According to analysts at the Darnell Group market research firm in Corona, Calif, LED will rapidly accelerate over the next few years in general illumination applications.

The number of LEDs used in typical applications will increase in the near-term, Darnell analysts say, and the growing number of LEDs will reduce the cost of LEDs dramatically until they finally become cost-effective for general illumination. Today LED lamps are at least two orders of magnitude more expensive than traditional light sources, making them several years away from significant market penetration for general illumination. Darnell analysts point to a recent announcement from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) predicting a significant market uptake for LED lighting over the next five years, followed by widespread adoption over the next 20 years, which Darnell analysts say is too pessimistic. Growth in over 50 application sub-segments will drive down the cost of LEDs faster than anticipated by the DOE.

Besides, Darnell point out the LED lighting market such as LED Driver ICs: Application Drivers, Technology Developments & Product Introduction Trends and so on. This provides a roadmap of applications that will push growth for solid state lighting between now and 2020.