December 2011
A Program of the U.S. DOE
LED Lighting Facts
Product Snapshot:
LED Luminaires
A Program of the U.S. DOE
LED Lighting Facts Product Snapshot: LED Luminaires 2011 – 1
A Program of the U.S. DOE
Prepared for:
U.S. Department of Energy
Solid-State Lighting Program
Prepared by:
D&R International, Ltd.
1300 Spring Street, Suite 500
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Authors:
Jason West
Marci Sanders
CONTENTS
A Program of the U.S. DOE
Executive Summary
1
About the Lighting Facts Product Snapshot
3
Overview
4
5
LED Luminaires: Distribution of Product Types
Commercial Outdoor Luminaires
7
Performance Trends
7
Light Output and Efficacy
9
CRI and CCT
13
Indoor Luminaires 15
Performance Trends
15
Light Output and Efficacy
17
CRI and CCT
21
Navigating the Decade of Change
23
A Program of the U.S. DOE
Executive Summary
®
This Lighting Facts Product Snapshot represents an
analysis of the dataset underlying the U.S. Department
A Program of the U.S. DOE
of Energy’s (DOE)
LED Lighting Facts product list.
This document is designed to help lighting retailers,
distributors, designers, utilities, energy efficiency
program sponsors, and other industry stakeholders
understand the current state of the LED luminaire market
and its trajectory.
The lighting industry is experiencing major change: new
federal efficacy guidelines are being phased in for many
types of lamps and fixtures that make up traditional
luminaires, and LED luminaires are increasingly being
offered by manufacturers as energy- and cost-saving
alternatives to traditional technologies. How do LED
luminaires really perform?This Product Snapshot reveals
the following observations:
Performance trends:
•• The efficacies of listed commercial outdoor
luminaires, including area and roadway, parking
garage, and wall pack luminaires, are all increasing
at approximately 17 lm/W per year, near DOE’s
Multi-Year Program Plan (MYPP) projections in
2011. Because these applications have high
baseline wattages and long daily hours of use,
incremental improvements in efficacy give
manufacturers competitive advantage and can
mean substantial cost savings for municipalities
and utilities.
•• The efficacies of the various types of listed indoor
luminaires are improving at different rates: troffer
efficacy is improving at approximately the rate
predicted in the MYPP (listed above), while the
efficacy of downlights and under-cabinet lights
is improving much more slowly. The cause for
this divergence is unknown, but may arise
from product design maturity in the latter two
product types, in addition to design tradeoffs
made between increased efficacy and improved
color quality, as well as lower cost. Downlights
and under-cabinet lights are more commonly
specified for residential applications where high
color quality and low cost are more important
product characteristics.
Outdoor Luminaire Performance:
•• Output and efficacy:
•• Outdoor area and roadway luminaires are
available at light output levels greater than
10,000 lumens, equivalent to or exceeding
those produced by typical metal halide (MH)
and high-pressure sodium (HPS) systems
with 150W lamps, but the majority of LED
products have lower output levels.
•• Parking garage and wall pack luminaires are
available at light output levels of greater than 7,000
lumens, equivalent to or exceeding MH and HPS
systems with 100W lamps, but the majority of
LED products have lower output levels.
•• The efficacy of outdoor LED luminaires
varies greatly, but many products that
surpass traditional MH and HPS system
efficacies (which can range from 45 lm/W to
75 lm/W) are available, with the highest LED
efficacy levels approaching 100 lm/W.
•• Color quality: Most outdoor LED luminaires have
color rendering indices (CRI) that exceed those
of MH and HPS systems (typically 65 and 20,
respectively) and range in CCT from 4000K to
7000K, which is significantly ‘cooler’ or bluishwhite light, on average, than traditional fixtures
(which can range from 2000K to 6000K).
Indoor Luminaire Performance
•• Output and efficacy:
•• The great majority of recessed downlights
meet or exceed incumbent (CFL) light
output levels for 4- to 6-inch downlights.
Efficacy in LED downlights varies greatly,
ranging from 11 lm/W to 80 lm/W, but the
average of the category as a whole (~45
lm/W) exceeds average CFL downlight
benchmark levels (~35 lm/W).
•• Troffers range in output from ~1,000 lumens
to ~7,000 lumens, and higher performing
products are available that meet the most
common benchmark 2’ x 2’ light output
levels (2,000–4,000 lumens). LED troffers,
LED Lighting Facts Product Snapshot: LED Luminaires 2011 – 1
in general, are more efficacious than
fluorescent benchmark products (67 lm/W
vs. 55 lm/W, on average).
A Program of the U.S. DOE
•• Under-cabinet/shelf-mounted lights vary in
output from under 100 lumens to over 1,000
lumens, and higher-performing products that
meet the most common benchmark light
output levels are available. More than 90% of
LED under-cabinet lights are more efficacious
than fluorescent benchmark products of
comparable or lower light output.
