Business Case Study

Indian Wells

Applications > Indoor Lighting

Approximately 90 percent of electricity used for lighting is related to indoor areas of buildings. LED lighting for indoor applications is quickly becoming viable in many applications.

Task lighting and down lighting are the first applications in which LED lighting is making headway primarily because these applications are still typically based on incandescent lighting, the most inefficient of lighting technologies. Halogen lighting, which is more efficient but still a very hot- burning lighting option, is also a standard option in these applications. LED lighting is far more efficient than either of these traditional light sources, and today LED fixtures makers can match the color temperature and effect of incandescent and halogen lighting in task and down lighting applications.

LED lighting that replaces fluorescent lighting is being deployed. However, because fluorescent lighting tends to be highly efficient and relatively low-cost, the business case for replacing fluorescent lighting with LED lighting is somewhat harder to make. Performance enhancements in LED technology are expected to continue and with these advances the industry expects prices for LED lights in this application area to come down.

Recent advances in LED technology have resulted in the ability for LED fixtures makers to provide products with a pleasing array of warm and neutral-white color temperatures. As more vendors bring high-quality products to market and these products become ENERGY STAR^®-compliant, the opportunity for using LED lighting indoors will expand.