The U.S. market has taken the lead in proving the viability of LED technology for outdoor lighting applications. Although China has more installations, it has become the first casualty of quality issues. The Chinese market for outdoor lighting shrank in 2011 in order to address these quality issues. Elsewhere, especially in North America, quality consciousness has kept progress towards transitioning to LEDs thanks to the efforts of the DOE, the Municipal Solid-State Street Lighting Consortium, and the Design Lights Consortium. The 20%-25% drop in price of LED packages, which started in the fourth quarter of 2010, has proved to be a boon for quality luminaire manufacturers. The average price of outdoor luminaries will continue to decline in 2011 and the trend is likely to accelerate going into 2012. This decline in price will help post-pilot and post-stimulus programs.

While the CAGR for unit growth is forecast to grow 26% from 2010 to 2015, the CAGR for revenues will be only 11% as downward pressure on price continues. The revenues are expected to reach more than $544 billion in 2015. Considering that LEDs compete against other efficient technologies, the viability of LED applications in outdoor applications will be a test for LED technology. These are some of the findings in Strategies Unlimited’s new report: LED Outdoor and Area Lighting; Market Analysis and Forecast.
This report is the latest in a series of reports published by Strategies Unlimited covering the HB LED industry. Other reports published by Strategies Unlimited include; HB-LEDs (Aug. 2011), HB-LEDs in Lighting (March 2010), LED Lighting Fixtures (January 2011) and LED Driver ICs (June 2011).

Founded in 1979, Strategies Unlimited specializes in market research and strategic consulting directed at photonics systems and components. The company, based in Mountain View, California, is a research unit of PennWell Corporation, a global media and information company. PennWell’s LEDs & Lighting Media Group includes LEDs Magazine, website, e-newsletters and Suppliers Directory; market research with Strategies Unlimited; and leading events with Strategies in Light, LED Japan/Strategies in Light, Strategies in Light Europe, and Strategies in Light China.