LED bulbs have replaced less efficient incandescent and fluorescent and have become the mainstay of both resident and commercial lighting. They are the most efficient lighting option available to date. LEDs consume 10 watts to produce the same amount of light as a 60 watts incandescent lamp. LEDs have achieved this pinnacle in energy efficiency by converting most of their energy into light. Today LED technology is advancing more quickly than its predecessors.
Earliest LEDs that appeared in the early 1960s emitted low-intensity infrared light. There were used in remote control and a variety of consumer electronics. LEDs in the visible light range were expansive and limited in color. They were mainly used in indicator lamps, replacing small incandescent bulbs, and in seven-segment displays. Later development expanded their application in fields as diverse as aviation lighting, fairy lights, automotive headlamps, advertising, general lighting, traffic signals, camera flashes, lighted wallpaper, horticultural grow lights, and medical devices.
Single-color LEDs that emit light in a limited band of wavelengths ranging from near-infrared to visible to ultraviolet can be created by using different semiconductor materials. Today LEDs are available in a variety of color temperatures. The soft white (2700K) color temperature of LED is ideal for lobbies, guest rooms, and residential living areas. For workspaces such as kitchens, garages, and warehouses, bright white (4000K) is preferred. Daylight (5000K) promotes productivity and is ideal for reading, working, and any other activity that requires concentration and high energy.
Since the introduction of LED to outdoor lighting, many users like municipalities, power utilities, private and public sector enterprises and individual users have been able to reduce a lot of energy consumption. Royer Zuleta, Global Product Manager, Lighting and Installation Products at TE Connectivity, says, “Further savings could be achieved by the introduction of smart lighting controls that help drive further efficiency, at the same time, expanding the lifespan of LED luminaires, helping the environment, and contributing to the circular economy.” “For this reason, TE Connectivity has produced a wide range of connectors, bases and domes that enable designers, engineers, and system architects to develop solutions for standalone-automated, or remotely accessible smart lighting controls and sensors, that make the outdoor street lighting infrastructure smarter, accessible, and more flexible.” he further added.
Growing application of LEDs: –
The application of LEDs is not just limited to lighting. It has replaced Cathode Ray Tubes in monitors and now much more efficient and flexible screens are possible due to LEDs which have started trends of compact devices like smartwatches and foldable phones etc. O-LED has created a new revolution in the terms of picture quality and flexible design.
LEDs have been utilized in automobile brake lights and turn signals due to their long life, fast switching times, and visibility in broad daylight due to their high brightness and focus. Their usage in brake light enhances safety due to a significant reduction in the time required to fully illuminate, or faster rise time. This allows drivers behind to respond more quickly.
Shubham Patidar, Research Consultant at Fact.MR, says, “Considering the benefits provided by high-power LEDs, traditional lights like xenon and halogen are expected to take a backseat in automotive applications. Even though the initial cost of installation of LED lights is higher than conventional lights, their operational costs are much lower. Also, optimization and standardization of LED modules have brought down their cost at a fast pace. In the automotive industry, LED lights are anticipated to make their way onto rear view mirrors and dashboards, apart from just taillights and headlights in the next decade. These lights are also set to be penetrated the field of smaller vehicles. Furthermore, as compared to halogen lamps, LED lights generate less heat, as well as provide brighter illumination, which helps in reducing road accidents. As per the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 1.3 million people die every year due to road traffic accidents worldwide.”
Li-Fi is an optical wireless communications (OWC) system that, like Wi-Fi, employs light from light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as a medium to enable network, mobile, and high-speed communication. Visible light communications (VLC) operate by rapidly switching the current to the LEDs off and on, far faster than the human eye can detect.
Machine Vision Systems like Barcode Scanners and Optical Mouse also employ LEDs due to their homogenous bright illumination.
The application of LED in agriculture is increasing crop yield. Modern LEDs can emit light in varied frequency ranges and colors and adjust it as per the stages of plant growth. Royer says, “During and after the global pandemic crisis, the use of LED technology in applications like a greenhouse and indoor farming is becoming more and more relevant. The multiple advantages of having fresh vegetables and fruits being produced closer to the distribution centers are making their way into sustainable smart cities. However, given the harsh environment for indoor growing and the high level of quality and reliability required in the application, the LED manufacturers and components suppliers need for building solutions that are suitable to harsh environment conditions (high humidity, water resistant, high temperatures, UV resistance, etc.). Besides, the integration of sensors and smart devices to help growers increase efficiency in installations and minimize the use of electricity and water is becoming more and more relevant than before.”
