Market Segments

Target Market: Is the company targeting residential, commercial, industrial or outdoor segments? The target market will influence the company’s product, pricing model, sales and distribution strategy.

The LED market can be broadly divided into three end-use segments:

1) Commercial 2) Industrial/Outdoor and 3) Residential. It can also be

divided into three product categories:

1) Retrofit bulbs/linear 2) Lighting fixture ballasts, and 3) High power.

Market – Market Segments - End-Use Segments

Commercial: This segment includes lighting in commercial buildings

requiring highest energy savings and light quality in sometimes thermally-

challenged environments. Here, high-performance efficiency, power factor,

low EMI and therefore these are the required Energy Star compliance.

These include fixture ballasts (In a fluorescent lighting system,

the ballast regulates the current to the lamps and provides sufficient voltage

to start the lamps) and lamps for retail shops and high-end solutions such as

track lights, recessed ceiling lights, under-cabinet lights and accent lights.

Typical power requirements ranges are from 15W to 40W. This market

includes fixture ballasts as well as retrofit bulbs and linear troffers.

Industrial/Outdoor: These are infrastructure applications which include

street lights, tunnel lights, external wall sconces, pathway lights, garage

structures, parking lots, factories, warehouses, and refrigerators. Solutions

range from 40W to 200W, and require high power factor, efficiency and low

EMI demanded by local utilities.

Dimming is generally set from an external control input and is often done

for energy savings as opposed to aesthetic purposes. Special fixtures designed

for special environments using ballasts as well as linear troffers are the

mainstream in this market.

Residential: This segment includes lighting used in homes. Cost is the key

driver with the traditional A-style and PAR-style form factors dominating this

market. Triac (Triode for Alternating Current, is a genericized

tradename for an electronic component that can conduct current in either

direction when it is triggered (turned on)) dimming is required in new

products and the cost is carefully weighed against efficiency and dimming

performance. Allowable power factor and EMI are regulated based on the

geographic region.

Market – Market Segments - Product Categories

Retrofit bulbs/linear: Used in all three end-use segments described

below, these products include bulbs, lamps, and linear tubes.

Cost and smallest size solution for these products with an ability to be

integrated into the LED subsystem. The company should provide a range of

reference designs to improve customers’ development time and cost.

Lighting fixture ballasts: Lighting fixture ballasts are composed of a

fixture body, a power supply, and a socket. These fixture ballasts deliver high-

quality and dimmable light management for indoor environments for all three

end-user segments described below.

High power products (greater than 100W): Products in this category are

designed to support large area lighting needing more than 100 watts of drive.

These products are used in both commercial and industrial/outdoor and rated

for high-humidity environments , these are ideal for street lights, tunnel lights,

pathways, garage structures, and parking lots. The indoor modules have the

same performance as the outdoor versions but with added support for easy

centralized power distribution in conference rooms and other in-building

systems.

Lighting Market Penetration in Industrial & Outdoor Segments

Lifetime Cost of Lighting (LCOL) by Variable

For consumers, the initial large exposure to LED for general lighting applications will come in the form of LED bulb replacement that can be used in existing sockets. As the initial perception of the technology by consumers will come from this first exposure to bulb replacement, their quality and performance will be critical to the future of the industry. Standards and regulations are therefore needed to ensure simplicity of operation and a reasonable level of quality. Dedicated LED modules and luminaries will come in a second wave and deliver the full benefit of the technology. Additional standardization efforts are however needed to ensure a minimum level of upgradability and interoperability.