Costs of LED-based street lighting has fallen by as much as 50 percent over the past two years, and are expected to continue falling. According to a new report from analysts at Pike Research, a part of Navigant’s Energy Practice, LEDs will become the second-leading type of lamp for street lights in terms of sales by 2015, behind only high pressure sodium lamps. By 2020, the study concludes, LED lamps for street lights will generate more than $2 billion in annual revenue. Part of that growth forecast is based on the belief that cities will continue rolling out "smart city" technologies.
“Broader investments in smart city infrastructure by municipal governments will boost smart street lighting projects, as the two go hand in hand,” says research analyst Jesse Foote. “Smart street lighting systems can provide a backbone for other smart city applications, and conversely, a city investing in networking capabilities for smart city applications should also be looking to include better management of street lighting.”
The report, “Smart Street Lighting”, analyzes the global market for lamp upgrades and networked lighting controls across five categories of public outdoor lighting: highways, roads, parking lots, city parks, and sports stadiums. The report provides an assessment of the demand drivers, obstacles, policy factors and technology issues associated with the growing market for street lighting controls, and provides profiles of key industry players, worldwide revenue and capacity forecasts segmented by lamp type and region.