•• Color quality:
•• Troffers in general have higher CCT values
on average (~4500K) than downlights
and under-cabinet lights (~3300K and
~3100K, respectively). This is consistent
with the primary application of troffers in
commercial spaces and of downlights and
under-cabinet lights in a mix of residential,
commercial, and architectural spaces.
•• Downlights and under-cabinet lights
have higher average CRI values (82 and
81, respectively) than troffers (78), and
downlights have a much smaller spread
of CRI values (a standard deviation of
3 points, vs. 7 points for under-cabinet
lights and troffers) again pointing to the
more demanding color requirements of
residential and architectural spaces.
High variability in performance:
•• LED performance in all product categories
and across all metrics is still highly variable.
Throughout this report, statements are made
regarding trends of product categories as
a whole. These statements should not be
extended to include all products within those
categories. Anyone considering LED lighting
should conduct a thorough technical review
of the product in question before making a
purchase decision.
2 – LED Lighting Facts Product Snapshot: LED Luminaires 2011
About the Lighting Facts
Product Snapshot
To answer the question of how LED luminaire
A Program of the U.S. DOE
performance is changing over time and how
it compares to the performance of incumbent
technology, this Product Snapshot draws from the
database of LED Lighting Facts products (available at
www.lightingfacts.com/products). LED Lighting Facts is
a DOE-administered truth-in-reporting program for LED
products that offers informative resources to partners,
including interactive product selection tools, fact sheets
on SSL technology and related standards and federal
rules, and technical and market analyses based on the
products in the LED Lighting Facts database. Here are
some quick facts about the program:
•• DOE’s LED Lighting Facts is the largest database
of its kind. More than 3,400 products were
registered as of October 2011.
Organizations interested in partnering with the
program may sign up at www.lightingfacts.com.
Lighting Facts is a valuable source of information on
the state of the LED lighting market. As the LED Lighting
Facts database is growing rapidly, DOE plans to update
this Product Snapshot twice a year to capture the most
current and accurate information possible.To cover as
much of the Lighting Facts product database as possible,
the focus of the Product Snapshots will alternate between
replacement lamps and luminaires.
•• To have a product added to the LED Lighting
Facts product list, a manufacturer must first
test the product at an approved laboratory in
accordance with IES LM-79-08, the industryaccepted test method for electrical and
photometric measurements of solid-state
lighting. The manufacturer must submit the test
results and performance claims for independent
verification by DOE.
•• Five key performance metrics (light output in
lumens, input power in watts, efficacy in lumens
per watt, color rendering index [CRI], and
correlated color temperature [CCT] in kelvin) are
reported on the label and the online product list.1
•• The product list includes a variety of product
types, from manufacturers large and small,
lighting industry veterans and brand new
companies alike.
•• As of October 2011, when the data for this Product
Snapshot were captured, program partners
included 290 manufacturers, 215 retailers and
distributors, 215 lighting professionals, and
41 energy efficiency sponsors, representing a
majority of the LED industry.
1 - Additional performance metrics, including electrical, light distribution,
and color performance beyond the five required metrics, are also listed on
an optional basis by some manufacturers. This Snapshot does not include
an analysis of these optional metrics, but a thorough product performance
evaluation should include light distribution data, such as zonal lumen
densities, beam angles, and/or illuminance on surfaces.
LED Lighting Facts Product Snapshot: LED Luminaires 2011 – 3
2 - More information on federal energy conservation standards for lighting
equipment can be found here: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/
appliance_standards/.
4 – LED Lighting Facts Product Snapshot: LED Luminaires 2011
2008
2009
Federal ban on mercury vapor lamp ballasts
effective.
ENERGY STAR® criteria introduced for limited
categories of residential and commercial LED
fixtures (e.g., downlights, task lights, wall wash
luminaires, bollards).
2010
Amended federal energy conservation
standards for reduced wattage fluorescent
lamp ballasts effective.
2011
Amended federal energy conservation
standards for replacement fluorescent lamp
ballasts effective.
2012
Federal energy conservation standards for
metal halide fixtures effective.
Combined ENERGY STAR Luminaires criteria
introduced (technology-neutral residential and
commercial directional lighting, non-directional
residential lighting).
2013
While recent press has focused on the Energy
Independence and Security Act of 2007 legislation
that increases the required efficiency of common
light bulbs (lamps), there is also a series of federal
standards and voluntary efficiency targets going into
effect for lamps more commonly found in commercial
fixtures, such as metal halide and high-pressure
sodium lamps, as well as for traditional luminaire
components like fluorescent ballasts, and traditional
fixtures themselves. See Figure 1 for a timeline of these
standards and voluntary targets. Some product types,
such as fluorescent lamp ballasts, are already covered
by federal energy conservation standards, which are
periodically amended to reflect changes in technology
and the market. Other product types, such as highintensity discharge lamps, will see new standards
introduced in the coming years.21 The increase in
efficiency standards for traditional lamps and fixtures
simultaneous with the market introduction of LED
luminaires, increases the complexity and uncertainty
involved in lighting decisions for utilities, retailers,
distributors, and lighting professionals.