New Trends: –
The LED industry is making breakthroughs, leading innovation, creating new technologies, and integrating existing technology to solve many real-life challenges. Due to the increasing threat of global warming and greater attention towards sustainability, the demand for smart devices has increased. Smart devices that can utilize energy optimally without any human intervention. In such a scenario integration of sensors, drivers and IoT has increased. Shubham says, “Some of the trends that are expected to be witnessed by the LED industry are:
- Incorporation of Intelligent Solutions: LED lights are projected to continue to mark their entry into the automotive industry owing to their benefits, including felicitation of safer driving and improved brightness. Automotive manufacturers are focusing on incorporating intelligence into their existing lighting systems. They are also adopting unique technology like adaptive driving beams for improving the safety of drivers.
- IoT-based Smart Lighting: Facility managers and business owners are expected to incorporate smart lighting systems equipped with the internet of things (IoT) as part of the building management system (BMS). These smart-systems would help businesses to set a schedule for the lights to save energy and reduce costs.
- Human-Centric LED Lighting: Builders, designers, and architects are set to increasingly adopt human-centric lighting to enable workers to become more productive and efficient. LED-based human-centric lighting (HCL) provides several potential benefits in workspaces and offices, thereby surging the value for occupants in the environment.”
Royer says, “With the rising cost of electricity prices worldwide, the efficient use of street lighting is becoming more relevant. The market is experiencing an increasing demand for smart control devices that help optimize the use of electricity. Besides, the already installed Street lighting infrastructure has been demonstrated to be a cost-effective platform for the introduction of sensors for remote monitoring of certain parameters like environment, motion, air pollution, noise, crowd presence, etc., that allow municipalities and private owners to make decisions about the proper use of public infrastructure. For this reason, TE Connectivity has been strengthening its portfolio offering to support the Two Nodes Architecture in outdoor street lighting, to make streetlight more efficient, reliable, and flexible infrastructure to use.”
Challenges: –
LEDs like many other electrical devices have their own set of limitations. Its performance depends on ambient temperature. Operating LED beyond a certain temperature range may overheat the LED package and fail. LEDs must be supplied with regulated current. A small change in current will impact the lifetime of LED. The spectra of most cool-white LEDs differ greatly from that of the sun or incandescent light. Under cool-white LED illumination, the spike at 460 nm and dip at 500 nm can cause the color of things to appear differently than under sunshine or incandescent sources.
Shubham further adds, “LED lights don’t always live up to manufacturers’ label claims in real-life applications. The strong glare and shadowing of luminaires often prove to be problematic. Besides, the lack of LED industry norms associated with data presentation and color-correlated temperature (CCT) is expected to continue to challenge designers when it comes to selecting the right bulbs for various projects. Apart from that, lighting designers often face issues with the dimmable capabilities of LEDs. Dimmable LEDs often dim in steps that appear choppy, as compared to traditional lighting.”
Since the focus has been increased toward making the LEDs smart. The need for common standards and protocols has arisen. Royer says, “The lack of standards in remotely connected LED street lighting could be one of the main challenges facing the industry today. For example, the lack of standards in communication protocols, and/or interfaces of components, etc., make the transition to smart outdoor lighting somehow harder to achieve. However, industry groups like Zhaga, ANSI, or other organizations, help to establish a safe space for information sharing, to promote dialogue amongst stakeholders, like OEM manufacturers, end users, consultants, material and components manufacturers, system integrators, etc.”
Way Forward: –
Energy efficiency is the need of the hour and LED will lead the lighting industry in years to come. There are many sectors that as researching to sort out the limitation of LEDs to further promote their use.
Further, the use of LEDs has been explored in communication technology and IoT is opening a whole new avenue for smart and efficient lighting.
As per a report by Fact.MR, the global automotive LED light market is projected to reach a valuation of US$ 14.7 Billion by the end of 2032. Growth is likely to be attributed to the high demand for luxury vehicles in both developed and developing countries worldwide. Apart from that, the penetration of LED lights into the interiors of automobiles, including backlighting LED displays, is expected to take the automotive LED industry to a whole new level in the next ten years.
Royer says, “The recent supply chain constraints derived from the global pandemic crisis, have proven that manufacturers of LED products and components, need to introduce measures to diversify their supply chain and introduce reliable vendors and suppliers, capable to deliver products and materials in a shorter lead time, with good service coverage and global footprint. In the next years, we should see how manufacturing in India for the local market, as well as projects for export opportunities in the Asia Pacific and the Middle East, will increase. Not only to simplify the transportation of goods but also to help reduction of CO2 emissions derived from distribution and transportation.”
