24/7/365 in an attempt to get them solved. The commitment seems to be there. Beyond the kinds of luminaires and applications in which LEDs have always worked well (such as exit signs, step lights, under cabinet fixtures, etc), we are beginning to see the kinds of products that we can feel good about recommending—general purpose downlights, accent lights and wall washers being chief among them.

However, many of the LED applications are simply not yet ready for prime time. My fear is that in order to not be left behind, even high-end manufacturers will rush to market before products are fully tested. In the end, the greatest challenge may not even be the technology itself, but whether the LED lamp and luminaire Original Electrical Manufacturers (OEMs) can somehow co-exist, or possibly even merge, with the semiconductor industry, which is looking to lighting as its next logical business step. Brace yourselves.