Figure 1. Timeline of Federal Standards and
Voluntary Criteria for Lighting and Luminaires
Amended federal energy conservation
standards for fluorescent lamp ballasts.*
2014
The lighting market as a whole is experiencing dramatic
changes, with the recent advent of LED lighting
A Program of the U.S. DOE
technology for
general illumination and the resulting
proliferation of available LED products in virtually all
traditional categories and sectors. While the May 2011
Product Snapshot covered several of the most common
replacement lamp types, this Snapshot shifts the focus
to luminaires—complete lighting systems that include
the light source itself as well as the housing, thermal
management, power supply, and optics. Complete LED
luminaires incorporate a different design philosophy
than replacement lamps; whereas lamp manufacturers
attempt to adapt LED technology to standard lamp
form factors that are intended to be installed in existing
fixtures, luminaire manufacturers integrate the LED light
source into the design of the entire fixture.This approach
affords additional flexibility in the design, and often
results in a more efficient final product than an LED-lampand-traditional-fixture combination.
To address this situation, DOE has developed several
programs to encourage the exchange of accurate
information on LED lighting, including GATEWAY
demonstrations, CALiPER testing, the Municipal SolidState Street Lighting Consortium, and the LED Lighting
Facts program.The LED Lighting Facts Product Snapshot
is another analytical tool that partners can use to find
accurate information.
New federal energy conservation standards
for high-intensity discharge lamps to
be published.*
Federal energy conservation standards for
metal halide fixtures effective.
2015
Overview
Amended federal energy conservation
standards for reduced wattage fluorescent
lamp ballasts effective.
*Expected
LED Luminaires:
Distribution of Product Types
Figures 2a and
2b shows the distribution of product types
A Program of the U.S. DOE
registered with LED Lighting Facts as of October 2011.
More than half of these products are luminaires, and
among those luminaires, approximately half are outdoor
commercial products and downlights. This Product
Snapshot focuses on those product categories (outdoor
commercial lighting includes area and roadway fixtures,
wall packs, and parking garage fixtures), as well as
under-cabinet/shelf-mounted lights and troffers.The large
number of these products in the market was a key factor
in including them in this analysis.
Figure 2a. Lighting Facts Replacement
Lamps and Luminaires
Figure 2b. Lighting Facts
Luminaires, by Type
Under-cabinet or
shelf-mounted lights 6%
Trofffers 2%
Downlights 26%
Replacement
Lamps
42%
Recessed 24%
Surfacemounted 2%
Luminaires
58%
Other
40%
Outdoor
commercial 26%
%
Area/roadway fixtures 17%
Wall packs 5%
Parking garage fixtures 4%
1,991 Luminaires
3,462 Total Products
Source: DOE LED Lighting Facts products list, October 2011, www.lightingfacts.com/products.
Analysis and figures: D&R International.
LED Lighting Facts Product Snapshot: LED Luminaires 2011 – 5
Figure 2 shows the growth in number of products
registered for various product types included in the
LED Lighting Facts database. In addition to being the
A Program
the U.S. DOE
categories with
theofmost
products registered in October
2011, outdoor commercial luminaires and downlights
have also been the fastest-growing categories,
surpassing all other product types. Under-cabinet/
shelf-mounted lights and troffers, while not the fastestgrowing categories, are nonetheless included in this
analysis because of their early successful performance as
evidenced by GATEWAY demonstrations and CALiPER
testing, as well as their energy savings potential.
3
A 2011 study commissioned by DOE1 on the energy savings
potential of solid-state lighting found that significant
amounts of energy could be saved by switching to LED
technology in these categories (in a hypothetical “overnight”
switching scenario)–53.3TWh/yr for area and roadway
lighting, 7.7TWh/yr for parking garage lighting, and 6.6TWh/yr
for 2’ x 2’ troffers, for example.The annual energy savings
from those three categories alone would be enough to
power more than five million U.S. households for a year.
3 - Navigant Consulting Inc. “Energy Savings Estimates of Light Emitting
Diodes in Niche Lighting Applications.” Prepared for the U.S. Department
of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building
Technologies Program. January 2011. www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ssl/
tech_reports.html.
Figure 3. Lighting Facts Luminaires Listed Over Time
Figure X. Lighting Facts Luminaires Listed over Time
600
Number of products
500
400
300
200
100
0
2009
Q1
2009
Q2
2009
Q3
2009
Q4
2010
Q1
2010
Q2
2010
Q3
2010
Q4
2011
Q1
2011
Q2
Year
Outdoor
Commercial
Downlights
Other
Outdoor
Other
Indoor
Troffers and
Under-cabinet lights
Note: Outdoor commercial includes area/roadway fixtures, wall packs, and parking garage fixtures. Products marked
as 'other' by the manufacturer are not included in this figure.
