Global power demands

A fundamental paradigm shift in lighting technologies toward more efficient lamps and bulbs will significantly reduce global electricity demand for general illumination in the next few years, according to IHS Technology.

The energy usage of the installed base of lighting technologies for general illumination will fall to a projected 2.75 trillion kilowatt-hours (kWh) by 2020, down a notable 24 percent from 3.61 trillion kWh last year. Overall, the installed base for general lighting – which covers homes, businesses and street lamps but not architectural or theatrical lighting will account for 10.3 percent of the net electricity generated in 2020, down from 16.4 percent in 2013.

Electricity usage will decline even as the number of lamps increases.

“The fall in electricity consumed by lighting is being driven by the systematic ban of inefficient—mainly incandescent— lamps and bulbs in countries across the world,” said William Rhodes, lighting research manager for IHS. “As these bans start to kick in, consumers and business owners will be replacing their lamps with more energy-efficient technologies, such as light-emitting diode (LED) alternatives.”

Even so, consumers are not currently flocking to LED in great numbers because of the relatively high pricing involved, Rhodes noted.

As pricing falls for LED lamps and bulbs toward the end of this decade, consumers and business owners can be expected to start replacing incandescent, CFL, halogen and other lighting technologies with LED alternatives, even though cost will remain an inhibitor for many years.