by Shane Henson — July 13, 2012—According to a new report from Pike Research called Intelligent Lighting Controls for Commercial Buildings, the global market for intelligent lighting controls will enjoy steady and robust growth over the rest of this decade, rising from $1.5 billion in 2012 to more than $4.3 billion in 2020. This increase in intelligent lightings controls will come partially as a result of more commercial building owners and managers recognizing the need to employ energy-efficient lighting. Lighting reportedly accounts for about 25 percent of the commercial building sector’s energy use, and lighting controls offer significant potential for reducing that energy use.
“New strategies for intelligent lighting control are beginning to gain broad acceptance by building owners and managers at the same time that building codes and regulations are increasingly mandating greater efficiency in buildings,” says senior Pike Research analyst Eric Bloom. “This confluence of events creates a strong growth environment for companies in the space, particularly those that provide lighting control in the context of broader building energy management solutions.”
Pike Research’s report analyzes the global market opportunity for intelligent controls across nine building types: office, retail, education, healthcare, hotels and restaurants, institutional/assembly, warehouse, transport, and multi-unit residential. The report provides a comprehensive assessment of the demand drivers, obstacles, policy factors, and technology issues associated with the growing market for lighting controls, Pike Research says. Key industry players are profiled in depth and worldwide revenue and capacity forecasts, segmented by building type and region, extend through 2020.
In particular, notes the report, new wireless technologies, along with reductions in prices for light-emitting diode (LED) lights and dimmable ballasts, have made retrofit projects considerably more attractive. As LEDs become more mainstream, lighting controls—in the form of standalone devices or systems integrated into light fixtures—will help maximize their benefits.
The number of existing buildings in developed countries, where these technologies have already gained acceptance, is quite large, and the pool of buildings that could benefit from lighting control retrofits in the developing world is vast. While North America will remain the largest market for intelligent lighting controls through the end of the decade, the most rapid growth will come in Asia Pacific, where revenues will rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21 percent, the report forecasts.