Source: DOE LED Lighting Facts products list, October 2011, www.lightingfacts.com/products.
Analysis and figure: D&R International.
6 – LED Lighting Facts Product Snapshot: LED Luminaires 2011
2011
Q3
Commercial Outdoor Luminaires
In recent years, LED luminaire replacements for
traditional high-pressure sodium and metal halide
Program of the U.S. DOE
fixtures (the Amost
common outdoor lighting
technologies) have entered the market and been
the subject of much interest due to their potential
for energy savings, longer life, and enhanced
performance. In 2007, DOE began assessing the
potential of LED outdoor lighting in the form of
several GATEWAY demonstration studies in real-world
scenarios across the United States, as well as CALiPER
product testing and analysis.4 While the results have
varied based on the specific product and application,
these studies show that well-designed LED outdoor
luminaires can be viable replacements for traditional
products. The rapid introduction of LED products into
the market, as described above, and the corresponding
interest from municipalities in launching large-scale
installation projects, have led to the development
of another DOE resource: the Municipal Solid-State
Street Lighting Consortium, which is designed to
collect and distribute information on LED street lighting
installations. The Lighting Facts Product Snapshot
augments these resources by providing a birds-eye
view of more than 500 commercial outdoor luminaires
in the market.
While the trends do not appear to follow a well-defined
curve in the short-term, it is clear that the efficacies of
these three outdoor product categories are improving
over time at similar rates, which are similar to DOE
SSL Multi-Year Program Plan (MYPP) projections for
luminaires (approximately 17 lm/W per year).
Performance Trends
Figure 4 shows the change in efficacy over time for
LED area and roadway, parking garage, and wall pack
luminaires. Figure 4a indicates the 80th percentile efficacy
of the products newly registered in each quarter; the
80th percentile means that 80% of products perform at
or below this level and 20% of products perform above
it. Figure 4b includes three-quarter moving averages5 to
more clearly show trends. The 80th percentile represents
performance that is near the state-of-the-art, as opposed
to the maximum possible performance.
4 - More information on DOE’s GATEWAY and CALiPER programs can be
found at www.ssl.energy.gov.
5 - The moving average is a statistical tool that is commonly used to show
underlying trends over time, especially when abrupt short-term changes
make long-term trends difficult to see. The three-quarter moving average
efficacy shown in these figures represents the average of the efficacy in
each indicated quarter and the previous two quarters.
LED Lighting Facts Product Snapshot: LED Luminaires 2011 – 7
Figure 4a. Outdoor Product Efficacy Trends (80th Percentile. Raw Data by Quarter)
95
90
Efficacy (lm/W)
85
A Program of the U.S. DOE
80
75
70
65
60
55
50
45
40
Q1
2009
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
2010
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
2011
Q2
Q3
Q4
Year
Q1
2012
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q2
Q3
Q4
Figure 4b. Outdoor Product Efficacy Trends (80th Percentile. 3-Quarter Moving Average)
95
90
Efficacy (lm/W)
85
80
75
70
65
60
55
50
45
40
Q1
2009
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
2010
Q2
Q3
Parking garage fixtures - Raw
Area/roadway fixtures - Raw
Wall packs - Raw
Q4
Q1
2011
Year
MYPP cool white
MYPP warm white
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
2012
Parking garage fixtures - Moving average
Area/roadway fixtures - Moving average
Wall packs - Moving average
Sources:
Specific product types: DOE LED Lighting Facts products list, October 2011, www.lightingfacts.com/products
MYPP projections: DOE Solid-State Lighting Research and Development Multi-Year Program Plan, May 2011
Analysis and figure: D&R International.
8 – LED Lighting Facts Product Snapshot: LED Luminaires 2011
Light Output and Efficacy
6
Figures 5, 6, and 7 show the light output and efficacy
of outdoor area
and roadway, wall pack, and parking
A Program of the U.S. DOE
garage luminaires relative to typical performance levels
of high-pressure sodium and metal halide fixtures,
which are the most common types of outdoor lighting.
The lines show a representative range of performance
for several common HPS and MH lamp wattage
levels, accounting for representative performance
effects in the luminaire. As of October 2011, the LED
Lighting Facts listings show that there are many LED
street and area luminaire replacement options in the
market that meet or exceed the output and efficacy of
70W, 100W, and 150W HPS and 100W MH fixtures. A
small minority of LED products emit 20,000 lumens or
more—more than 150W MH fixtures and approaching
250W HPS and MH output. This is the highest range of
light output of all the product types covered by LED
Lighting Facts, and is likely due to both the tendency
of manufacturers to design replacements for existing
high-output area and roadway fixtures (which can
exceed 100,000 lumens in some cases) and the more
flexible form factors of area and roadway lighting.
