Until recently, lower power-consuming fluorescent alternatives have received minimal acceptance due to undesirable color tones, lack of good dimming capabilities and noisy ballasts. One would think that fluorescent bulbs should have outpaced incandescent bulbs based on power conservation issues alone, yet they are still a second choice for most homeowners. U.S. government requirements enacted in 2005 affecting ballasts, added to environmental concerns regarding mercury, as well as the introduction of white LED light, appear to be limiting the future of fluorescent bulbs in the home to the attic, basement, and workshop.

White LED lighting is creeping into the mainstream. Holding back progress, however, are issues such as variations in color rendition and intensity, heat management, cost of manufacturing, market entry issues and consumer acceptance. For general-purpose applications for example task lighting, changing customer’s expectations from using several down lights or a fluorescent tube to using a single linear fixture employing a bulb with multiple LEDs is a tough sell.

While these issues need to be addressed by all LED lighting applications, the greatest hindrance to entering the consumer market is incentive. There is little incentive to replace an incandescent or fluorescent bulb unless the alternative has clear advantages. This is difficult to achieve, and has not been accomplished since the introduction of electric lighting.

However, many of these issues are resolved with the new white light LED solutions. Among the many advantages of LED lighting are: low power consumption; long life expectancy, which reduces replacement costs; robustness due to absence filament; environmentally friendly; can improve color quality; can be directional for task and display lighting; variety of colors are available; delivers a wide range of illumination intensity by increasing the number of LEDs; instant-on capability; dimmable; can be designed so that damage to one LED does not affect the others; adaptable to mobile and battery powered applications. Last but not least, the new generation of LEDs are expected to significantly outperform incandescent and fluorescent alternatives.

These are compelling features and have prompted the industry to introduce specialized solutions that target specific high-end markets, often requiring new fixtures. Unfortunately, the cost of replacing fixtures is price-prohibitive for most homeowners, leaving LED fixtures for new construction.

Architects are reluctant to design using LED fixtures due to UL requirements (see below), and the justification for the initial investment in these fixtures is further limited because the fixtures remain in the buyer’s home when the seller vacates.

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