The global light emitting diode (LED) lighting power supply market is about to enter the $10 billion business opportunity. The IMS Research report of the market adjustment agency pointed out that the LED lighting market is rapidly rising due to the rise of regulations and electricity fees. It is expected that the sales volume of power supply equipment will reach 4 billion units in 2016, and the total output value will be as high as 100. One hundred million U.S. dollars.
Ryan Sanderson, senior market analyst at IMS, said that the application of various LED lighting solutions has ranged from retrofit LED light sources and light bulbs for low-power residential applications to high-power commercial and industrial LED full-range lighting devices such as streetlights. The demand is increasing rapidly.
As the LED light source and luminaire market has just begun to develop, manufacturers face challenges in power electronics expertise and thus open the door to power supply manufacturers. Sanderson pointed out that the new LED lighting power requirements, depending on the power rating (Power Rating), LED or LED string number and the use of design factors. These design requirements, coupled with the current lack of clear standards for LED lighting, require that LED luminaire manufacturers strengthen their power electronics expertise by hiring professionals or working with power supply vendors.
It is worth noting that some large LED luminaire manufacturers such as Philips have also established related technical capabilities through subsidiaries or acquisitions of power supply vendors; this has caused certain power supply manufacturers to remain in a situation where they are acquired. Some of the power supply business opportunities are also categorized by these vertically integrated large companies.
However, vendors that only provide power supplies still have market niche points. Jonathon Eykyn, market analyst at IMS Research, believes that LED luminaire manufacturers with power supply production lines can only seize the market for products with simple designs, low prices, and high demand, such as LED replacement lamp sources, and medium and high power applications. The power supply design is more complex, and it would be more cost effective to outsource the power supply. Based on this, IMS Research predicts that the power supply vendors will have more than half market share in 2016.