Because outdoor area and roadway fixtures don’t
have strict requirements on dimensions like other
product types (though there are some limits based on
6 - The outdoor lighting products covered in this Product Snapshot are
not typically specified on the basis of light output; rather, illuminance
and uniformity levels are used because of the importance of the light
amount and quality on the surface of interest (e.g. a roadway surface).
LED Lighting Facts does not currently track these metrics, so light output
is used as a relative indicator of performance in relation to traditional
technologies. See this DOE Fact Sheet on Outdoor Area Lighting for more
information: http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/ssl/
outdoor_area_lighting.pdf.
wind effects), manufacturers can create large arrays of
LED light sources and scale up or down by adding or
removing LEDs to achieve different light output levels.
More importantly, many outdoor area and roadway
LED products not only match the output of traditional
fixtures, but meet or exceed their efficacy (which can
range from 45 lm/W to 75 lm/W), with LED products
in some cases approaching 100 lm/W. This points
to a key reason for the early market success of this
product category: the energy and cost savings that
can result from specifying a product that is much
more efficient than the incumbent product.
LED parking garage luminaires generally emit less light
than street and area luminaires, while wall packs emit
still less light (products are available in both categories
at levels up to 100W MH and HPS equivalency). This is
consistent with the lower mounting heights typical for
parking garage luminaires and wall packs than for area
and roadway luminaires.
For all these outdoor product categories, it is
important to note that there are also many products
that do not meet efficacy and light output levels of
incumbent technologies7 , so as with all LED products,
it is important to conduct a thorough performance
review prior to specifying a product.
7 - The exact percentages of products that do not meet incumbent
output and efficacy levels are not listed here. For LED Lighting Facts
submissions, manufacturers do not list the product sub-type intended
for replacement, and some lower-output products may be intended to
replace lower-powered benchmark products than those shown here (e.g.,
fluorescent outdoor lighting).
LED Lighting Facts Product Snapshot: LED Luminaires 2011 – 9
Outdoor
Area
and Roadway
Figure 5. Outdoor Area and Roadway Luminaire
Light
Output
and Efficacy
Luminaire Light Output and Efficacy
30000
A Program of the U.S. DOE
m
25000
400W
l
Light Output (lm)
h
20000
m
h
m
15000
250W
l
h
h
10000
150W
100W
70W
5000
m
l
m
l
m
h
m
h
l
h
m
l
0
30
20
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Efficacy (lm/W)
LED
High Pressure Sodium (HPS)
Metal Halide (MH)
Sources:
LED: DOE LED Lighting Facts products list, October 2011, www.lightingfacts.com/products
HPS and MH: D&R International, review of website specifications of high-pressure sodium and metal halide lamps sold by several
major lighting manufacturers in January 2011. Because HPS and MH performance is usually listed in terms of the lamp only and
doesn't include the effects of the luminaire, a 15% electrical loss factor was applied to the wattage to account for power supply
losses. Light loss factors of 20%, 30%, and 40% were applied to the output of each lamp to account for typical fixture losses.
These form the levels shown on the figure.
Analysis and figure: D&R International.
10 – LED Lighting Facts Product Snapshot: LED Luminaires 2011
Figure 6. Outdoor Wall Pack Light Outdoor
Output and
Efficacy
Wall
Pack Light Output and Efficacy
30000
A Program of the U.S. DOE
Light Output (lm)
25000
20000
15000
h
h
10000
m
ml
150W
l
m
5000
100W
70W
l
h
m
h
l
h
m
l
0
30
20
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Efficacy (lm/W)
LED
High Pressure Sodium (HPS)
Metal Halide (MH)
Sources:
LED: DOE LED Lighting Facts products list, October 2011, www.lightingfacts.com/products
HPS and MH: D&R International, review of website specifications of high-pressure sodium and metal halide lamps sold by several
major lighting manufacturers in January 2011. Because HPS and MH performance is usually listed in terms of the lamp only and
doesn't include the effects of the luminaire, a 15% electrical loss factor was applied to the wattage to account for power supply
losses. Light loss factors of 20%, 30%, and 40% were applied to the output of each lamp to account for typical fixture losses.
These form the levels shown on the figure.
Analysis and figure: D&R International.
LED Lighting Facts Product Snapshot: LED Luminaires 2011 – 11
Outdoor Parking Garage Luminaire Light Output and Efficacy
Figure 7. Outdoor Parking Garage Luminaire Light Output and Efficacy
30000
A Program of the U.S. DOE
Light Output (lm)
25000
20000
15000
h
h
10000
150W
l
m
l
h
100W
5000
70W
m
l
m
h
m
l
h
m
l
0
30
20
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Efficacy (lm/W)
LED
High Pressure Sodium (HPS)
Metal Halide (MH)
Sources:
LED: DOE LED Lighting Facts products list, October 2011, www.lightingfacts.com/products
HPS and MH: D&R International, review of website specifications of high-pressure sodium and metal halide lamps sold by several
major lighting manufacturers in January 2011. Since HPS and MH performance is usually listed in terms of the lamp only and
doesn't include the effects of the luminaire, a 15% electrical loss factor was applied to the wattage to account for power supply
losses. Light loss factors of 20%, 30%, and 40% were applied to the output of each lamp to account for typical fixture losses.
