LED Lights

The simple lightbulb is likely to play as big a role in fighting global warming as windmills, solar panels or electric cars. The light-emitting diode or LED light has created an energy revolution, producing a crisp white glow with up to 80 percent less power than traditional incandescent lamps. The inventors of the LED were awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 2014 for creating the blue light needed to complete the color spectrum, which spawned a new industry in 1997. As prices have dropped, this disruptive technology has changed the way people illuminate their homes, streets and Christmas trees. The switch has been propelled by a ban on the sale of less-efficient bulbs in many countries, which is pitting the drive for green technologies against the consumer’s right to choose.

The shift to LEDs is transforming the lighting industry, which has seen a faster-than-expected dropoff in sales for traditional bulbs. More competition is coming from Asian companies such as Nichia, Samsung Electronics and MLS Electronics, which already make the computer chips key to LEDs for other electronic products. Dutch giant Philips began a departure from its lighting fixtures business by listing the unit's shares on the stock exchange in Amsterdam in May. That mirrored Siemens, which spun off its Osram lighting unit in 2013. Separately, a plan by Philips to sell a majority stake in its lighting components unit to a Chinese consortium was blocked by U.S. regulators who found parts of its LED semiconductor technology crucial to national security. Not discouraged by the failure of Philips, Osram announced the sale of its lamps business to a Chinese consortium in July as it aims to expand its semiconductor, automotive lighting and services businesses. Some analysts anticipate that General Electric — which grew out of Thomas Edison’s invention of the first commercially viable incandescent lightbulb in 1879 — will follow suit. To offset the disruption, traditional lighting companies are focusing on long-term service contracts for lighting systems for buildings and cities, as well as specialized products for cars, medical applications and theaters.