These form the levels shown on the figure.
Analysis and figure: D&R International.
12 – LED Lighting Facts Product Snapshot: LED Luminaires 2011
CRI and CCT
Figure 8 shows the CRI and CCT of LED outdoor
area and roadway,
parking garage, and wall pack
A Program of the U.S. DOE
luminaires. The majority (> 90%) of outdoor LED
products produce CCTs between 4000K and 7000K
(97% fall within industry standard tolerances for
nominal CCTs between 4000K and 6500K, as defined
by ANSI C78.377-2008). Though a wide range of CCTs
is found in all LED product categories, the higher
prevalence of cooler color temperatures in outdoor
products is likely due to the higher efficacy provided
by higher-CCT LED light sources, along with the
less-stringent color quality requirements for outdoor
lighting. All three outdoor LED product types
covered in this report have similar distributions of
CCT, though there are a few more area and roadway
products at the high end of the CCT range (> 7000K),
and a few more wall packs at the low end (< 4000K).
LED luminaires tend to have much higher CCTs than
high-pressure sodium sources, which are typically
~2000K, and similar or higher CCTs than metal halide
8
sources, which can range from 3000K to 6000K.
The CRI levels of the outdoor LED luminaires covered
in this report range from 63 to 88, with a higher
concentration of products at lower CRI levels (the
average CRI of the three categories covered here is
70). CRI levels in incumbent technology are lower
than in indoor products. Typical CRI values for highpressure sodium and metal halide lamps are 20 and
65, respectively, so there is less incentive for LED
manufacturers to produce high-CRI products (in
contrast to some indoor product categories where
color quality is more important). Outdoor lighting
manufacturers can achieve higher product efficacies by
avoiding the use of phosphor-converted warm white
LEDs and can reduce cost by avoiding the use of red
LED light sources to raise CRI.
8 - See DOE’s white paper “Light at Night: The Latest Science” for more
information on the implications of higher-CCT outdoor lighting http://apps1.
eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/ssl/ssl_whitepaper_nov2010.pdf.
LED Lighting Facts Product Snapshot: LED Luminaires 2011 – 13
Figure 8. Outdoor Luminaire CRI and CCT
Outdoor Luminaire CRI and CCT
100
A Program of the U.S. DOE
95
90
CRI
85
80
75
70
65
60
20
2000
Metal halide
(typical)
High pressure sodium
(typical)
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
10000
CCT (K)
Area and Roadway
Parking Garage
Wall Packs
Sources:
LED: DOE LED Lighting Facts products list, October 2011, www.lightingfacts.com/products
HPS and MH: Benchmark testing of conventional light sources by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) on behalf of the
DOE Solid-State Lighting Program.
Analysis and figure: D&R International.
14 – LED Lighting Facts Product Snapshot: LED Luminaires 2011
Indoor Luminaires
Similar to the outdoor luminaires described above,
complete LED luminaire replacements for traditional
A Program of the U.S. DOE
recessed downlights,
troffers, and under-cabinet/
shelf-mounted lights have rapidly entered the
market in recent years. GATEWAY studies and
CALiPER testing have shown successful examples
of LED products in these categories, in particular for
downlights and 2’ x 2’ troffers. The following results
from the LED Lighting Facts products list provide
additional insight into these product categories.
Performance Trends
The changes in efficacy over time for recessed
downlights, troffers, and under-cabinet or shelfmounted lights is shown in Figures 9a and 9b, which
show the efficacy values for the 80th percentile of the
products registered in each quarter. Figure 9b includes
three-quarter moving averages to more clearly
show trends (see the section on outdoor product
performance trends above for an explanation of these
metrics). The troffer product category appears to be
increasing in efficacy much faster than downlights and
under-cabinet lights, which do not have a clear upward
trend. In fact, downlights increased in efficacy but this
improvement appears to have slowed down. There are
several reasons why this may be happening:
•• Troffers are competing against linear fluorescent
fixtures, which can be highly efficient. The
more efficient the LED luminaire, the better
it can compete with the incumbent fixture on
an energy consumption basis. Downlights
and under-cabinet lights, on the other hand,
are competing against relatively inefficient
products, so there is less of an incentive to
raise the efficiency of the LED luminaire at the
expense of other features.
•• Troffers are primarily installed in commercial
applications, where first cost is not as
important a purchase factor as it is in
residential applications, where downlights and
under-cabinet are more frequently installed.
It may be the case that troffer manufacturers
are choosing to boost efficiency as technology
improves, while downlight and under-cabinet
light manufacturers are choosing to lower
cost. Such a tradeoff is sometimes possible
by using fewer LED light sources (and thus,
lower cost for the complete product) that are
operated at higher driver currents (which
usually results in lower efficacy).
•• Downlights and under-cabinet lights are
installed more than troffers in residential and
architectural applications, and these applications
demand higher color quality. Manufacturers
may be choosing to enhance color quality at
the expense of efficacy (the next section of this
report shows that there is a difference in color
quality among troffers, downlights, and undercabinet lights).
•• Troffers are relatively large luminaires, with
significant potential surface area to design
effective thermal management systems that
can improve efficacy, while downlights and
under-cabinet lights are smaller luminaires,
making design of effective thermal management
systems more challenging.
Aside from the disparity among product types, it
is interesting to note that troffers are improving
in efficacy at approximately the same rate as DOE
MYPP projections (between cool white and warm
white levels, similar to outdoor commercial LED
luminaires).
LED Lighting Facts Product Snapshot: LED Luminaires 2011 – 15
Figure 9a. Indoor Product Efficacy Trends (80th Percentile. Raw Data by Quarter)
95
90
Efficacy (lm/W)
85
A Program of the U.S. DOE
80
75
70
65
60
55
50
45
40
Q1
2009
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
2010
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
2011
Q2
Q3
Q4
Year
Q1
2012
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q2
Q3
Q4
Figure 9b. Indoor Product Efficacy Trends (80th Percentile. 3-Quarter Moving Average)
95
90
Efficacy (lm/W)
85
80
75
70
65
60
55
50
45
40
Q1
2009
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
2010
Q2
Q3
Surface-mounted or recessed troffers - Raw
Recessed downlights - Raw
Under-cabinet or Shelf-mounted lights - Raw
Q4
Q1
2011
Year
MYPP cool white
MYPP warm white
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
2012
Surface-mounted or recessed troffers - Moving Average
Recessed downlights - Moving Average
Under-cabinet or Shelf-mounted lights - Moving Average
Sources:
Specific product types: DOE LED Lighting Facts products list, October 2011, www.lightingfacts.com/products
MYPP projections: DOE Solid-State Lighting Research and Development Multi-Year Program Plan, May 2011
Analysis and figure: D&R International.
16 – LED Lighting Facts Product Snapshot: LED Luminaires 2011
Light Output and Efficacy
Figures 10, 11, and 12 show light output vs. efficacy
for recessed downlights, troffers, and under-cabinet/
A Program of the U.S. DOE
shelf-mounted lights. Downlights have a wide range of
performance for both light output and efficacy, from 100
lm to more than 5,000 lm, and from 11 lm/W to 80 lm/W,
respectively. Overlaid on the same figures are results
of benchmark testing of several traditional 5” and 6”
downlight fixtures with CFL and incandescent lamps, as
tested by DOE’s CALiPER program. The majority of LED
Lighting Facts products (80%) meet or exceed the light
output of the benchmark downlights with 60W equivalent
bare CFLs, which points to the market-readiness of the
9
product category as a whole. Efficacy in traditional
downlights is highly variable and dependent on the
optical efficiency of the fixture as well as the type of
lamp installed. The benchmark performance shown
on this figure represents several different types of
CFL lamps and one incandescent lamp, and the
performance varies accordingly. The average efficacy
of LED downlights (45 lm/W) exceeds the average CFL
downlight benchmark levels (35 lm/W).
Troffer output and efficacy tend to be higher than
those of downlights, considering the product category
as a whole. Performance of troffers registered with
LED Lighting Facts ranges from approximately 1,000
9 - For this Snapshot, LED product performance was not broken down into
product sub-types, such as product size (e.g., 4” vs. 6” downlights or 2’ x 2’
vs. 2’ x 4’ troffers), because this information is not readily available based on
the fields that manufacturers populate for product submissions. A complete
side-by-side product comparison should include these sub-types, and future
Snapshots may investigate this further.
lumens to 7,000 lumens (with an average of 3,680
lumens), and 40 lm/W to 90 lm/W (with an average
of 67 lm/W). This is likely due to the generally higher
performance levels of the competing traditional troffer
fixtures, which range in light output from 2,000 lumens
to 4,000 lumens for 2’ x 2’ fixtures and have an average
efficacy of 55 lm/W. Traditional troffers are designed
around linear fluorescent lamps—a light source that
can exceed 100 lm/W before fixture losses. While the
performance of LED troffers varies, it’s clear that the
majority of products meet or exceed the performance
of at least one of the benchmark fluorescent test
products, pointing to the competitive performance of
this category, as well.
LED under-cabinet and shelf-mounted lights registered
with LED Lighting Facts are generally more efficacious
than the three benchmark fluorescent products tested
by CALiPER (more than 90% of LED products meet
or exceed benchmark efficacy levels of comparable
output products), and there are LED products that
match each of the benchmark light output levels.
A full analysis of under-cabinet and shelf-mounted
luminaires should include the product length, with
which light output usually scales linearly. For example,
manufacturers usually design product lines with
several lengths and simply scale up the design by
adding LED light sources along the length of the
product. A useful metric to use for these products is
the number of lumens per linear foot. Manufacturers
do not usually enter this information for LED Lighting
Facts submissions, but future versions of the Product
Snapshot may track this metric.
LED Lighting Facts Product Snapshot: LED Luminaires 2011 – 17
Figure 10. Recessed Downlight Light Output and Efficacy
Recessed Downlight Light Output and Efficacy
6000
A Program of the U.S. DOE
Light Output (lm)
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Efficacy (lm/W)
LED
CFL
Incandescent
Sources:
LED: DOE LED Lighting Facts products list, October 2011, www.lightingfacts.com/products
CFL and Incandescent: DOE CALiPER Program benchmark testing, July 2009.
Analysis and figure: D&R International.
18 – LED Lighting Facts Product Snapshot: LED Luminaires 2011
70
80
Figure 11. Troffer Light Output and Efficacy
Troffer Light Output and Efficacy
8000
A Program of the U.S. DOE
7000
Light Output (lm)
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
20
40
60
80
100
Efficacy (lm/W)
LED
Fluorescent
Sources:
LED: DOE LED Lighting Facts products list, October 2011, www.lightingfacts.com/products
Fluorescent: DOE CALiPER Program benchmark testing, July 2009.
Analysis and figure: D&R International.
LED Lighting Facts Product Snapshot: LED Luminaires 2011 – 19
Figure 12. Under-cabinet/Shelf-mounted Luminaire Light Output and Efficacy
Under-cabinet/Shelf-mounted Luminaire Light Output and Efficacy
1200
A Program of the U.S. DOE
1000
Light Output (lm)
800
600
400
200
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
Efficacy (lm/W)
LED
Fluorescent
Sources:
LED: DOE LED Lighting Facts products list, October 2011, www.lightingfacts.com/products
Fluorescent: DOE CALiPER Program benchmark testing, July 2009.
Analysis and figure: D&R International.
20 – LED Lighting Facts Product Snapshot: LED Luminaires 2011
60
70
80
CRI and CCT
Figure 13 shows CRI and CCT for the indoor luminaires
covered in this
report: recessed downlights, troffers, and
A Program of the U.S. DOE
under-cabinet lights. Compared to outdoor luminaires,
the CRI of indoor luminaires is higher on average (81)
and the CCT is lower (~3300K), both because of the more
stringent color quality requirements of indoor lighting in
general. Troffers, however, perform at notably higher CCT
levels (~4500K, on average) than downlights and undercabinet lights (with averages of ~3300K and ~3100K,
respectively), partly because of their use in commercial
applications, in which cooler light is usually acceptable.
Downlights and under-cabinet lights are sold in both the
commercial and residential markets. Notably, 80% of
under-cabinet lights have a CCT of 3000K (warm white
light), which suggests that they are intended for the
residential market.
All three product categories perform well overall
in terms of color rendering, when compared to
traditional fluorescent light sources: 78% of the LED
products performed at a CRI of 80 or above, the typical
performance of fluorescent technology. Downlights and
under-cabinet lights have higher average CRI values (82
and 81, respectively) than troffers (78), and downlights
have a much smaller spread of CRI values (a standard
deviation of 3 points, versus 7 points for under-cabinet
lights and troffers).
LED Lighting Facts Product Snapshot: LED Luminaires 2011 – 21
Figure 13. Indoor LED Luminaire CRI and CCT
Indoor Luminaire CRI and CCT
100
A Program of the U.S. DOE
Incandescent
95
90
CRI
85
80
Fluorescent
(typical)
75
70
65
60
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
5000
5500
6000
6500
7000
7500
8000
CCT (K)
Recessed downlights
Troffers
Under-cabinet
Sources:
LED: DOE LED Lighting Facts products list, October 2011, www.lightingfacts.com/products
Incandescent and fluorescent: Benchmark testing of conventional light sources by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) on
behalf of the DOE Solid-State Lighting Program. Linear fluorescent lamps tend to produce 3000K--4000K light, whereas CFLs
cover a greater range.
Analysis and figure: D&R International.
22 – LED Lighting Facts Product Snapshot: LED Luminaires 2011
Navigating the Decade of Change
The LED Lighting Facts Product Snapshot will continue
to track the rapid changes in LED lighting technology
A Program of the U.S. DOE
and assess which
applications are appropriate for LED
products as the technology advances and new standards
take effect.To receive updates to this Snapshot and other
news about LED Lighting Facts, visit www.lightingfacts.com.
LED Lighting Facts Product Snapshot: LED Luminaires 2011 – 23
A Program of the U.S. DOE
D&R International
1300 Spring Street | Suite 500
Silver Spring, MD 20910
P: 301.588.9387 | www.drintl.com
A Program of the U.S. DOE
Prepared for:
U.S. Department of Energy
Solid-State Lighting Program
24 – LED Lighting Facts Product Snapshot: LED Luminaires 2011